PHOTO | CAREY J. KING

MercuryCarter performed at the Mint Museum Uptown in December, his inaugural show as the headliner in Charlotte.

Music came first for MercuryCarter.

Carter is an artist with a 3.5 octave range. He is also a native of Charlotte who attended Northwest School of the Arts, West Mecklenburg and Hopewell high schools before he became known as MercuryCarter. During those days, he went by his given name Kevin Carter and later KevinVain for his fashion line at age 16. Yet the fashion protégé, whose work appeared in museums, local shows and a solo showing at the Mint Museum returned to what made his soul sing.

“Music definitely came before anything I tried to pursue creatively,” Carter said.

Carter remembers his parents, Kevin Carter Sr. and Angelia Carter, having a strong desire for him to attend an arts school. He recalls going specifically for piano, drama and chorus, studying under teachers like Tony-award winner Corey Mitchell.

“That was my first experience in trying to cultivate my gift, but I’ve been exposed to good music in my household ever since I was born by way of my parents,” Carter said.

Carter left NWSA to attend traditional high schools. The change in scenery induced a sense of cabin fever.

“I dropped or forgot all of the things I learned for piano, and it all concentrated and transferred to my voice,” he said.

While Carter loves a stylish outfit for his performances, he ultimately found the fashion industry draining and unfulfilling.

“At the end of the day [material things] don’t run or stipulate the happiness or success of my life,” Carter said. “I saw how the people within that industry treat fashion and treat designers and models and even so much as seamstresses, and it was very taboo. It was kind of like ‘Twilight Zone,’ and I came to the conclusion that was not something I was interested in being involved with. Not to mention the physical strain of being hunched over a sewing machine for hours on end takes on your body alone was enough to make me not want to do it.”

Fashion became just a job, rather than something that met his creative needs. It led to a year of feeling out of place as a creative.

“I felt the pressures of pre-adulthood where you feel the need to immediately start working to be able to make a name for yourself, because for some reason, individuals my age think there’s a ticking clock as soon as you hit 20 years old,” Carter said.

Yet music welcomed him back with open arms. He began writing and experimenting as a singer. He chose MercuryCarter as his stage name based on his Zodiac sign—Virgo, as well as its symbolic meaning.

“Mercury is the planet that revolves around my horoscope, and Mercury is also the messenger,” Carter said. “It’s kind of a play on words. I was always told I sound like an angel when I was singing, or I made people emotional and gave them an experience of an ethereal quality.”

Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Carter still has a song lingering in the back of his throat, even while he’s at his day job verifying insurance at a medical center. He continues to make doing what he loves a priority to cope with the confines of the pandemic.

“The main thing right now is gardening,” Carter said. “I’m also using that as a way to release, since we’re not able to have a show right now.”

Carter performed at the Mint Museum Uptown in December, his inaugural show as the headliner in his hometown. It marked a bucket list venue for him. He also performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland in 2018. He has his eyes set on venues like Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Opera House, Sydney Opera House and Royal Albert Hall.

Comments