Edmonton’s resident hip-hop impresario Cadence Weapon now has a bit more incentive to write rhymes for his hometown.
Roland Pemberton, 23, better known as Cadence Weapon, is a local hip-hop star who’s set to be Edmonton’s youngest poet laureate when he assumes the mantle on Canada Day.Mayor Stephen Mandel made the announcement at city hall yesterday morning, calling it “an incredibly exciting day” for Edmonton.
“I am excited about the future of the perception of poetry in Edmonton and how I can change that,” said Pemberton, who read out Valley Girls, a poem he wrote as a tribute to the river valley and the joys of youth.
Trevor Anderson, a local filmmaker who nominated the new laureate, was glad that his choice was selected unanimously by a committee.
“I think he’s going to be a great ambassador for Edmonton when he’s touring internationally and people find out he’s a poet laureate at Edmonton,” he said.
Alice Major, Edmonton’s first poet laureate from 2005-2007 said Pemberton will bring a generational “integration” to the city.
“I think the biggest sense of accomplishment was when people come to me and say, ‘gee I didn’t know I liked poetry,’ and I think that’s what Roland will do as well,” she said.
