Dessa breaks the code of homophobic hip-hop
The world of hip-hop is not often perceived as gay-friendly, but a growing community of MC’s are beginning to change that with rhymes and beats that speak to a different, more inclusive tradition. Minneapolis-based poet, artist and MC Margret Wander, better known as Dessa, is part of that new breed of hip-hop.
Performing as part of the Doomtree collective of artists, Dessa has earned a reputation for her intelligent and intimate storytelling, a well-crafted skill on display in A Badly Broken Code, her second studio album released earlier this year. Her lyrics are reflective, always filled to the brim with effervescent hope seen through a lens of healthy cynicism.
And, of course, there’s some grit delivered rapid fire. As Dessa sings, with an appropriately autobiographic nod on "The Bullpen" - one of many album stand-outs: "Forget the bull in the chinashop / There’s a china doll in the bullpen / Walk with a switch, fire in your fist / Biting at the bit, swinging every pitch / Coach, put me in."
If hip-hop’s a man’s world, no one’s told Dessa. Her music stands apart from the crowd for its brave honesty and artful construction, satisfying hip-hop aficionados and newcomers - this writer included - alike. Dessa checked in with EDGE just before heading into Chicago for a show with POS and more artists from the Doomtree crew at the Bottom Lounge Thursday, March 18.
On the road
EDGE: Hello Dessa! How is life on the road treating you? It must be great traveling with your full crew.
Dessa: It is really great, we’re traveling in a van with all seven musicians, which is sort of unusual for a tour. But most of us are friends and those who weren’t before have become friends. It’s been really cool both socially and professionally. The rooms have been full by and large. P.O.S. did a great job in 2009 of building a foundation of an audience, and was on the road for 239 days in 2009. We’re benefiting from his hard work before this tour.
EDGE: And you also recently released your latest album - A Badly Broken Code. It must be bittersweet to send something so personal out into the world so to speak, but you have been getting some great press, including a mention from NPR.
D: I think I worked on this project for so long that there was a lot of time to doubt and re-doubt the content on it, so it did feel really good to release it and have it be so well-received. That particular review from NPR meant a great deal to me. I’m a listener so it was great to reach that audience. I’m a relatively newcomer in a lot of ways, and that review helped, the next day there was an appreciable difference. The calls and sales were different.
EDGE: I must admit I haven’t followed much hip-hop music, but your album stands apart from anything I’ve heard recently. The NPR piece specifically mentioned a Joni Mitchell vibe, and I sense an Ani DiFranco, folk-like lyrical style that’s really unique when paired with its more urban structure. What do you think of those comparisons?
D: I think initially when I heard those genre comparisons, being compared to artists outside of the hip-hop genre, years ago I was a bit apprehensive. It’s been hard to be taken seriously by hip-hop artists. Hip-hop is a genre where "That’s not hip-hop" is an accusation and that doesn’t happen as much in folk or country! Now, I think I’m less concerned about making a particular genre than I am about making the best music I can - that’s hard enough. It’s very challenging to make good music for me and there’s a lot of songs and ideas that don’t make it, lines I really like but can’t find a place for, and I get frustrated by those ideas that have legs but that I can’t deliver. So, it’s more than enough of a challenge to create great art than to figure out its category.
I do like folk, so I guess it’s not that surprising at the end of the day that some of the sound shares that. Joan Baez was one of the first concerts I went to as a little girl, and Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley and Gillian Welch were great lyrical inspirations. The voice that I have also is part of it. If my voice was a different instrument, say if I had a raspy voice, it’d be something else entirely, but I think my vocal chords carry a little bit of that [folk] sound.
Story continues on following page.
Watch Dessa’s video of "Dixon’s Girl":
