'Parallel World' by Cadence Weapon was selected by an 11-member jury of the 2021 Polaris Music Prize as the Canadian album of the year, based solely on artistic merit, The FADER reports. Across its 10 songs and 26 minutes, 'Parallel World' makes distinct references to Black experiences and history in Canada and draws inspiration from a wide range of music, literature and art by Black creators to reflect our "dystopian present".

The 2020 short list for the Polaris Music Prize has been officially unveiled, with 10 albums for the Canadian music prize whittled down from a 40 albums list. One grand prize of $50,000 will be awarded on October 19. The other short list contenders will receive prizes of $3,000 each.

The nominees are:

Backxwash - 'God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out Of It'
Caribou - 'Suddenly'
Junia-T - 'Studio Monk'
Kaytranada - 'Bubba'
nêhiyawak - 'nipiy'
Pantayo - 'Pantayo'
Lido Pimienta - 'Miss Colombia'
Jessie Reyez - 'Before Love Came to Kill Us'
U.S. Girls - 'Heavy Light'
Witch Prophet - 'DNA Activation'

Among the 40 artists on the 2020 Long List for the best Canadian album are: Caribou, Lido Pimienta, Jessie Reyez, Andy Shauf, KAYTRANADA, The Weeknd, U.S. Girls, dvsn, Leif Vollebek, Jacques Greene, Daniel Caesar, Cindy Lee, Men I Trust, and Allie X.

Toronto rapper Haviah Mighty has won the 2019 Polaris Music Prize - the prestigious Canadian prize - with her debut album '13th Floor'. Accepting the prize she explained - "for me, the 13th floor is something that we remove from our reality because it is something that we don't understand and therefore we dismiss it". […]

The Polaris Music Prize honors the best album out of Canada and this year hip-hop is most heavily represented with Shad, Snotty Nose Rez Kids, and Haviah Mighty all getting a nod. The list also includes Toronto punk favorites PUP, electronic producer Marie Davidson, and funk-punk ensemble FET.NAT. Full shortlist of 10 albums looks like […]