Dessa: Twin City Rapper Embraces Her Melodic Side

The Twin Cities area is home to Doomtree, one of the best independent hip-hop collectives in the country. The seven members includes rapper P.O.S., producers Paper Tiger and Lazerbeak, and its only female MC, Maggie Wander, a.k.a. Dessa. But with Dessa's previous record Castor, The Twin -- which embraced a melodic, jazz-inflected tone -- she proved she's expanding beyond skillful and fluent rapper.

Dessa's latest solo album, Parts Of Speech, continues that progression, asserting herself as a singer and writer with grand concepts. And musically, the record is her most diverse yet. Parts Of Speech showcases a variety of sounds, from slow haunting dirges ("Call Off Your Ghost"), to bold beats ("Warsaw"), to complex, grand statements about relationships, community, and empowerment ("Skeleton Key"). With fantastic production flourishes and complex sonic experimentation, Dessa is an exciting star on the rise.

Hear the Minneapolis rapper and her band perform in the Soundcheck studio.

Set List:

• "Call Off Your Ghost"
• "Skeleton Key"
• "The Man I Knew"