Adeem (hip-hop artist)
Encyclopedia
Adam Michael Arnone, known by the stage name Adeem is an independent American
rapper
from Keene, New Hampshire
. Adeem is best known for his work in the hip-hop group Glue and for winning the Scribble Jam
Emcee Battle in 1998 and 2001.
In 1998, during a trip to Portland, ME, rapper Sole
convinced Adeem to attend Scribble Jam
to perform with his group, The Live Poets. Adeem did not intend to participate in the emcee battle that year, but his friends registered him to compete anyway. After eliminating Atmosphere’s Slug
in the final round, Adeem won the Emcee Battle—it was his first victory in an organized competition. The day after the battle, Mr. Dibbs
expanded the 1200 Hobos DJ Crew to include emcees; Adeem was invited to the crew along with Buck 65
, Sixtoo
, Slug, Dose One
, Eyedea
, Adverse
, Sole, and Alias
. Although the crew did not release any projects as a collective, Adeem claimed membership in the group for many years.
In late 1998, Adeem met Sage Francis
at an Open Mic event in Providence, RI. The two artists collaborated and played shows together for a few years afterwards. In 1999, Adeem and Sage flew to Halifax, Nova Scotia and recorded a 30 minute song with Buck 65 and Sixtoo, which became known as “The Untitled Canadian Recordings.” During this time, Adeem and Sage collaborated with Sole and Alias to produce “I’m Afraid,” which was released on Sage Francis’ “Sick of Waiting…” in 1999.
Later in 1999 Adeem and DJ MF Shalem recorded their first album, "The First Few Inches" on cassette tape. The title of the album was an inside joke; the artists did not have enough money to press a 12 inch single but thought that a tape constituted a good first step. On the A-side, Adeem freestyled while DJ MF Shalem played classic funk and rock songs. The B-side was the first collection of written songs ever released by Adeem. The album, almost exclusively produced by Shalem, was individually dubbed and all inserts were cut by hand. The album featured a guest verse by Adverse
, who joined Adeem and Shalem in 2000 to create a group called The Dorian Three. In the following years, The Dorian Three produced two albums and toured nationally.
During the summer of 2001, Adeem finished his first solo album, “Sweet Talking Your Brain.” The album was produced by the Vinyl Monkeys (MF Shalem, The Eclectic, Elektro4, Scott Matelic, Moodswing9, DJ Mayonnaise, Maker) and was self-released in the Fall of 2001. The abum was later licensed by Syntax Records in the USA and by Tri Eight Records in Japan in 2002. Tri Eight subsequently pressed a 12 inch single with the tracks “Sweet Talk,” Forgotten Habit,” and “Stargazing.”
Adeem entered the emcee battle at Scribble Jam
again in 2001. He won by defeating battle heavyweights like Sage Francis
, Blueprint
, and Mac Lethal
. At the time, nobody had ever won the emcee battle more than once in the history of the hip-hop festival. Because his longtime partner, DJ MF Shalem, was occupied as Sage Francis’ tour DJ, Adeem connected with DJ DQ
with the intent to create a touring act. At approximately this time, Maker, a producer from Them Badd Apples in Chicago, sent Adeem a collection of beats over which to rap. After successful projects with both DJ DQ and Maker, the trio decided to visit Maker in Aurora, IL to create a touring act. The group, originally called Seconds Away, ultimately became Glue.
In 2003, Adeem was chosen to compete in an emcee battle on Last Call with Carson Daly
. He finished in second place, behind Breeze Evaflowin. The final battle lasted two rounds, only one of which was aired by NBC.
In 2004, Glue released its first album, “Seconds Away” to critical success from trade publications and the blogosphere. That summer, Glue was asked to play at the Warped Tour
with a set at every show that summer. Instead of buying a seat on one of the buses like most small acts, Adeem and DJ DQ followed the tour in a Honda Civic; as a result, the vehicle became a lyrical theme in Glue’s later songs.
During the summer of 2004, Glue leveraged contacts at Fat Beats to make plans for the release of its next album, “Catch as Catch Can.” However, because of the immediate popularity of a Catch as Catch Can demo track posted to Myspace (the song “Early Morning Silence”), the group decided to release an EP between its two full-length albums. The EP, named after Maker’s basement studio, was called “Sunset Lodge,” and was finished within a month. The album was released by legendary Cincinnati label Shake It Records in December 2005.
“Catch as Catch Can” was ultimately released on September 16, 2006 to critical acclaim; almost 10,000 copies of the album were sold worldwide. Glue supported the album with three coast-to-coast tours between 2006 and 2007, playing with acts like Solillaquists of Sound, X:144 & SPS, and Hangar 18. In January 2008, MTV2
contacted featured Glue on its “On the Rise” program, highlighting the group as an innovative, new hip-hop group from Chicago. The group toured briefly in 2008 but decided to take a break before working on its next album.
In late 2008, Adeem began working on a new two-album solo project. Conceptually, Adeem intended the first album, “The Volume in the Ground,” to feature a gravedigger who could hear the stories of the dead and the second, “The Bandit Hymn Project,” to revolve around a motorcycle gang of ghosts.
“The Volume in the Ground,” released in May 2011, featured collaboration with DJ MF Shalem, Maker, Chadeo, and Nobs; each artist brought a unique style to the project. Adeem recorded vocals in Orlando, FL with Solillaquists of Sound members Swamburger and Alexandrah. Weeks after he returned to NH, he was given a new beat from Chadeo and decided to do one last song for the album. He contacted Ben Rogers to record at Loud Sun Studios in New Hampshire. After recording what ended up being “Thirty One Songs,” Adeem decided he liked the sound so much that he would re-do the entire album in that studio; he re-recorded every song on the same microphone that he used for “Thirty One Songs,” using what he discovered in Orlando. Before finalizing the album, Adeem collaborated with violinist Bjorn DelaCruz, singer Kaleigh Baker, bassist Eric Gagne, DJ DQ, and vocalist Sean Hurley all of whom became a critical to the album’s sound. Rogers engineered the recording of every song on the album, opening up a new sound in Adeem by using an empty warehouse as a natural echo chamber. In total 20 people added their talents to the album. Adeem mixed and mastered the album with Tobe Donohue (animal crackers, Bootsy Collins engineer) for 2 weeks in Cincinnati. The album was released, DIY, on Winners Never Sleep Records.
In early 2011, Adeem and DJ MF Shalem began working on a follow-up to their 2001 album. A temporary return to Adeem’s braggadocio style from the mid-2000s, the sample-free album, “Made in New Hampshire” will be released in October 2011.
Adeem currently lives in Keene, NH with his wife and daughter.
Adeem & Shalem
The Dorian Three
Glue
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rapper
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
from Keene, New Hampshire
Keene, New Hampshire
Keene is a city in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 23,409 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Cheshire County.Keene is home to Keene State College and Antioch University New England, and hosts the annual Pumpkin Fest...
. Adeem is best known for his work in the hip-hop group Glue and for winning the Scribble Jam
Scribble Jam
Scribble Jam was an annual hip hop music festival hosted in Cincinnati, Ohio. Dubbed "America's largest hip hop festival", it was co-founded in 1996 by "Fat" Nick Accurso, and Jason Brunson, founders of graffiti magazine Scribble, and DJ Mr Dibbs, in the parking lot of a local nightclub...
Emcee Battle in 1998 and 2001.
Extended Biography
Adeem began rapping at age 15, when he started a group called Mellow Minds with a pair of local rappers in Keene, NH. The group appeared on Keene State College Radio from 1994–1996, where Adeem began to freestyle. In 1996, Adeem met DJ MF Shalem, and the two began working on routines and choreographing a live set.In 1998, during a trip to Portland, ME, rapper Sole
Sole (artist)
Tim Holland, known as Sole, is an alternative hip hop artist and a co-founder of the Anticon collective/label. Sole is known for his dense and often dark stream-of-consciousness style of rapping. His verses are often filled with abstraction, metaphor and sarcasm while avoiding or deconstructing...
convinced Adeem to attend Scribble Jam
Scribble Jam
Scribble Jam was an annual hip hop music festival hosted in Cincinnati, Ohio. Dubbed "America's largest hip hop festival", it was co-founded in 1996 by "Fat" Nick Accurso, and Jason Brunson, founders of graffiti magazine Scribble, and DJ Mr Dibbs, in the parking lot of a local nightclub...
to perform with his group, The Live Poets. Adeem did not intend to participate in the emcee battle that year, but his friends registered him to compete anyway. After eliminating Atmosphere’s Slug
Slug (rapper)
Sean Michael Daley, better known by his stage name Slug or "'Sep Seven'", is an American rapper. He is from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Slug is best known as one fourth of the hip hop group Atmosphere, which he founded with Derek Turner...
in the final round, Adeem won the Emcee Battle—it was his first victory in an organized competition. The day after the battle, Mr. Dibbs
Mr. Dibbs
__notoc__Brad Forste, better known as Mr. Dibbs, is a DJ and hip hop producer. The founder of the turntablist collective 1200 Hobos, he has also appeared on numerous underground hip hop records as producer or DJ as well as releasing a number of solo works.Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Forste was...
expanded the 1200 Hobos DJ Crew to include emcees; Adeem was invited to the crew along with Buck 65
Buck 65
Richard Terfry , who uses the stage name Buck 65, is a Canadian experimental artist, MC and turntablist. Underpinned by an extensive background in abstract hip hop, his more recent music has extensively incorporated blues, country, rock, folk and avant garde influences.Terfry is also a radio host,...
, Sixtoo
Sixtoo
Sixtoo was the main project of a Canadian hip hop DJ, MC and producer Vaughn Robert Squire between 1996-2007. He has since retired the Sixtoo name pursuing other directions in electronic music, with a large genre shift from experimental hip hop to deeper club sounds of various temposSquire rose to...
, Slug, Dose One
Doseone
Adam Drucker, better known as Doseone , is an American MC, artist, and poet from Idaho. Dose is known for his nasal, high pitched, fast polyrhythmic rapping style and abstract lyrics. He often simultaneously performs synth, sampler, or keyboard on stage. His words tend to express upon topics of...
, Eyedea
Eyedea
Micheal Larsen , known by his stage name Eyedea, was a well-known freestyle battle champion and underground rapper. His notable wins included the televised Blaze Battle sponsored by HBO and a victory at Scribble Jam...
, Adverse
Adverse (Hip hop artist)
Adverse is an American hip hop artist known for his intellectually challenging lyrics and complex rhyme-schemes, syllabic placement and on-stage antics. A former debate-champion, his music is often informed and witty...
, Sole, and Alias
Alias (artist)
Brendon Whitney, known as Alias, is an abstract hip hop musician and producer. He is mainly affiliated with the anticon. label/collective.-Biography:...
. Although the crew did not release any projects as a collective, Adeem claimed membership in the group for many years.
In late 1998, Adeem met Sage Francis
Sage Francis
Paul "Sage" Francis is a hip-hop artist from Providence, Rhode Island.-Biography:Born Paul Francis in Miami, Florida, Sage Francis is a rapper/writer/performer from Providence, Rhode Island. He is the founder and CEO of the independent hip-hop record label Strange Famous Records...
at an Open Mic event in Providence, RI. The two artists collaborated and played shows together for a few years afterwards. In 1999, Adeem and Sage flew to Halifax, Nova Scotia and recorded a 30 minute song with Buck 65 and Sixtoo, which became known as “The Untitled Canadian Recordings.” During this time, Adeem and Sage collaborated with Sole and Alias to produce “I’m Afraid,” which was released on Sage Francis’ “Sick of Waiting…” in 1999.
Later in 1999 Adeem and DJ MF Shalem recorded their first album, "The First Few Inches" on cassette tape. The title of the album was an inside joke; the artists did not have enough money to press a 12 inch single but thought that a tape constituted a good first step. On the A-side, Adeem freestyled while DJ MF Shalem played classic funk and rock songs. The B-side was the first collection of written songs ever released by Adeem. The album, almost exclusively produced by Shalem, was individually dubbed and all inserts were cut by hand. The album featured a guest verse by Adverse
Adverse (Hip hop artist)
Adverse is an American hip hop artist known for his intellectually challenging lyrics and complex rhyme-schemes, syllabic placement and on-stage antics. A former debate-champion, his music is often informed and witty...
, who joined Adeem and Shalem in 2000 to create a group called The Dorian Three. In the following years, The Dorian Three produced two albums and toured nationally.
During the summer of 2001, Adeem finished his first solo album, “Sweet Talking Your Brain.” The album was produced by the Vinyl Monkeys (MF Shalem, The Eclectic, Elektro4, Scott Matelic, Moodswing9, DJ Mayonnaise, Maker) and was self-released in the Fall of 2001. The abum was later licensed by Syntax Records in the USA and by Tri Eight Records in Japan in 2002. Tri Eight subsequently pressed a 12 inch single with the tracks “Sweet Talk,” Forgotten Habit,” and “Stargazing.”
Adeem entered the emcee battle at Scribble Jam
Scribble Jam
Scribble Jam was an annual hip hop music festival hosted in Cincinnati, Ohio. Dubbed "America's largest hip hop festival", it was co-founded in 1996 by "Fat" Nick Accurso, and Jason Brunson, founders of graffiti magazine Scribble, and DJ Mr Dibbs, in the parking lot of a local nightclub...
again in 2001. He won by defeating battle heavyweights like Sage Francis
Sage Francis
Paul "Sage" Francis is a hip-hop artist from Providence, Rhode Island.-Biography:Born Paul Francis in Miami, Florida, Sage Francis is a rapper/writer/performer from Providence, Rhode Island. He is the founder and CEO of the independent hip-hop record label Strange Famous Records...
, Blueprint
Blueprint (rapper)
Blueprint is an American rapper and hip hop producer from Columbus, Ohio. He is the founder and owner of Weightless Recordings and is also signed to Rhymesayers Entertainment...
, and Mac Lethal
Mac Lethal
Mac Lethal is a rapper from Kansas City, MO of Irish descent.-Biography:Mac Lethal was born David McCleary Sheldon on July 25, 1981....
. At the time, nobody had ever won the emcee battle more than once in the history of the hip-hop festival. Because his longtime partner, DJ MF Shalem, was occupied as Sage Francis’ tour DJ, Adeem connected with DJ DQ
The Animal Crackers (band)
The Animal Crackers are a group of DJs, MCs and producers based out of Cincinnati, Ohio.-Biography:The group, originally just DJs, formed in the early nineties. The founding members of The Animal Crackers are Casual T , King SMO , and The Cincinnati Kid . As DJs, they first began in 1995 by...
with the intent to create a touring act. At approximately this time, Maker, a producer from Them Badd Apples in Chicago, sent Adeem a collection of beats over which to rap. After successful projects with both DJ DQ and Maker, the trio decided to visit Maker in Aurora, IL to create a touring act. The group, originally called Seconds Away, ultimately became Glue.
In 2003, Adeem was chosen to compete in an emcee battle on Last Call with Carson Daly
Last Call with Carson Daly
Last Call with Carson Daly is an American late night talk show that is broadcast on NBC. The show is hosted by Carson Daly, the half-hour show featuring celebrity interviews, documentary-style coverage of a topic, and musical performances. Last Call airs weeknights at 1:35 a.m. Eastern / 12:35 a.m....
. He finished in second place, behind Breeze Evaflowin. The final battle lasted two rounds, only one of which was aired by NBC.
In 2004, Glue released its first album, “Seconds Away” to critical success from trade publications and the blogosphere. That summer, Glue was asked to play at the Warped Tour
Warped Tour
The Warped Tour is a touring music and extreme sports festival. The tour is held in venues such as parking lots or fields upon which the stages and other structures are erected. The BMX/skateboarding shoe manufacturer Vans, among others, has sponsored the tour every year since 1995, and it is...
with a set at every show that summer. Instead of buying a seat on one of the buses like most small acts, Adeem and DJ DQ followed the tour in a Honda Civic; as a result, the vehicle became a lyrical theme in Glue’s later songs.
During the summer of 2004, Glue leveraged contacts at Fat Beats to make plans for the release of its next album, “Catch as Catch Can.” However, because of the immediate popularity of a Catch as Catch Can demo track posted to Myspace (the song “Early Morning Silence”), the group decided to release an EP between its two full-length albums. The EP, named after Maker’s basement studio, was called “Sunset Lodge,” and was finished within a month. The album was released by legendary Cincinnati label Shake It Records in December 2005.
“Catch as Catch Can” was ultimately released on September 16, 2006 to critical acclaim; almost 10,000 copies of the album were sold worldwide. Glue supported the album with three coast-to-coast tours between 2006 and 2007, playing with acts like Solillaquists of Sound, X:144 & SPS, and Hangar 18. In January 2008, MTV2
MTV2
MTV2 is a cable network that is widely available in the United States on digital cable and satellite television, and is progressively being added to analogue cable lineups across the nation...
contacted featured Glue on its “On the Rise” program, highlighting the group as an innovative, new hip-hop group from Chicago. The group toured briefly in 2008 but decided to take a break before working on its next album.
In late 2008, Adeem began working on a new two-album solo project. Conceptually, Adeem intended the first album, “The Volume in the Ground,” to feature a gravedigger who could hear the stories of the dead and the second, “The Bandit Hymn Project,” to revolve around a motorcycle gang of ghosts.
“The Volume in the Ground,” released in May 2011, featured collaboration with DJ MF Shalem, Maker, Chadeo, and Nobs; each artist brought a unique style to the project. Adeem recorded vocals in Orlando, FL with Solillaquists of Sound members Swamburger and Alexandrah. Weeks after he returned to NH, he was given a new beat from Chadeo and decided to do one last song for the album. He contacted Ben Rogers to record at Loud Sun Studios in New Hampshire. After recording what ended up being “Thirty One Songs,” Adeem decided he liked the sound so much that he would re-do the entire album in that studio; he re-recorded every song on the same microphone that he used for “Thirty One Songs,” using what he discovered in Orlando. Before finalizing the album, Adeem collaborated with violinist Bjorn DelaCruz, singer Kaleigh Baker, bassist Eric Gagne, DJ DQ, and vocalist Sean Hurley all of whom became a critical to the album’s sound. Rogers engineered the recording of every song on the album, opening up a new sound in Adeem by using an empty warehouse as a natural echo chamber. In total 20 people added their talents to the album. Adeem mixed and mastered the album with Tobe Donohue (animal crackers, Bootsy Collins engineer) for 2 weeks in Cincinnati. The album was released, DIY, on Winners Never Sleep Records.
In early 2011, Adeem and DJ MF Shalem began working on a follow-up to their 2001 album. A temporary return to Adeem’s braggadocio style from the mid-2000s, the sample-free album, “Made in New Hampshire” will be released in October 2011.
Adeem currently lives in Keene, NH with his wife and daughter.
Discography
Adeem- Sweet Talking Your Brain (Syntax/Tri-Eight Records 2002)
- The Volume in the Ground (Winners Never Sleep Records 2011)
Adeem & Shalem
- The First Few Inches (Childproof Records 1999)
- Transitions (Shake It Records 2004)
- Made in New Hampshire (Childproof Records 2011)
The Dorian Three
- The Dorian Three (Childproof Records 2000)
- Down World, Up Songs (Childproof Records 2004)
Glue
- Seconds Away (Ramona Records 2003)
- Sunset Lodge (Shake It Records 2005)
- Catch as Catch Can (Fat Beats Records 2006)