Canadian rapper Merkules was born Cole Stevenson in Surrey, British Columbia in 1992 and became popular in Vancouver when he was just 16 years old. Since then he has bloomed into a seasoned performer with a devoted following of young Canadians.
In a life-changing moment, Merkules was attacked while walking home from a friend’s house and brutally struck about the head with a baseball bat and a machete. The then-16-year-old received permanent slashes across his cheeks and near his eyes, and this incident became the inspiration for the album, Scars, which was released in April 2015. He used this medium as an antidote against any lingering anxiety from this vicious attack.
Merkules himself has created a unique persona with his own sense of “cool” that has helped attract adoring fans who greatly admire his audacity. Hip-Hop has always been about making a statement, and he does this very well. Hip-Hop artists like him are some of the biggest commercial influencers, from sports jerseys to hoodies to dapper suits. There are other industries, which, like Hip-Hop, have also had this chequered relationship with fashion. The traditional gangster rapper look of hoodies and T-shirts has filtered into these industries and is gradually evolving into a more “classical look” of expensive gear and designer suits. Merkules maintains his own bold rapper style: he often performs shirtless, unabashedly revealing his large physique to the audience, and is quite proud to show off his tattoos which he sees as his personal self-expression.
Albums
2012 - Merkules - Canadian Bacon [320 kbps]
2015 - Merkules - Scars [320 kbps]
2017 - Merkules - Trust Your Gut [320 kbps]
2018 - Cole [320 kbps]
EP's
2013 - Merkules - Hunger Pains EP [V0]
2013 - Merkules X Prada West - The Lost & Found Ep [320 kbps]
