A young rapper by the name of Cole ‘Merkules’ Stevenson is making waves from across Canada to Europe with his newest album Scars.

The album dropped last year, followed by a cross-Canada tour and a promotional tour in Europe. He’ll be back in Red Deer on Jan. 29th to perform at Wild Bill’s.

While living in his hometown of Surrey, B.C, Stevenson was a victim of a serious attack that would later become the inspiration for his newest album.

The album was created to put rumours to rest that surrounded the origins of his scars.

“The title of the album is based on the time I got jumped when I was 16 years old while walking home from a party,” Merkules explained.

“For years a lot of people have wondered what the scars are from and I’d never really addressed it in the form of a song or a post online or anything. Nobody really knew what happened. There were a select few who’d heard rumours or who actually knew what was going on, but it was cool to be able to address that and put the rumours to rest.”

Merkules said the response to the album has been very positive and that it felt good to be able to address the rumours of his attack.

“The response to Scars has been really great. I’d been to Europe before, but every time I’d gone I was a supporting act for someone else. To go there alone and headline my own tour in different countries was awesome,” he said.

“All the shows were really good, and almost all of them sold out which was kind of surprising. I thought there was going to be a struggle to pack the house, but I got there and it wasn’t an issue at all.”

He added that this album is quite a bit different from the others he has produced.

“With the albums that I’d done previously before Scars, I never really got a chance to sit down and craft the albums together the way that I wanted to because I was always on tour or busy,” Merkules explained.

“There would be times where I’d have all these songs ready to go, and I’d sort of just throw them together and call it an album before I went on the road.

“The difference between those albums and Scars is that this time I got to sit down, put together an album with a certain topic and give it a beginning, a middle and an end.”

At only 23, Merkules has had a fair amount of success with his work.

He has had multiple Canadian tours and has shared the stage with big name artists like Raekwon, Bone Thugs N’ Harmony, Tech N9ne and Hopsin among others. His stage presence is confident and lively, drawing in large crowds each time he plays in Red Deer.

This month, he will join Canadian hip-hop artist Aspect for a show at Wild Bill’s Sports Bar.

The two have collaborated many times and will be shooting a music video during the show for their song Mushroom Clouds.

“Aspect has made a lot of my beats and he’s an incredible rapper as well,” Merkules said.

“We did a song called Mushroom Clouds, and he informed me that we’re going to be shooting the video for it at the show, which is kind of cool. I’m excited about that. I’ve heard ticket sales for that show have been going pretty good and I can’t wait. It’s gonna be fun for sure.”

Merkules is currently recording in an Edmontnon studio to put together his next album. The album does not have a release date as of yet, but Merkules said he’s excited to bring it out as soon as possible. As well, he is planning another cross-Canada tour in March and April.

“My new album is in the works. It’s not exactly close to being finished yet but it’s coming,” he promised.

“We’re working to get it out there as soon as possible,” he said. “The support that I’ve gotten for Scars has been amazing. I can’t wait for the show in Red Deer, I’m sure it’s going to be a really good night.”

kmendonsa@reddeerexpress.com