Q&A with Mercury The Maroon

The gritty city of New York has more then it's fair share of breakthrough indie artists, many of which the average fan of good music will quite simply never hear. We want you to hear, Mercury, so we interviewed him, hoping that you'd add yet another phenomenal artist to your playlist rotation.

What's the difference in the experience of working on group projects over your solo exploits?

Dugout songs tend to come together very organically—someone will have an idea, share it with the team, and we can go off on our own and write. We have developed a trust and understanding such that we kind of know what each other is going to say, before we say it, which is dope. At the same time, Dugout songs can be difficult to write, because each member brings so much energy to a track that it’s hard to fit it all in.

As far as my solo work, I tend to go off of my vibes. I pray very heavily while I’m working on a project, and I try to let the divine inspiration move me. If I feel the urge to write, I let it all out. My first solo album, Higher Learning, was written over the span of a month. Most of those songs were written in less than an hour—I remember writing “Killer Instinct” in one continuous flow! But I also have phases when it may take me weeks, even months, to finish one verse. The EP I’m working on with J. Howells Werthman (of Nuclear Family) is taking me a minute to finish, because I’m trying to perfect a new flow that matches his production style.

When it comes to producing, what equipment are you using? How did you come to using the devices that you do?

Shit, I’ll step on a roach if that shit sounds hard! I primarily use Reason and an MPC 2000 to make my beats. I first encountered the MPC in college, and I loved the way you could filter the samples down to give them that dank, dusty feel. Reminded me of my camouflage and fisherman hat days! I also play a little electric bass, and I try to use it on as many tracks as I can. My bass playing is inspired by the old roots reggae basslines—when my pops used to play those songs on the system, the whole building would rattle! To this day, a track doesn’t sound right to me if my teeth aren’t chattering.

How often do you get the impulse to create? You mentioned to me recently about getting this burst of energy after attending shows and wanting to go straight home and get to making music.

I am ALWAYS making music in my head. I hear rhythm in everything, from the door slamming shut to my stomach growling. Live shows are a constant inspiration for me. The better the performance, the more I want to go home and hone my skills for my next show. My music is in a constant state of evolution, and I draw from everyone and everything around me. I feel like every three or four years, my style steps up a notch. Y’all need to listen up, because I’m approaching that leap year!

What are you listening to currently?

Right now I keep the Iphone on shuffle(my playlist is unfuckwitable), and I listen to damn near every type of music. I don’t get caught up in the mainstream vs. underground bullshit, good music is good music. I’ll bump DOOM’s “Born Like This”, and then Jeezy’s “The Recession”, and then Portishead’s, well, anything Portishead. I will say that I listen to more old music than anything. A lot of new music is pure shit. And that goes for underground as well as mainstream. Too many people doing this for the wrong reasons. Don’t be mainstream for the money, and don’t be underground for the sake of being different. Just make some hot shit, and let the people hear it is how I roll.

How'd you arrive at the artist name Mercury?

StarPower will tell you, I was the king of wack stage names for years. One day, when T-Nice just wasn’t working anymore, I started pouring through names. I went category by category, and when I was in the “Gods” category, the name Mercury just seemed to stand out. When I read and learned that he was the god of communication, I knew it fit.

As I got older and got knowledge of self, I learned that the god Mercury was the Roman representation of the Kemetic(Egyptian) god Tehuti. Tehuti was the scribe of the gods, and represented wisdom and knowledge. Not a bad deity to be named after, I thought.

I later added “Maroon” to my official title, to represent those Africans who broke free from the trappings of European enslavement to establish their own way of being. I had the word “Maroon” tatted on me to always remind me of my duty to establish a new way of being and thinking for my people.

When you listen to new music, what are you looking for? Is it hard for you to warm up to new artists that you’ve never heard?

I would say that I’m overly critical of anyone I’ve never heard. For me, you are presumed wack until you prove otherwise! I am looking for an artist to stand out, say something I couldn’t hear from anyone but you. And sound good when you say it.

As a producer are you concerned with developing a definitive style or sound, or do you just focus on making music and let things come out however they may?

My beats are like snowflakes, b, no two are the same! I get bored real quick, so I don’t think I would allow myself to have a definitive sound. When I produce for people, I like to build the tracks from scratch, to ensure that the music fits that artist perfectly. If I had to define elements of my style, the one constant is that SOUL. My music has to give you those butterflies in your stomach that I felt listening to those old records, or else I haven’t done my job.

Who are your favorite band, group and musician? Why?

My favorite band of all time would be the original Wailers, with Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer. That’s my version of gospel music, for real. Good music will literally overwhelm me and make me cry, and you could easily catch me bawling in my whip when the right Wailers joint comes on.

What artists would you say have had the most influence on your work?

My Dugout brethren are my main inspiration. StarPower is the one who taught me how to rap. Between he and Cavalier, I have a constant source of inspiration and competition. Between the three of us, there is never a lack of ideas. Never.

Though I don’t listen to him often, I am very much inspired by Miles Davis’ life. His autobiography took me to another level with my music. He did what he had to do to achieve the perfect sound, to evolve the music.

What do you hope to accomplish by being an artists? What is your ultimate goal?

I used to want the glitz, glamour, and good green! All while ‘staying true’ to whatever the fuck I thought was true. But age has brought me a new perspective on this whole thing. My music has been heard and appreciated all over the world. I have shared stages with some of my idols, and even ripped it harder than some of them. I produced for artists whom I consider to be amongst the most talented in the world. If it were to all end tomorrow, I couldn’t be mad at what I’ve accomplished. Ultimately, I would love to make my living strictly off of music, but given the state of the industry now, that’s unlikely even for an established mainstream artist. I take all the spoils that may come, but as long as people respect what I do, I’ll find a way to be content with it.

Name 5 artists old and new that people may not be hip to and ought to take a some time to investigate.

I always forget to name people when I’m asked a question like this, but here goes:

1. The Dugout—Best Rap Group
2. Preachermann—My favorite singer
3. The Heptones—Amazing reggae singers
4. Queen God Is—Best Spoken Word artist
5. Frank Sinatra—Every emcee should listen to him, you’d be surprised what you learn about delivery!