The only things I love more than risks are the artists that take them. I admire them so much it’s almost a character flaw – I’m quick to yell “BORING!” at shameless Olivia Roderigo clones, Travis $cott wannabes, and people more concerned with clout chasing than pushing our cultural canon further. While working through my backlog, the sacred gods of music blessed my ears with tabula rasa – the newest LP from Atlanta rapper Mercury. In a world of mimics and mirrors Mercury stands alone – weaving together alien melodies and forward-thinking production with writing so full of charm that I literally could not add tabula rasa to my rotation fast enough. From the project’s minimalistic and Southern-flavored “500 DEGREEZ” to the foreboding ambiance of “HEAVY”, Mercury has me reaching for a fucking thesaurus trying to find words to describe her sound. It’s impossible to truly compare her to anyone because no one out there is doing it quite like she is – maybe she’s like if all Doechii listened to growing up was Negative Gemini, Tommy Genesis and Yung Lean. There are so many high points on tabula rasa – and from her own performances to her guest features DavidTheTragic, Jelani Imani, and Brodie Harvey, I am certain that this is going to be all I listen to this summer. Though it’s been a minute since MERCTAPE dropped, Mercury executed a flawless release with her latest project, pushing music forward and putting her name on 2022 in the process.With more music and visuals hopefully slated for the near future, tabula rasa is definitely worth your time if Mercury isn’t already on your radar.

Check out tabula rasa below: