Hip hop artist Dessa teased a new project last month and has now updated her Twitter bio to state “IDES starts Jan. 15.” A new video with the caption “January 15th” has also been released. The term “ides” is an archaic phrase meaning the middle of a month and was made popular by the Shakespeare play Julius Caesar, which holds the line “beware the ides of March.”

The brief clip Dessa shared features a silver image against a black backdrop, with the phrase IDES clearly shown inside of a circle. This circle appears to be a medallion or coin, with numbers written around it and a winged figure shown on its left side.

January 15th. pic.twitter.com/u7X6d8AkYS

— Dessa (@dessadarling) January 4, 2021

This latest teaser follows the image she posted in December, which showed the numbers one through 20 listed out next to the word “Link.” This image was simply captioned with the words “New music. News soon.”

Dessa posted a heartfelt video last where she discussed her relationship with P.O.S. and the allegations surrounding him and the larger Minneapolis hip hop scene. The performer Astronautalis, who was part of Four Fists with P.O.S. also faced allegations, which he apologized for.

Last year, Dessa teamed up with the Minnesota Orchestra for Sound the Bells: Recorded live at Orchestra Hall. Her latest studio album Chime, came out in 2018.

“The record daringly toes the line between conscious hip-hop and mainstream pop. Dessa’s willingness to sing more was a cool touch, but at times one wishes it was more tastefully done,” mxdwn reviewer Griffin Boyle explained. “There is something on this record for casual pop fans and hip-hop heads alike. Sometimes that is all that is necessary.”

Photo Credit: Marv Watson