Mercury builds her own world of whispers on MERCZONE
thefader.comMercury’s voice squats low in the mix on the deceptively titled “KNUCK BUCK.” Despite the all-encompassing low end and clattering trashcan stomps, she refuses to break a sweat, hoarse bars rolling off the tongue in an under-articulated flurry: “These n****s ain’t seeing me even with glasses / They study my swag, they in Mercury classes.” Her demure cadences seem better suited to soothing infants than turning up shows, even as the bassline rattles windowpanes and subwoofers.
It’s a tidy microcosm for MERCZONE, the Atlanta rapper’s long-gestating debut album, which glides through a wide range of sonic influences with preternatural calm, anchored by her steady murmurations.
Pushing brash beats up against silvery vocals is nothing new for the 23-year-old rapper who’s been juxtaposing hard and soft sounds since her 2020 breakout “Slob On My Kat.” Fans of 2022’s tabula rasa or even 2021’s 14-minute MERCTAPE won’t be shocked by any of the textures on the Atlanta rapper’s latest, not the samples of Coco & Clair Clair, Basement Jaxx, or St.
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