shemar
“shemar has already been that for a few years, but the New York rapper-producer’s latest, the sticky industrial-rap splendor that is Emerge “n” See, splays itself and refuses to move, like a cat laid out on the couch. “
shemar is a Brooklyn-born rapper and producer creating experimental rap music that blends poetry with abrasive, raw soundscapes. Their approach to writing treats language as something limitless, influenced by the Black Arts Movement and adjacent poets like Amiri Baraka, Henry Dumas, and Lucille Clifton. Their debut album in 2023, obtuse ways to say that i love you, introduced a voice comfortable in density and discomfort, with the track “vestige” later featured on Pitchfork Selects. Their 2025 album emerge “n” see further solidified their place in the underground, sharpening a confessional and commanding style, and earning year-end recognition from listeners and peers, including Dylan Green naming it among their favorites of the year for Hearing Things.
shemar has performed extensively across New York City, including Dunce + NAHreally’s Another Rap Show series, FreeMusicEmpire’s NYC showcase alongside August Fanon, SKECH185, and Nappy Nina, and has opened for Premrock. They’ve made appearances on platforms such as Rap Music Plug Podcast, FreeMusicEmpire, Reel Notes, and The Next Movement. In 2024, they released the EP sunscreen with producer Child Actor, a project defined by vulnerable writing paired with fluid, intricately layered production. In addition to their solo rap work, shemar is an active collaborator and producer, with forthcoming projects from Big Flowers, and Black Karma.
Across their catalog, shemar treats each project as a document of its current moment, allowing vulnerability to be shown through hard-earned lyricism. Working most comfortably with densely layered production that balances harsh textures and maximized warmth, they continue to carve out a singular, intentional sound within underground hip-hop.
A meeting of two prolific, creative minds- sunscreen‘s graceful, warm sound is shaped by shemar’s emotive, autobiographical rhymes and the detailed sampling production of Child Actor.
On emerge “n” see, shemar hollers himself hoarse, sounding like post-crash D.O.C., larynx dislodged but lovely.
