Mercury.
Photo by Lauren Davis.
Mercury isn't content with being put in any box. The Atlanta-via-Memphis rapper's music fluctuates from smoked-out La Chat flips like "Slob on My Kat" to the creeping and ominous "SCAMMERC" to the jaunty "Cacti." It makes sense that she's found a home in Atlanta's future-looking underground alongside producers like Awful Records' Ethereal and Popstar Benny. On songs like "Myspace!" she sounds at ease next to eccentric expressionist painter Bear1boss. Next month, Mercury will hit the road with MIKE for a for a selection of dates. She'll make stops in Seattle, Portland, Tucson, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas.
Today, Mercury has announced that her new mixtape, tabula rasa, will be released on April 20 via Honeymoon. The new project will include production from Surf Gang's EvilGiane, 454, Mr. Weaver, Ethereal, and more. Premiering on The FADER is "Running Round," which was produced by Chicken. Check out the video and full tracklist for tabula rasa below.
"'RUNNING ROUND' is a fuck you to my toxic ex and shitty relationships,” Mercury explained. "The video came from wanting to express how I felt about my ex through other people. So I gathered my friends and made them argue. My homie Salim Garcia shot it, I directed, and we had some animation based on Run Lola Run and Squid Game."
"Running Round" is featherlight. Free of the weight of bad relationships, her airy vocals float over the scorching drum break as she raps about a shitty ex who only wants her money. "But I'm not believing any word that's coming from your tongue / 'Cause you think you're getting something but you're really getting none," she raps in a hurried staccato. But it's not entirely scornful—Mercury still wishes them luck, she just doesn't want them in her life.
tabula rasa tracklist:
1. RUNNING ROUND
2. 500 DEGREEZ (feat. DavidTheTragic and Jelani Imani)
3. MATRIX
4. ON MY MIND (feat. Brodie Harvey)
5. HEAVY
6. CHIT CHAT
7. AS IT GETS
8. GEEKED UP
9. RUN IT UP
10. RASTA PASTA
