Essex born Mercy's Cartel decided to pursue her dream after catching Chance the Rapper live.
It's almost as if seeing her idol right there, in front of her, spurred Mercy on to try something different, to abandon what was around her and chase something different.
Not that it's been a straight path since then. Suffering a hate crime, her recuperation caused her to reflect on her heritage, on her surroundings.
Now based in Bristol, these experiences come to the fore on excellently titled new EP 'Vibes Cartel'.
New song 'Feel My Vibe' airs on Clash, a divine future soul concoction delivered with a supple jazz twist. Born from appalling circumstances, it finds beauty even amid the darkness.
She explains…
"'Feel My Vibe' was written shortly I went into hospital after experiencing the hate crime. I was abusing substances heavily and severely depressed. I started to see myself in icons like Amy Winehouse and Whitney Houston – I think their lives were beautifully tragic but I didn't want to end up that way. Bristol's student youth culture is very problematic. So 'Feel My Vibe' is me trying to stop myself going down a darker route."
Tune in now.
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