Independent questioning minds link up to bring you the "Merfolk Space Program", a brief but sturdy half-hour mission statement entirely produced by Axiom Tha Wyze. The project combines boom-bap grit and cinematic touches with themes of survival, vision and building from nothing while refusing to chase cheap trends.
From the downbeat of the first drum, “Merfolk Space Program” makes clear that it’s an intentional mission. The opener resembles the airlock hiss just before liftoff, conveying a grim, purposeful, and quietly awestruck feeling. Axiom's production strikes a balance between crisp percussion, atmospheric synths, and tasteful scratches, which provide the record with warmth and forward momentum. Andy O’s voice is cached in the pocket: authoritative, muscular and human, bars that value clarity over ornament. Partial to small production flourishes and vocal ad-libs, they’re treats that keep on giving: the new texture is always different. It’s a mood that suggests the album is a work designed to be excavated, not merely skimmed.
“State of EMRGNC” starts with a sirenish urgency and a crafty, persistent boom-bap throughline. The track feels like a call to arms (drums snap beneath a layered sample that gives the song something of a cinematic sweep). Andy O steps to the mic with an officer’s authority, while Axiom leaves space for scratches and vocal stabs, and his tone is armour-piercing. As mission statements go, it’s brief and untrammelled, a lead that firmly suggests the duo are not here for clicks but to lay claim. The energy is immediately a positive indicator of the kind of focus that awaits for the rest of the album.
“Glyph” slows the pace to a darker, meditative setting where craft hunger meets industry chill. Axiom cloaks the beat throughout with minor-key textures and low-key, unsettling effects so that you feel as though you are decoding an artefact. The cadence of Andy O is measured and ponderous, as lines fall with chiselled symbols, sharp and sonorous. On this cut, the pair let on to their more reflective side: ambition met with cynicism, artistry pitted against commerce. It’s introspective without becoming defeatist, and it adds thematic weight to the record.
“Don’t Step” is the album’s competitive spark, a lean and assured flex that falls into hip hop’s combative lineage without ringing hollow. The drums are tight, the vocal delivery is pointed, and Andy O's wordplay occupies an avenue of smouldering menace and craftsmanship. This track brings a spine and momentum to the set, a reminder that technical skill still counts. In context, it serves as a burst of adrenaline, crisp and memorable, designed to elicit a nod and a jot from listeners.
“Mud” roots the project in work and weathered truth, a slow-burn story about beginning with grime and scratching toward light. Axiom layers organic textures and distant horns on top to make the beat feel lived-in; its production breathes like a room with history. Throughout, Andy O softens in spots, and vulnerability and detail make themselves felt through the grit. The storytelling here is intimate and specific, with the verses sketching a modestly proportioned yet convincingly inhabited world filled with difficulty and resistance. As a human centerpiece, it gives the cosmic metaphors on the album something to orbit around that's real.
“Merfolk Space Program” ends not so much like a touchdown as the start of a new orbit, a concise, confident statement suggesting larger missions to come. Across these six spotlighted moments, the pair demonstrate their ability to blend classic hip-hop DNA with forward-facing ambition, creating songs that snap, reflect, spar, and settle into honest storytelling. It’s a slick transmission, short and promising. Pay attention because ambition is stitched into every bar, and patience will be rewarded. The artwork and production fit the music, and for those on the hunt for lyric-first records crammed with hazy cinematic earworms, Andy O and Axiom Tha Wyze make this little space mission patch worth wearing.