mercure

Mercure (pronounced Mercury) Beyond Good & Evil

It is very rare to match skill, accuracy, and work ethic, but 26 year-old New Orleans musician Mercure is a rare artist. He dumps his beats into the compression tubes and attacks his verses with stylized passion before meticulously explaining how he needs the mix completed. Not to be faulted, he has the uphill battle of public perception and marketability in a genre of music best known for regional jingles. While many say hip-hop is dying, Merc’s debut Beyond Good and Evil is musical medicine.

Nevertheless, Merc refutes the hip-hop identity claim. “I don’t think that I was drawn to hip hop. I think I was drawn to music in general and my generation and environment dictated which genre I would gravitate towards.” In charcoal gray slacks and a collared shirt, he looks the more John Coltrane than Lil’ Wayne. “Lyrically I would be a cross between Billie Holiday and Jay-Z. Artistically, I am Miles Davis meets Marvin Gaye.”

These elements led a teenager to not only write raps, but also toy with sample-based production. After forming a crew that performed at various venues and battles in the South, Mercure returned home for college deeper into music than his cohorts. A few years later and heavy into the mixtape scene, Hurricane Katrina struck sending Merc to relocate in Chicago. These chain of events led to a need to make music that represented the South, in an honest and mature manner.

“My friend Evlondo introduced me to a philosopher named Nietzsche, who’d written a book entitled “Beyond Good and Evil.” His philosophy really echoed the feelings I had at the time towards music and society,” says 26-year-old New Orleans musician Mercure. The culmination of such ideals as spirituality, science, and culture over contemporary urban music soundscapes has created a modern philosophical hip-hop element.

While most music in general is watered-down by corporate politics and an industry controlled by investors with no interest in musicianship, Merc remains positive. With the ink still wet on his agreement with emerging giant Eupham/Elevated Minds Music Group he is crafting the initial release to jumpstart the movement while giving the entire music industry a facelift. “I like to think of his music as a air-sealed porterhouse steak in a dumpster. It’s positivity in a world full of negativity,” says Eupham CEO Chuck Jones.

Merc agrees “The overall theme is don’t ever give up on yourself and your fellow man—as long as there’s room to breathe, there’s room to change,” he adds, “for the better.”

 
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