Mercury Staff

TYuS, Cassow, Jonny Cool No musician has ever handled the phrase “these bitches, they love me” with the care and tenderness of Portland’s Tyus. The 20-year-old R&B singer released his debut full-length, Never Forget, in October on Warner Brothers. It’s packed with gossamer slow jams, the kind you’ll want to wrap yourself up in and […]

Robert Glasper Experiment Robert Glasper might be better known for his collaborations than his solo output, but that’s not meant as a knock. He’s worked with Erykah Badu, Maxwell, Anderson .Paak, Norah Jones, Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, and just about everyone else in contemporary hip-hop, jazz, and R&B. An accomplished piano player, composer, and producer, […]

Big Daddy Kane, Vursatyl, Grand Royale Big Daddy Kane stepped back from the spotlight many years back, but his shadow of influence still looms large over the many scenes of today’s diverse hip-hop culture. And for good reason: Kane is one of the greatest MCs to ever put voice to mic, so the chance to […]

Party Boyz: December to Forget The one good thing about this miserable time of year is: parties galore. And tonight the podcasters/impresarios of Party Boyz celebrate winter cheer with their semi-annual December to Forget (DTF) bash. Enjoy loud punk rock from Seattle’s Wimps and freaky trop-psych from Portland’s Sun Angle. Dance. Wear an ugly sweater. […]

Young Thug Young Thug dropped Jeffery in August, a fantastic preview to his forthcoming and oddly named debut studio album, Hy!£UN35. Though the Atlanta rapper (whose full name is Jeffery Lamar Williams) used his own name to title the hook-heavy mixtape, its tracks are named after his “idols”: “Floyd Mayweather,” “Kanye West,” and “Harambe,” among […]

Matmos Experimental electronic musicians Drew Daniel and M.C. Schmidt—AKA Matmos—have incorporated everything from the amplified neural activity of crayfish to the snips and slices of plastic surgery into past releases. The duo’s latest album, Ultimate Care II, was constructed entirely out of sounds pulled from a Whirlpool washing machine of the same name, and yes, […]