When he heard that his old 性视界传媒 home was being demolished, Merkules wanted one last walk down that old town road, so to speak.
The increasingly popular rapper, who boasts 45 million Youtube views of his , was better known as Cole Stevenson while growing up in a rancher on 90A Avenue, in Green Timbers.
鈥淭his is where it all started,鈥� he posted to his 1.1 million followers on Facebook, where 鈥淢erk鈥� frequently riffs on his 性视界传媒 roots.
鈥淭his is where I wrote my first raps, recorded my first song on a PlayStation mic, where my parents took all my friends in as their own children. So much history here. It鈥檚 the end of an era. RIP to the old crib in Green Timbers.鈥�
A week later, he gave the Now-Leader a tour of the property, during one final look at the house he called home until about a decade ago.
鈥淲ow, this is really surreal,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 weird seeing the place gutted like this.鈥�
The house is where Merkules honed his rapping skills, during a period of isolation there following a brutal attack he suffered at age 16, while walking home from a New Year鈥檚 Eve party.
The attack was a subject of his Scars album of 2015, when he first spoke publicly about what happened to him and his friends that night.
Now in his late 20s, Merkules has toured to hundreds of cities and towns across North America, Europe and Australia 鈥� and hopes to again soon, post-pandemic.
In the summer of 2019 Merkules returned 鈥渉ome鈥� to headline a hip-hop show at Cloverdale鈥檚 Shannon Hall, years after the good ol鈥� days of performing at the Olympia, a Central City-area restaurant that offered a stage where teens like him could drop rhymes and develop their talents.
His 2020 album 鈥淎pply Pressure鈥� features a photo of the alley 鈥渂oxes鈥� 鈥� metal electrical boxes 鈥� where he used to hang out with friends.
鈥� READ MORE: 性视界传媒-raised rapper Merkules hits home with new album, which he鈥檚 posted to YouTube.
Talking with outside the house where he grew up. Good stories about his early days making music.
鈥� Tom Zillich (@TomZillich)
On Facebook, he posts new music on 鈥淢erk Mondays.鈥�
Also on the social media platform, Merkules encourages fans to talk about their mental health.
鈥淣ever be ashamed of having mental health issues,鈥� he posted. 鈥淢ost of us do, but only some of us choose to admit it. You鈥檇 be surprised how much we all have in common.鈥�
Merk later got his manager to set up a phone number for people to text him, if they wanted a word.
鈥淚 won鈥檛 always be on there replying but I鈥檒l try to when I can, as soon as you text it you鈥檒l automatically be tuned in for exclusive access to contests, prizes, updates, new music, etc.,鈥� he posted. 鈥淪ome (robot) will respond right away and then we can keep in touch. The number is 310-564-2198. Let鈥檚 go!鈥�
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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