Fade
The Beat Strangler
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illest o.g.
Bouncing back after a two year creative slump, IllMuzik's resident emcee, Mercury Waters has awoken like a lyrical sleeping giant with his newest independent release CHANNEL SURFING. Showing no signs that he ever stopped rhyming, the North Carolina native takes you on an almost cosmic journey manifested through beats and rhymes. For production on the album, Merc turned to a close knit group of producers including his own brother Choppy Chop-E.
When asked why he decided to pick up the mic and start rhyming again his response was simple and honest. "I basically came back off of hiatus because I felt like I had something worth saying and I was inspired to write", he said. What could inspire a man who was two years deep into writer's block you ask? Merc explains, "In the process of working on the "Peep Now or Forever Know You Sleep" mixtape for fellow OMNi crew member, Lunchbox the Narcoleptic, just hearing his new music helped get me inspired to write again." The last song on the album entitled "Rock Moranis" is the only track on the album to feature another artist, and that artist happens to be the very man who inspired Merc to come back to the frontline, Lunchbox tha Narcoleptic. "This was the first song Lunchbox and I really finished as our collective group "The Bullets". A signal of great things to come", says Merc.
With the interpolation of commercial breaks between songs, Channel Surfing lives up to its name. Each track is well under 3 minutes long, yet Merc still manages to lay the foundation for an entire message through each individual piece. On the future-esque "Plain", Merc paints a vivid picture of the African Diaspora over a backdrop of synth heavy, robotic type sounds. He takes you along on their journey through slavery then brings you to the effects it has on us today. Showing much diversity with rhymestyle, Merc blacks out over the head nodding "Life's Raw". With lines like "I'm retro fitted with the latest spitters intuiton / And a sprinter's vision for the finish line/diminish time." He then slows it down on the self produced track "Lush", a melodic symphony of self control where he speaks about temptation. "Just look no touch / Famous last words from her inner thigh / Lush", are the words that embody the chorus and compliment the beat in an almost effortless fashion. Merc definitely has a penchant for the outside of the box, yet Channel Surfing still manages to maintain that balance between artistry and dopeness. With his spoken word like delivery, he is definitely one of few emcees who get on the mic and stay true to himself.
- Production Credits: Choppy Chop-E, Treble-Free, C-Royal, Sikh Knowledge, and Mercury Waters
- Stand out tracks: Superstitious, Lush, Lifes Raw, Rock Moranis