Photo courtesy of Hidden Hobby Records
The word “mercurial” is defined as “someone whose mood or behavior is changeable and unpredictable, or someone who is clever, lively, and quick.” Mercurial is also the name of a new album by UK emcee Montener the Menace, and the title is more than fitting. Montener lays down light-hearted and lugubrious lyrics over grimy boom bap beats on Mercurial.
Mercurial is a 10-track album that comes courtesy of Hidden Hobby Records. The project features appearances by Jadakiss, Fashawn, A-F-R-O, Ruste Juxx, Declaime, JabbaThaKut, Farma G, Micall Parknsun, Verb T, Blade, DJ Max Great, Gemma Stone, Keith Murray, and the late Chino XL. Mercurial is produced by D.I.E. Swambo, Shape Shifter, Elder, Seek, Jack Cliff, Keynotez, Sam Seed, and Abstract Museum.
Montener the Menace spoke to The Real Hip-Hop about running Hidden Hobby Records, working with the late Chino XL, and his new album, Mercurial.
TRHH: What’s the meaning behind the title of the new album, Mercurial?
Montener the Menace: So, within my music I’m always trying to one minute have people laughing, the next be quite depressed. Some being quite thoughtful, some storytelling, so, Mercurial just fit my style because I like to go through different genres — a journey of emotions throughout my albums.
TRHH: That was something I took away from this; how it was really down in places and it was really funny in places. Would you say that’s indicative of your real life?
Montener the Menace: I’m not gonna lie, there’s nothing really depressing about my life. I’ve lived a good life, you know? I’m a teacher, I’ve got a good job, I’ve got a beautiful family and stuff like that. Comedy-wise, yes. I joke around a lot, I like telling stories. But even sort of with some of the depressing songs, the song “Falling Down” for example, ’cause I’m a teacher, I see some of those real sad sort of times that certain children don’t have a good start in life or I’ve had to have meetings with social services and they can be really depressing. And obviously then there’s songs about being a serial killer just to have a bit of fun in there as well. But I’d say more the comedy side is me.
TRHH: You have a fire feature from Jadakiss on “The Devil Chose Me.” How did that come about?
Montener the Menace: I can’t go into too much detail with this one. I never actually had contact with Jadakiss. And it was actually through someone who knows him pretty well. It’s the same person who managed to get me to work with Ghostface on a Sam Seed collaboration. I’ve never actually spoken to Jadakiss, but when I heard the verse, I thought, “Yeah, this is good.” I think the beat as well is a dirty beat. It’s really grimy this beat and it just worked. When I received his verse, the most exciting part was the fact that he went, “Ahaa!” And as soon as that was on there, I was like, “Yes, right, whatever, it’s good!” That’s the main thing I wanted on it.
TRHH: [Laughs] That’s all that matters. That’s signature Jadakiss.
Montener the Menace: But I think it came out well and it allowed me to try and push myself as well. Because you’re trying to compete and it’s not just an underground rapper on that one, you know, it’s a megastar. Just trying to compete and I think I held my own. I think I did all right on it.
TRHH: On the chorus to the song “Fight or Flight” you say, “When you lose the fight it doesn’t matter that you scream, most men choose flight when they live a shattered dream.” Explain those lyrics.
Montener the Menace: All through my music I always have to have some thoughtful, depressing tracks. I know people who have had real mental health issues. Luckily none of my close friends have committed suicide or anything like that. But you always know of someone that has been affected by it. And for some people, living it is like a never-ending nightmare. I really like the phrase “shattered dream.” And as soon as I heard the beat, it was before I even started writing, it was the hook that came to me. And I don’t know why, but it came really easily, the way it flowed. I can’t put my finger on it. Sometimes something would just come to me.
It was someone I worked with before, the producer, he’s a South African guy called Keynotez, and I’ve done a couple of tracks with him in the past, He sent me a bunch of beats, and as soon as he sent that one, I thought, “Whoa.” And instantly I got an idea. So, I can’t really tell you why the lyrics are there, they’re just something that came to me, and I really like that phrase shattered dream. I’m guessing it’s people who have dreams and their life may not have turned out how they had dreamt and there’s a just that shatter. You always feel like you’re screaming inside and you want help. I think particularly with men, men find it hard to talk. So, it is like that inner scream that you wanna scream of, “Someone help me, because my life hasn’t turned out how it should have.” I just thought it was a nice dark track.
TRHH: You’ve been busy with Hidden Hobby Records; how rewarding is it to help other artists get their music out there to the world?
Montener the Menace: Yeah, that’s the thing. I think I’ve built up a really good roster of artists. They’re not necessarily well-known artists, but they’re artists that sometimes reach out to me, other times I reach out to them. And what I like doing, I like finding artists that might not have many listeners, but when I hear their music, I think, “Wow, you’re really bloody good. And more people should be listening.” I do get people messaging me quite regularly asking, “Can I join the label?” And I very kindly have to for time turn them down. I would only sign someone if it’s music I would I enjoy listening to. And that’s why there’s 10-11 acts on there now.
It’s nice I can get them radio play. I hook some up with you as well for interviews and it’s just trying to get their name out there. I’ve got a nice little bit of a mailing list, a nice section of contacts where I can get them radio play where they might have struggled before. Plus, I’ve got a whole range of artists as well. Sometimes they’re producers, sometimes they’re rappers. I’ve got a group, AlphasasinZ, who’s from Canada, and their albums nearly finished as well. What’s nice is, we’ve got this Hidden Hobby Records sort of joint group chat. So, when one of us releases something, we all jump on it to try and promote it. It’s quite nice.
Every rapper on the label has got a bank of producers he can use. Same with the producers, you’ve got a bank of rappers that you can get for features who aren’t gonna charge you because we all look out for each other on the label. And a lot of the guys as well, they use me as sort of a middleman where I try and get them some really good features. There’s artists I work with now who I call my friends, people like El Da Sensei, such a nice guy. And he’s done verses for a few of the guys on the label. Craig G. and people like that who’s on my WhatsApp and I speak to them.
Keith Murray. I’ve had phone calls with Keith Murray. I’m also like that that person that could try and talk to them. Blaq Poet reached out to me as well recently and he said, “Are any of the guys on the label looking for verses from me?” So, he’s now working with a few of them as well. I’m not gonna say a mentor or anything like that, I’m just someone that has built up a decent little following. Not huge, but I’ve got a little following. And I’ve just got a nice selection of contacts that can get them radio play, interviews, and in magazines and stuff like that.
TRHH: What are the challenges that come with being an artist and also running a label?
Montener the Menace: The biggest one is time. Obviously being a teacher, and having three young children as well, and trying to get my own music out there is tough. Especially when everyone’s sort of got something ready to go. So, we sort of have to schedule certain releases so there’s no clashes, if you know what I mean. So, now my album’s out, Frisco Boogie is next in line, so you might have seen it, you might not, but he started to release his next couple of singles. We’re hoping that after every sort of few weeks or a couple of months, someone else is ready to go with their music. So, we want to stay active but not overly active. You get some rappers who release four or five albums a year. What it should really be, and I think that’s what I’ve done with Mercurial as well, I started recording it maybe four years ago and I recorded twenty songs for it.
What I didn’t want on this one, I didn’t want any skip songs. And you get that with a lot of albums that have got 16-17-18 tracks. And yeah, eight might be really good, but then you’ve got another eight or nine where you can do without. I wanted ten solid tracks and it was hard, the process was hard. I sent it out to some of the guys on the label and asked them what their favorite tracks were, listened to some feedback and I put it down to those ten. So, I’ve got another ten good songs, some that could have easily made the album, but I’ve also got about five really great songs ready for the next album to go as well. Going back to your question, the main thing is time.
TRHH: “Tin Foil Hat” is a song that made me laugh. I could relate to it. How can we walk the line between being suspicious and being insane?
Montener the Menace: [Laughs] Do you know what, I got the idea for that song from the person I bought my house off of about fifteen years ago now. He used to walk around with tin foil on his head. And he used to be scared that aliens were coming. Honestly, the job I had to do in this house was ridiculous. He removed all of the radiators because he thought the metal would cause cancer. So, there was no radiators in the house. I found some really odd things. He buried loads of stuff in the garden. It was just silly stuff, like microwaves. I had that idea of someone like him just being paranoid of everything.
And out of all of the tracks on the actual album itself, that was the most fun to write. Because you can have some fun with it and you can think of some really funny situations and put them in. Tin Foil Hat originally wasn’t going to be on the album, but my brother, bood, who’s on the label, we’re working on something together as well at the moment, but he said, “No, you’ve got to put that on. It’s so funny and different.” And that’s what I try and do with my comedy songs. I try and make them that they’ve never been heard before. It was a bit of a fun one, that one. I’m just trying to think of some really weird examples of paranoia and I think it came out pretty well that song.
TRHH: The song “My Thoughts” features the late Chino XL and an amazing verse from Keith Murray. How did that song come together? In your verse you talk about dusting yourself off and owning your decisions. How are you able to not let your thoughts get the best of you during tough times?
Montener the Menace: Do you know what, I know it’s very cliché, but writing is therapy. And when I was writing that song, and it’s a tough one, I sometimes get choked up about that song because I’d had some really good conversations with Chino through the process of writing that song. I don’t want to go into too much about his death and stuff, but when you realize what had actually happened, and then you listen to his lyrics, it’s quite disturbing and quite chilling. I got him on that song before Keith Murray. And I remember I called Keith Murray and I said, “Look, I’ve got this song with Chino XL,” and the beats dirty as well. Like the beat was one of those crazy beats, it was a bit all over the place, but it just worked. And I said, “Look, Chino’s just sent me this really great verse.” And I think one of the sad things about it was that was a really tough song to mix and master because Chino sent me his verse, but it was over the beat, and he died before he sent me the acappella. It made it really tough for the engineer to mix.
That song for me is just so raw because it happened during that whole process of his death. I’ve worked with Keith before, and he killed that song as well. He did. It’s a sad one. It’s a sad one, that one. And I think you hear a lot of these verses now that have come out once people die, you know, a lot of songs and albums come out of the woodwork, don’t they? But the fact I’ve got those conversations still in my phone of him talking about how much he loves the song, and the process of it, and as soon as he heard the beat, I’ve got those memories. It wasn’t just a bit of business. We spoke. That one was a tough one. I was gonna leave that one off as well. But I thought, no, he really liked the song, So, let me put it on there. But yeah, another tough one.
TRHH: What do you hope to achieve with Mercurial?
Montener the Menace: I’m always one of those people I feel I could do better. So, my first album, it was shelved for 12-13 years when I became a teacher and it came out and it did OK –a lot better than I thought it would. And I remember I only had fifty CDs manufactured thinking I might sell ten or eleven. And then they all went really quickly within the first two weeks. And they’re really rare. I haven’t even got a copy. So, there’s fifty CD’s out there somewhere. There will only ever be 50 of those CDs. And I’ll get people messaging me about that a lot and I don’t even have one. So, then I thought, because I’m not great on that one, I was young in some of the songs, sort of 17-18. Then I thought I could do better, and then Anyone Home came out, and that did really well. And then I thought I could do better than that as well, and I think each time I’m releasing an album, I’m rapping stronger. I think with Mercurial as well, it’s nice to get a bit of more recognition at the moment.
So, the reviews that have come out have been really decent. I don’t think I’ve seen any less than an eight out of ten from anyone. It’s an album I’m actually really proud of, to be honest. Because I was meant to stop rapping, I was gonna retire after the first one, and I’ve said that every time. But I’ve already now got five really good songs for the next one, and I’ve just been sent some other beats. So, that’ll probably be another strong album and then I might take a bit of time off and see. But yeah, do you know what it is? Just recognition. And I know it’s never gonna be a mainstream hit because UK Hip-Hop is tough to really get worldwide. But this one seems to be doing pretty well. You know me, I always try and get features that you wouldn’t expect. I don’t always go for the obvious features. You know, there’s some rappers that pop up all the time and sometimes I use guys like that. But the fact I thought, I can’t remember a UK rapper working with Declaime. So, that was an interesting one to get on there. And obviously Jadakiss.
On the next album as well I’ve managed to get a verse from, no one knows this yet, you’ll be the first, but I’ve got a song with Conway the Machine on the next one. The next one should be good as well, and I’m just hoping the projectory just keeps going sort of up, and up, and up. But yeah, just helping out the people on the label as well. I’m working on an album with my brother bood and Sam Seed. We’re gonna release something as well next year. So yeah, just working hard. There’s no rush with anything. I say that to everyone on the label. It’s like, there’s no rush. Take your time with it. I’d rather it take three years and be brilliant than six months and be, “Eh, it’s okay.” That’s why everyone on the label is quite chilled. Just take your time, there’s no rushing anything.
Purchase: Montener the Menace – Mercurial