‘No Banter’ on this one as [@Mercston] & [@Wretch32] link up

Friends and collaborators, Wretch 32 and Mercston link up to let us know there’s ‘No Banter‘ on this one.

When ‘No Banter’ was teased a few days prior to it’s release I was intrigued but skeptical. Not because I doubt either Wretch or Mercston or their ability to collaborate, but because of our musical climate. Whilst both have long since proved themselves as heavyweights in the UK scene, the scene now is not what it once was. The pair made names for themselves being technical rappers with content, lyrics, and wordplay for days. Today it feels like those kind of skills have been pushed to the back of consumers minds. The new focus seems to be catchy production, a memorable hook, or controversy surrounding either the artist or the track. There’s nothing wrong with that especially the first two, it just makes the musical climate seem extremely fickle. Just think about how much music has come out in the past year, how many of those songs/projects do you still listen to or expect/want to hear when you’re out? Probably not a lot. But I’m straying from my point. When ‘No Banter’  was teased I didn’t want it to sound dated as I like both artists, but equally I didn’t want it to be a track that would quickly be forgotten.

In terms of ‘No Banter’ itself I think it is a nice track – for now. I can definitely see it getting heavy rotation on radio and probably in clubs too. The track has a very smooth wave running throughout it. Wretch 32 provides a lot more singing vocals than usual, it’s a shame we didn’t get more of his patented lyricism. He was just a feature on this one so it’s understandable why he takes such a supporting role. Mercston kills the track, his ever adaptable flow and charisma shine through on the track over the bouncy production. But it still feels like it’s missing that something that will make it reach the heights it could.

And then the visuals come. With the visuals it’s a totally different track. Not only are the visuals extra icy, pun intended, they make ‘No Banter’ feel like a complete package. Moving away from typical U.K. videos and seemingly taking more cues from the likes of Migos the video really bangs. Taking a setting we don’t usually see black people in, skiing and the associated cabin environments, it was nice to see the duo and extras both embrace that culture but add their own swag to it. Hopefully this encourages more artists to think broader in terms of their video locations and taking over places we wouldn’t expect them to. They also kept the fun and enjoyable vibe in the video that perfectly pairs with the track.

This is just a taster of what Mercston has to offer this year as he’s going to be dropping his album Top Tier.