On the Rise
Demae

“I kind of feel sorry for them”, Demae says from her recording studio in London, pondering the fate of Tik Tok-signed acts. “There must be an enormous amount of pressure to deliver more. You’ve had this big hit online - what happens next? You haven't had time to develop yourself as an artist.”

Now in preparation for the release of Deliver Me, her forthcoming solo EP and second major release via FAMM, over the years, Demae’s own artistry has manifested itself through multiple projects and iterations.

Initially making her name as one part of the triumvirate Hawk House - whose album A Handshake to the Brain established a cult following when it dropped in 2014 during an era of neo-soul-inflected hip hop collectives emerging in the capital - Demae then created the solo alias Bubblerap on Soundcloud, under which she’d share covers alongside her own honey-vocalled demos.

Working away and experimenting for a few years then led her to eventually releasing her debut solo album, Life Works Out… Usually, as Demae in 2020, chronicling her journey through her mid-twenties over eight soulful, introspective tracks. Her influences, she says, can be taken from a range of different places, but her London upbringing certainly played a dominant role.

“I’ve lived in north west London my whole life, but I feel like I affiliate with London as a whole. I’ve taken things from each part of the city depending on where I was at in my life”, Demae reflects. “As I got older I began to see how vibrant my community here is. Even on the road I live on, there’s music playing 24/7, the neighbours are always out talking. That feeling of being open and sharing is definitely something I’ve taken from it”.

Growing up, her family also had pivotal roles in Demae’s musical education. “My dad put me onto a lot of music. He used to be a musician back in his day, and he’s a big hip hop head, so he introduced me to A Tribe Called Quest, J Dilla, Madlib and artists like that. He was my go-to source of good music, and he’d make mixtapes for me, which was fun”.

“My mum’s side is Nigerian”, she continues, “so we would listen to a lot of traditional Igbo music too. That’s the tribe we’re from, so it would always be playing in the house. Every weekend, we would all go to my grandparents’ house, there would be music and dancing and laughing. I think as I grew up, I recognised how these sounds definitely influenced me”.

For an artist whose music reflects these rich experiences and dips into so many different pools of sound - lucious R&B, De La Soul-reminiscent hip hop and intricate jazz - Demae certainly defies strict categorisation. Free and in a constant state of evolution, her songwriting and many of her projects develop from the foundations of spontaneous studio freestyles or attempts at fresh takes on old demos.

But in an industry so keenly focussed on genre - at least from a marketing point of view - do efforts to package her style cause creative limitations?

“I get it because sometimes in order for people to understand something, they need to categorise it”, she answers. “But it’s definitely limiting. Artists should have the freedom to make whatever they want to make, and for it not to be labelled. That’s just a part of creating, of making something new and experimenting. Maybe it’s just my opinion, but I feel like I’ve never really fit in. So I’m just like, I’m gonna make whatever makes me happy. That’s just how I roll”.

Earlier this year, Demae ventured into new territory with her unofficial Madlib mixtape, Maelib, which showcased her rap prowess while maintaining her signature soulful melodies over Madlib beats. Garnering acclaim from industry peers and BBC 1Xtra titans, the project is another example of Demae’s artistic freedom. “I think this was me just naturally revising that side of myself”, she says about Maelib, nodding back to her days dropping hip hop demos as Bubblerap. “I got a Madlib beat folder and was messing around, then it just kind of formed into its own mixtape. It wasn’t planned, I was just having fun and experimenting with ideas. I do really enjoy rapping, I dip my toe in every now and then, but I’m not trying to be a rapper.”

After four years since Life Works Out… Usually, it’s the release of Deliver Me that is Demae’s main focus. “I definitely feel like I’ve evolved”, she says. “When I listen back to my old EP now, I hear growth. There’s still elements of me there, just in a different place, I guess. And now I feel like I sound a bit braver than I did before”.

The EP’s lead singles, “Speechless” and “Go Ur Own Way”, are soulful explorations of self-discovery and independence, strongly marking the overall themes of the project. “My latest single is like a mantra that I made for myself: you’re on your own journey. Everyone’s taking their own, don’t get stuck into that trap of comparing yourself and taking yourself off the path you’re meant to be on”, she says about “Go Ur Own Way”.

Continuing to evaluate the meaning of Deliver Me, Demae shares that the collection reflects a time of overcoming pressure. “At the time [of writing], I was going through a period of not knowing where to start and having to deliver something, but also knowing I had to be free myself. I had to deliver myself from all of these boundaries and overthinking.”

Set for release on 4 September, Deliver Me will mark another successful milestone in a year that’s also seen Demae join Jorja Smith as her support on tour. Despite having such a fruitful career already, in Demae’s opinion, she’s “still a baby” in her journey. “I might be wrong”, she concludes, “but for me it’s small milestones - I try not to look too much at achievements. Pressure will ruin the whole damn thing. Just try and have as much fun as you can”.