demahjiae Wrote 'YAE' on a Lake Merritt Bench. The East Oakland, California Rapper's EMPIRE Album Is About Home

East Oakland, California rapper-producer demahjiae wrote most of his new album, YAE, on a wooden park bench facing the western corner of Lake Merritt, KQED reported. The 11-song project arrived Aug. 27, 2026, and Apple Music lists EMPIRE as the label, with a "℗ 2026 YALÉ / EMPIRE" line.

The album is about home. Journalist Sarah O'Neal, who interviewed him in late August for a KQED profile, wrote on her Substack that their talk "surfaced a lot around being Black in Oakland in the aftermath of violent gentrification and displacement."

From 72nd and Lacey

demahjiae was born and raised in East Oakland and grew up at 72nd and Lacey avenues. "None of my family lives there anymore," he told KQED. "They're all kicked out."

Growing up, he gravitated toward a more traditional East Coast hip-hop sound to set himself apart from hyphy, though the sounds of Too Short and D-Lo still reached him on the way to school or at Lake Merritt, per KQED.

Family runs through the music. He told KQED that one of his closest cousins has been incarcerated since he was in fifth grade, and that he speaks about him often in his songs. He also said his brother's father was murdered in Oakland in 2004 or 2005.

East Oakland on the guest list

The features stay local. Apple Music credits 1100 Himself on "hardheaded" and ALLBLACK on "brotherly advice," and KQED notes both rappers are from East Oakland. demahjiae met 1100 Himself through the music program at the Boys and Girls Club in Oakland, where he got his start as a young producer.

He met ALLBLACK at EMPIRE's studio in San Francisco, and ALLBLACK finished his verse in less than 30 minutes. "He's really genuine," demahjiae told KQED.

Almost a decade in

KQED reports he has been releasing music for almost a decade, starting with his 2018 project Ghetto Blessings, and has earned praise from Pitchfork and The Fader. NTS lists his 2020 track "Why The Stars Won't Reach Us," first played that November on Subject To Change w/ Timmhotep.

That song appears on And, Such Is Life., which Album of the Year lists as an Aug. 17, 2020 release on do more. and novelty. EveryDejaVu's Reece Beckett called the self-produced album "a perfect showcase of his talents as both rapper and producer" and named "Always and Forever," with Navy Blue, its strongest feature. Pink Siifu and Zeroh also appear.

Apple Music shows a steady run since, including "1178" featuring Elujay in 2023, "TED TALK" featuring Ovrkast. in 2024 and the 2025 album what do you hear when you pray? In 2024, Beckett reviewed Jesus Take the Wheel, a three-track release he said moves between rapping and soulful singing.

Where to listen and follow

Stream YAE on Apple Music and browse his catalog on his Apple Music artist page.

Sources

KQED — "Demahjiae Raps About the Love and Heartbreak of Calling Oakland Home"
Apple Music — "YAE - Album by demahjiae"
Apple Music — "demahjiae on Apple Music"
Sarah O'Neal (Substack) — "moving towards something more honest"
EveryDejaVu — "Demahjiae bares his soul on his beautiful, abstract rap album “And, Such is Life.”"
EveryDejaVu — "Demahjiae delivers a trio of mellow rap tracks with ‘Jesus Take the Wheel’"
Album of the Year — "demahjiae - And, Such Is Life."
NTS — "demahjiae"