Born Margaret Wander, Dessa’s first release with
Doomtree, False Hopes, introduced a unique sensibility to
underground hip-hop: literary, bitter-sweet, and wry. She alternated between a clever, droll persona as an emcee and her earnest, unaffected delivery as a singer with a low, clear
alto voice. Her a cappella arrangements delicate and expressive, full of sad, old world harmonies. False Hopes attracted a varied set of ferociously dedicated fans in the Midwest and beyond. The press compared her to
Lauryn Hill and
Ladybug Mecca, and then as “equal parts
Ani DiFranco and
Mos Def” (Ri…
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