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<\/p>\nOn his new album \u2018YAE,\u2019 the East Oakland lyricist grapples with belonging in the wake of gentrification.<\/p>\n
Oct 2, 2026<\/p>\n
Updated 10:30 am PT<\/p>\n
Sarah O\u2019Neal<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Hip-hop artist and producer demahjiae in Oakland on Aug. 28, 2026.\u00a0(Beth LaBerge\/KQED)<\/p>\n
\u201cThe transfer of power is never peaceful,\u201d demahjiae<\/a> proclaims on \u201cyou\u2019re not bigger than the program,\u201d the third track on his latest album, YAE. The simple, direct verse synthesizes the power struggles demahjiae grapples with throughout the project as he tries to define himself, and his hometown, on his own terms.<\/p>\n The Oakland rapper-producer has been releasing music for almost a decade, starting with his 2018 project Ghetto Blessings. Since then, he\u2019s earned praise for his skill and grit from Pitchfork<\/a> and The Fader<\/a>, and signed with EMPIRE.<\/p>\n On YAE, demahjiae\u2019s wordplay melds together like colorful shards on a stained glass window: \u201cDamn cousin \/ there\u2019s way too many fish out here, you not \/ play this for your granny and sit closely \/ guarantee there\u2019s no other words that are shared other than a soft whisper,\u201d he raps. Each bar leaps into the next, leaving listeners leaning in to catch his unpredictable flow. demahjiae invites you to wander with him.\u00a0<\/p>\n As hyphy-era classics like E-40\u2019s \u201cTell Me When To Go\u201d and Too Short\u2019s \u201cBlow the Whistle\u201d reach their 20th anniversaries, fans and artists are having overdue conversations on the impact of race and power in hip-hop. While aspects of Black Bay Area culture have crossed over into the mainstream, the communities that created the music still bear the burden of systemic violence. Who gets criminalized for creating culture, and who gets to experience it at a distance, free of consequences?<\/p>\n demahjiae vulnerably expresses the weight of this contradiction on tracks like \u201cTHE WORLD IS YOURS!!!\u201d \u201cI connect that to the project through the pain we\u2019ve all endured, knowing or knowing of somebody who\u2019s lost somebody, or a cousin that went through something crazy on a night out, or somebody who lost their father,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n YAE features two renowned Oakland rappers, 1100 Himself<\/a> and ALLBLACK<\/a>, who also hail from the East. Both are known for their distinct flows and self-made paths, which they offer on \u201chardheaded\u201d and \u201cbrotherly advice,\u201d two anchors of the project.<\/p>\n 1100 Himself and demahjiae are old collaborators who met through the music program at the Boys and Girls Club in Oakland, where demahjiae got his start as a young producer. The feature from ALLBLACK was more fated, a manifestation of the faith demahjiae raps about on \u201cWishlist I.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The two of them crossed paths one day while making music at EMPIRE\u2019s studio in San Francisco. demahjiae remembers feeling unsure of what to play for the local legend, hesitant that his soulful beats with string crescendos and dramatic turns wouldn\u2019t resonate. To his surprise, ALLBLACK was juiced. Lending his raspy voice to embody \u201cbrotherly advice,\u201d ALLBLACK finished his verse in less than 30 minutes.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s really genuine,\u201d demahjiae says. \u201cHe reminds me of a cousin of mine, you know?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n demahjiae wrote the bulk of YAE\u00a0 while sitting on a wooden park bench facing the western corner of Lake Merritt. He points it out during our conversation. The sun starts to set and the buildings that frame downtown cast long shadows over the lake. Nearby, a group gathers, wearing black costumes and carrying flame throwers. All of them are white, and they don\u2019t acknowledge either of us. As their group expands, and their music drowns out our conversation, we decide to relocate in the middle of our discussion about the impact of gentrification and displacement.\u00a0<\/p>\n The irony was not lost on demahjiae: \u201cDo you see what I mean? Let me and my niggas pull up fifteen deep, wearing all black with flame throwers. What?! We\u2019re going to jail.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s a familiar sort of experience for many who grew up in Oakland. demahjiae recalls going to a view point to watch fireworks this past Fourth of July. The spot used to be empty, but that\u2019s changed, too. Hundreds of people sat watching the culture from a distance. He overheard someone in a giddy tone say the fireworks sounded like gunshots. \u201cNo police ever harass them, or drive by, or flashlights, or anything,\u201d demahjiae observes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n He couldn\u2019t help but think about how different things were when he was growing up on 72nd and Lacey Avenues. \u201cNone of my family lives there anymore,\u201d he laments. \u201cThey\u2019re all kicked out. My whole family used to be outside on that block lighting fireworks for hours. Makes me hella sad.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n To counter that dynamic, demahjiae creates a sonic world that is strictly for the people who love and live in the context that shaped him. YAE reflects that desire to be understood without having to translate yourself or your experience. \u201cThat\u2019s what I remember Oakland being\u2026 People who also care and know your hurts, or have been through some of the same things that you have been through. I search for that.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/260828-DemahjiaeProfile-05-BL-KQED.jpg\")
Hip-hop artist and producer demahjiae in Oakland on Aug. 28, 2026.\u00a0(Beth LaBerge\/KQED)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/260828-DemahjiaeProfile-09-BL-KQED.jpg\")
Hip-hop artist and producer demahjiae near Lake Merritt in Oakland on Aug. 28, 2026.\u00a0(Beth LaBerge\/KQED)<\/p>\n