Release Radar: December 2022

This is a blurb that I wrote for the series Release Radar. Read the whole listicle here.

Photos courtesy of Jamie Morgan, Lauren Davis, and Nastassia Brückin

Image courtesy of Honeymoon

Fear Mercury by Mercury

Twenty-one-year-old rapper Mercury proves on fear mercury that she means business. Leading up to the release of fear mercury, the skater-rapper released two mixtapes this year: tabula rasa and freddie. Whereas before her sound was mainly cloudy-trap, fear mercury levels up those same aesthetics into a more complete and developed sound by taking those individual elements and melding them into trap excellence. On songs like “needalight,” the influences from artists like Playboi Carti and Kid Cudi jump out with banging trap beats and a calm, cool attitude. Mercury gets assistance from fellow underground rapper SALIMATA in “doublecup,” a melodic trap record led by a hazy aura created with hypnotizing, feathery synths. Despite its short tracklist, the record ends with a bang with  “wyha.” This closing bop starts off with a sample from the Sega start-up screen before Mercury goes into triplet flows on the crazed breakdown of the instrumental with braggadocious lyrics. All in all, the EP shows potential for a breakout star in the rap scene, with prospects of reaching the ever-emerging rap scene.