deem spencer is getting into the flow. The 27-year-old Queens native retraces his upbringing while wading to- wards a hopeful future on his fourth album adultSW!M. On adultSW!M, deem’s pensive mood hasn’t left – it’s evolved. deem showcases his evocative bars with collaborations alongside DRAM, MAVI, Orion Sun and additional production from MICHELLE’s own Julian Kaufman, Pip & Stelios, Spenser Williams and others. An ode to finding serenity after the storm, deem’s approach to his most ambitious project yet is equally meditative.

“Love brought me to this place where I’m thinking about building something that lasts and making some- thing of myself,” said deem. “It’s started making me feel very mature in thinking about the future.” 

Hailing from the gritty section of South Jamaica, Queens, deem’s mellow rhymes have made him an outlier in New York’s rap sphere, but he reinforces that his borough was anything but safe. To protect himself and his family, deem had to find his own orbit, seeking refuge from a local church that guarded him from the streets. In high school, deem often went to church as a safe haven, which helped him fortify relationships throughout South Jamaica so he was always out of harm’s way. Strengthening his neighborhood ties and connection to God, deem’s spiritual origins would later influence adultSW!M to have baptismal textures. 

deem dives within the depths of nostalgia, reconciling with the loss of his grandfather on album single “27.” The song, which features R&B vocalist DaVionne, also contextualizes deem’s fears of the 27 Club theory, where a thread of artists including Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin have died at age 27. On the Spenser Williams-produced song, deem raps, “They be saying Heaven running out of rooms/ And they ain’t been taking legends/I gotta assume when I make it there it’s Heaven.” deem looks inward and gets candorous about his fears, allowing himself to take form through the burden of grief. 

Allowing himself moments of desolation and clarity, deem stays true to his humble Queens origins. On “To have it all,” deem accepts himself despite not fulfilling the ‘wealthy’ rapper archetype like his 2000s predecessors 50 Cent and Lil Wayne. “I ain’t even met my goal/I ain’t even get back home/I ain’t even get back here/where the fuck I started,” he ponders on the song. Aware of his responsibility as a budding artist, deem is essential to New York’s world-renowned rap scene, breaking barriers with a free-spoken delivery. 

Introspective in nature, deem’s abstract quality is both intrinsic and groundbreaking in the contemporary hip- hop landscape. Using a softer tone unlike many of his rap peers, some may consider deem’s presence ‘atypical,’ but he’s nonetheless distinguished within the genre. deem spencer may have a reserved disposition, but he gets sincere on adultSW!M, willing to meet listeners where they are.