| Dessa | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Margret Wander |
| Origin | Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Labels | Doomtree |
| Associated acts | Doomtree, P.O.S, Medida, Boy Sopranos |
| Website | Dessa at Facebook, Doomtree Page |
Dessa (also known as Dessa Darling, born Margret Wander[1]) is a spoken word artist, author, and MC from Minneapolis, MN. She is best known as a member of the Doomtree Hip-Hop Collective.
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She went to Southwest High School. She attended the University of Minnesota, where she earned a B.A. in Philosophy.[2] Before becoming an artist full-time, Dessa was a technical writer for a medical manufacturer.[3]
Dessa started out writing spoken-word poetry. A friend eventually convinced her to join the Minnesota slam poetry team. Her poetry was brought to the attention of MC Yoni, with whom she would go on to form the group Medida (along with Omaur Bliss, and producer Ronin), her first foray into hip-hop. Yoni would be instrumental in shaping her understanding of hip-hop history, and later on would also be the first to introduce Dessa to the music of the Doomtree collective, who unbeknownst to her lived in the house next door.
Initially drawn to their raw aesthetics and unique sound, she forged a friendship with the crew. Soon after, she started dating P.O.S; and though they eventually ended their relationship, she was asked nonetheless to join the collective, and did so. Her False Hopes EP was released in 2005, which despite being only 15 minutes long was still listed as one of the top local albums of the year by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Between 2005 and 2008, Dessa has appeared on numerous Doomtree albums, as a guest to the other emcees' solo work, as well as on the full-crew releases.
In the meantime, she completed and released a book of creative non-fiction titled "Spiral Bound" at the 4th annual Doomtree Blowout.[4]
Her solo full length LP, A Badly Broken Code, was released January 19, 2010. The first singles from this album are "Dixon's Girl" and "The Chaconne." A Badly Broken Code displays Dessa's talents as a singer, rapper, and lyricist within the fifteen tracks, and features production from Paper Tiger, Lazerbeak, Cecil Otter, MK Larada, and Big Jess. The album art for A Badly Broken Code was designed by Doomtree’s MK Larada.[5]
Dessa is currently working on a new album that is to be released through Doomtree records early 2012.
Dessa is also a founding member of The Boy Sopranos, an almost all-female a cappella group, with frequent collaborator Jessy Greene, Aby Wolf, and others.
Dessa also teaches at the Institute of Production and Recording and the McNally Smith College of Music.
In 2009, Dessa's first published Spiral Bound with Doomtree Press, a seventy-page collection of fiction and poetry that is said to contain several moments of sublime clarity.[6]