Margret Wander also known as Dessa is Puerto Rican rapper, spoken word artist as well as member and CEO of hip-hop collective Doomtree Records. In the past she has released two EPs and four studio albums, the most recent release, Parts of Speech, from 2013. Today, December 14th, Dessa has announced her newest studio album in five years and is titled Chime and will be released on February 23, 2018 through her very own Doomtree Records. In support of her new album, Dessa has released her first singles “Good Grief” and “Fire Drills”. The latter of which premiered earlier this morning on Minneapolis’ The Current aka KCMP.

“Fire Drills” opens with a beautiful Middle-Eastern string motif which twists into a beat allowing Dessa to freely wrap over the quick plucking. Throughout the piece, Dessa is clearly rapping about her experiences as a woman in a man’s world stating that she’s had all the same as they have, maybe something more. Aside from her similar experiences, Dessa also speaks of travelling across the world in which she attempts to include, as she states in her press release, “bodily sensations, the logistical considerations and the philosophical consequences  of the daily vigilance that is asked of women.”

Chime will be available in a standard edition, a deluxe edition, and a collector’s edition from the Doomtree site here. Check out the track list below.

In 2017, Dessa made her debut into the classical world through her arrangement of the Minnesota Orchestra as well as her choral arrangements. Dessa has also contributed music to the song “Congratulations” on Lin-Manuel Miranda’s The Hamilton Mixtape in which all efforts go to relief in Puerto Rico after the storm.

Chime Track Listing

1. Ride
2. 5 out of 6
3. Fire Drills
4. Velodrome
5. Good Grief
6. Boy Crazy
7. Jumprope
8. Shrimp
9. Half of You
10. Say When
11. I Hope I’m Wrong

Photo Credit: Marisa Rose Ficara