Fake For Real - Tag - DessaThe English written companion of Fake For Real: since 1997, reviews and articles about rap music2024-03-11T20:40:46+01:00Sylvain Bertoturn:md5:a035ff44a020bb716e18191580d6e9ecDotclearDESSA - False Hopesurn:md5:64170e4541f60de89529410f1dab12a32017-11-21T23:13:00+01:002020-12-06T11:03:54+01:00codotusylvAlbums2005DessaDoomtree RecordsMinneapolis–Saint Paul <p><em>False Hopes</em> is not just one record, but many. Indeed, such were named several solo projects, released in the mid-noughties by various members of Doomtree, prior to recording a joint album with the same title. Even before this, that was the name of the duo P.O.S. and Cecil Otter had founded, before they created the larger Minneapolis collective. One of these many <em>False Hopes</em>, though, deserves a special attention, the one delivered by a female rapper, Dessa Darling, or Dessa. With the five songs of her own version – songs so good that she would reuse them on her second album, <em>Castor, The Twin</em> – she delivered one of the best in the series.</p>
<p><img src="https://english.fakeforreal.net/public/Pochettes/2005/dessa-false-hopes.jpg" alt="DESSA - False Hopes" style="display:table; margin:0 auto;" title="DESSA - False Hopes" /></p>
<p>Though Margret Wander joined Doomtree later than others, her profile fit the collective well. As most members, she was White – more or less, her mother being of Puerto Rican descent. She was also a literate middle-class lady, with a passion for books, a degree in philosophy, and sophisticated lyrics. And she didn’t mind crossing over to other genres, opting sometimes for spoken word instead of rap, or using “real” instruments. However, Dessa had joined Doomtree almost randomly. By 2001, as someone passionate in words, she participated to a slam poetry contest, which she won. This victory, as a matter of fact, was an accident: many of its best contestants were travelling abroad that very day. But anyway, it encouraged her to persevere. And through this new hobby, she became friend with a few rappers from her neighborhood.</p>
<p>Dessa’s experience with slam is visible on <em>False Hopes</em>. Her raps, indeed, are all about the art of language, and her subject matters are not the usual ones in hip-hop. For example, on the introductory track "Mineshaft", she philosophized about the weight of the past. There, the rapper talked about her consecutive experiences and identities, and their influence on what she had eventually become. On "Everything Floats", with Cecil Otter’s support, she talked about art, and how it soothes an empty or painful existence. "551" was a song about the fleeting nature of love, where she confessed that comfort was the driving force behind marital fidelity. And "Kites", another depressing track, was about the end of her dreams and illusions.</p>
<p>Mostly produced by Doomtree’s own beatmakers Lazerbeak and Paper Tiger, the music was as expected with the collective: the instruments sounded quite organic, and they were uncommon in a hip-hop context. Rap, in reality, was not Dessa’s only discipline: she could sing, and on "Kites" she engaged into strange murmurs. But still, she could blow the mic, being quite good at switching from one flow to another, and her style had a kind of old school flavor, like on "Press On", where Dessa and Sims played at completing each other's rhymes, <em>à la</em> Run-D.M.C.</p>
<p>Hers was a specific rap school – not the most visible, but an exciting one; a school not rooted in ghetto realities, and not concerned with stylistic purity, but still attached to the old-fashioned notion of “art”. In an accomplished way, and before her talent would dilute into long albums, the young rapper from Minneapolis offered a feminine face to her own genre of hip-hop.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EL9RGW/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001EL9RGW&linkCode=as2&tag=fafore05-20" hreflang="en">Buy this album</a></strong></p>https://english.fakeforreal.net/index.php/post/2017/DESSA-False-Hopes#comment-formhttps://english.fakeforreal.net/index.php/feed/atom/comments/2676DESSA - A Badly Broken Codeurn:md5:a01d5be5cccbd93738199e98e193c1e42014-09-18T23:39:00+02:002020-05-16T10:39:38+02:00codotusylvAlbumsDessa<p>A poetess come to rap, after practicing slam; the author of a book as well, <em>Spiral Bound</em>, in 2009; and a music teacher. Dessa Darling is all of these. She is a dream come true, for those who like hip-hop when it is respectable, and consider that ignorant and gangsta raps are incarnations of the devil. The only woman in the Doomtree collective, though, shouldn't be despised by the others, the clever ones, those who know that moral prejudices should have no say when talking about music. Margret Wander, indeed, could be your grandmother's best friend. But she knows how to make great albums, primarily her very first, <em>A Badly Broken Code</em>.</p>
<p><img src="https://english.fakeforreal.net/public/Pochettes/2010/dessa-a-badly-broken-code.jpg" alt="DESSA – A Badly Broken Code" title="DESSA – A Badly Broken Code" /></p> <p><strong><a href="http://www.doomtree.net" hreflang="en">Doomtree</a> :: 2010 :: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0033BJSM4/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0033BJSM4&linkCode=as2&tag=fafore05-20" hreflang="en">buy this record</a></strong></p>
<p>This album, indeed, is full of clean-looking music. The posture is literary; the lyrics are full of smart figures of speech. The themes – childhood memories and brotherly love on "Children’s Work", relationship issues on "Mineshaft II" and "Go Home", unbreakable friendship on "Crew" – are closer to the 70's singer-songwriter register, than to the thug rants generally synonym with rap music. To be perfectly honest, Dessa is not only a rapper. She stays loyal to her background, opting more often for slam poetry, or spoken word, than for a technical hip-hop flow. She even sings, from time to time. She is doing it <em>a cappella</em> on "Poor Atlas", as she is used to with her other band, the 100% feminine Boy Sopranos.</p>
<p>Produced by some Doomtree members or affiliates (MK Larada, Lazerbeak, Cecil Otter, Paper Tiger), in addition to herself, her music is open to "real" instruments, either played or sampled. It loves diversity, moving from jazz to the R&B hook of "Dixon’s Girl", or to the electric guitar and the violin of the damn good "Mineshaft II". Later on, "Matches to Paper Dolls" is looking like an Eastern-European melody, "Seamstress" is more frankly rap, "Crew" has an Hawaiian guitar, and "The Chaconne" is a haunted song, reminiscent of Antony and the Johnsons, thanks to Matthew Santos, a local artist who already collaborated with… Lupe Fiasco.</p>
<p>These tracks are extremely diverse, but almost all are great ones. Thanks to them, this album is a success. This is a solid rap record that, exceptionally, you will be able to share fearlessly with all the right-minded people in your neighborhood.</p>
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https://english.fakeforreal.net/index.php/post/2014/DESSA-A-Badly-Broken-Code#comment-formhttps://english.fakeforreal.net/index.php/feed/atom/comments/2146DESSA - A Badly Broken Codeurn:md5:3dac95d98d1a984ec5237cde7473cff32013-11-13T23:07:00+01:002022-07-11T21:53:20+02:00codotusylvAlbums2010DessaDoomtree RecordsSt Paul - Minneapolis <p>Dessa is a poet come to rap through the practice of slam. She authored a book, <em>Spiral Bound</em>, and she also teaches music. In a nutshell, she is exactly what to expect, if you want to promote a respectable kind of hip-hop and to distance yourself from the clichés of gangsta rap. However, the only woman in Doomtree shouldn't put off the others, those refusing to use ethical criteria when assessing records. Margret Wander is not only a rapper for grannies. As a matter of fact, her albums are generally strong, starting with the first, <em>A Badly Broken Code</em>.</p>
<p><img src="https://english.fakeforreal.net/public/Pochettes/2010/dessa-a-badly-broken-code.jpg" alt="DESSA - A Badly Broken Code" style="display:table; margin:0 auto;" title="DESSA - A Badly Broken Code" /></p>
<p>This is undeniably a neat and tidy form of hip-hop. Dessa has a literary take on her lyrics, which are rich with metaphors. Her themes - childhood reminiscences and brotherly love on "Children’s Work", relationship issues on "Mineshaft II" and "Go Home", and indefectible friendship on "Crew" – are closer to the mature and intimist posture of the singers-songwriters from the 70's, than to the outrages of rap music. Dessa's kind of rap music, actually, is not really rap music. Her background is still visible: this is more slam poetry, or spoken word, than playful wordplays with the beats. She sings, too, and quite often. She does it a cappella on "Poor Atlas", as she does with her other band, the 100% female one: the Boy Sopranos.</p>
<p>Last but not least, her music – she produces herself, or with the help of Doomtree affiliates like MK Larada, Lazerbeak, Cecil Otter, or Paper Tiger – is open to "real" instruments, played as such, or sampled. And it is quite diverse. It goes from some jazzy sounds and a R&B hook on "Dixon’s Girl", to an electric guitar on the damn good "Mineshaft II" or, later on, to the Easter-European overtones of "Matches to Paper Dolls", the straighter rap music of "Seamstress", or the Hawaiian guitar of "Crew". There is also "The Chaconne", a haunted song in the style of Antony and the Johnsons, supported by Matthew Santos, who also worked with Lupe Fiasco.</p>
<p>These tracks are eclectic, but they are remarkable. They contribute to the undeniable quality of this record from Dessa Darling. A record that, for once, can be shared with the self-righteous.</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://amzn.to/3yXIX9I" hreflang="en">Buy this album</a></strong></p>
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