“It starts with the gift,” says Mariah Buckles. “It starts with the gift, and then you break that gift down and give it to others.” This is the philosophy that’s driven Buckles, known fondly as Mariah The Scientist by her highly-engaged fanbase, and governed what’s already been an awe-inspiring career just a half-decade in. The singer, songwriter and visionary hails from Atlanta, GA, and began building her loyal following with a four-song EP, To Die For, released to Soundcloud in 2018. Two EPs and two studio albums later, she’s established herself as a star-to-watch on R&B’s next frontier, and she will reinforce that sentiment with the release of her highly-anticipated new album, To Be Eaten Alive, her first full-length project in over two years.

To Be Eaten Alive is a masterclass on Mariah’s inner conscience and artistry, which have been interwoven from the onset of her career. “Making music is like exploiting your trauma,” she says. Despite that challenge, the ATLien truly believes that the only way she can make music with integrity is to put her DNA into it, and traces of it are all over To Be Eaten Alive. Mariah dives headfirst into a bevy of emotionally challenging topics, whether it’s the romantic uncertainty of “Bout Mine,” or the longing of the 21 Savage-featured “77 Degrees.” In addition to the familiar depth of Mariah’s songwriting, TBEA is the most sonically versatile release of her career to this point. Kaytranada joins the party on “Out of Luck,” an enthralling change of pace that Mariah maneuvers with ease, and Young Thug makes for a seamless partner on the album’s acoustic-only closer, “Ride.” Despite her obvious growth, Mariah The Scientist has not strayed from what makes her great, and unique.

Born in Atlanta, GA in the late 1990s, Mariah The Scientist began her musical journey, whether or not she’d realized it, when she was just a child. She was exposed to a variety of musical styles and genres at an early age by her father, and her curiosity only grew from there. This made for quite the full-circle moment in 2022. “Coldplay comes [to Atlanta], someone that he was definitely playing for me as a child, and then I open for them,” Mariah recalls. In her late teenage years, she moved to NYC to study biology at St. John’s University. However, her musical curiosity would not stay quelled, and she eventually made the difficult decision to halt her scholastic pursuit to chase her dreams. To Die For gave her a reputation on campus as an artist with promise. It wasn’t long before her buzz reached further than the St. John’s student body. “I had to decide if I was or wasn’t going to re-enroll, and it was fine. We signed a million-dollar deal a year later.” Thus, the “Mariah The Scientist” we know today was born.

That deal, with RCA Records, would produce two full-length albums: 2019’s Master and 2021’s Ry Ry World, and an EP: 2022’s The Intermission. With each release, her starpower grew. Her core and loyal following became cult-like after Master, and though her profile would grow on Ry Ry World, where she collaborated with Lil Baby on “Always and Forever” (17M+ views), Mariah’s devotion to giving her fanbase her DNA with each record didn’t waver. She would be rewarded with her first taste of chart success, landing a spot on Billboard’s Bubbling Under 100 with “Spread Thin,” in 2022. A departure from RCA followed and Mariah set her sights on the second leg of her career, signing a new deal with Epic Records and preparing To Be Eaten Alive for its official release.

Mariah’s career thus far is a testament to the result of an artist’s disciplined approach to their work. Despite opportunities to leverage the streaming landscape of today, she’s remained steadfast on her mission to not cheat her fans, instead opting for concise projects that maximize her abilities rather than bloat runtimes. The industry has taken notice. A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and Youngboy Never Broke Again have tapped Mariah for her talents on recent album campaigns, and she’s played marquee festivals like Coachella and Pitchfork. In addition to new music, she’s also got her sights set on appropriate methods of improving her stock with brands. Even there, her strategy persists. “It doesn’t matter how much money they want to spend. Sometimes it’s just more about the quality than the quantity.”