Croydon, South London, England, United Kingdom emcee, teacher & Hidden Hobby Records founder Montener the Menace back for his 3rd studio LP. Catching wind of him during the COVID-19 pandemic when he released his full-length debut I Have a Hidden Hobby, dude definitely proved himself lyrically even though it was overloaded with features & the production sorta sounded similar to one another. Coming off both Anyone Home? & The Miserable Git Next Door though, Mercurial has finally arrived almost 2 years since it was initially announced.
We get this soulful boom bap instrumental on the intro “Special” delivering this brief freestyle clocking at only a minute whereas “Tin Foil Hat” talks about his paranoia. “Lost & Found” featuring Blade, Farma G, Micall Parknsun & Verb T joins forces for a UK hip hop posse cut but once the chipmunk soul-inspired “Fight for Flight” talks about acute stress response, “The Devil Chose Me” featuring Jadakiss ends the 1st leg cautioning demons are coming.
“I Still Have a Hidden Hobby” kicks off the 2nd half with a sequel to his debut’s title track while “The Game” featuring A-F-R-O & Fashawn talks about only reciting heat when they take the mic. “Falling Down” fuses some kicks & snares with a pitched sample so Montener get in his conscious bag lyrically while “My Thoughts” featuring the late Chino XL & Keith Murray finds themselves wrapped up in their minds, “Dark Book” featuring Declaime & Ruste Juxx produced by DJ Sam Seed takes us where the light doesn’t go.
Hidden Hobby has slowly yet surely been on the verge of becoming one of the biggest underground labels in the entire UK hip hop scene potentially joining the likes of High Focus Records & Blah Records with all these artists/producers Montener the Menace has been signing putting out their own music through his imprint. Mercurial however raises anticipations for it’s sequel made whether it’s dropping in the next few months or 2027 with my favorite thing Montener’s ever made from the soulful boom bap production to the performances that he & the guests deliver.
Score: 8/10
