WALLACE CLEAVER

Wallace Cleaver

MERCI
“Merci” is the final word Wallace utters as he crushes his last cigarette in the ashtray. This 11-track LP sees the artist’s themes stronger than ever—emotional contradictions, where one ends a relationship only to later romanticize it. Wallace digests opposing influences and spits them back out: past and future intertwine, urban and rural worlds collide, all within a heart overwhelmed by its own emotions.

Merci is an intimate and personal piece, created within a close-knit circle. Wallace is once again supported by his longtime collaborator PR, who has co-composed his last three projects. Their friendship gives rise to authentic music, shifting between raw French rap (“Le Bus”), pop songwriting (“Plafond”), and spoken word that opens and closes the album—allowing the artist to express himself with stripped-back delivery.

The cover (designed by the artist’s sister) features five cigarettes, representing the five letters of the album title, each one a stage in a relationship destined to fail—but still worth narrating, for the journey it represents.