Broke Beats is BDCwire’s open-source hip-hop column. Every Saturday, we showcase the best new albums, EPs, and mixtapes available for free stream or download.
Dessa is an artist who contains multitudes. I’ve previously plumbed the depths of these multitudes, but the sheer elasticity of Dessa’s music has never been so brightly splayed across my speakers as it is in her new remix album, “Parts of Speech, Re-Edited.”
Dessa, the matriarch of Minnesota rap collective Doomtree, has been dropping the tracks of this wildly eclectic reworking of her 2013 sophomore LP over the past months, but she’s finally completed the cycle, and all eight alternative takes are now available to stream.
Seattle producer Budo, Doomtree co-conspirator Cecil Otter, and the Hood Internet (who was featured in a pre-migration edition of Broke Beats) all make appearances. “Fighting Fish,” “Warsaw,” and “It’s Only Me” are all given second looks by the flock of knob-turners, each taking on a unique flavor that makes back-to-back listens seem totally novel. Highlights include the Hood Internet’s drastic modulation of Dessa’s voice on his take of “Fighting Fish” and the Youngblood Brass Band’s zesty tangent on “Skeleton Key.”
The whole collection is selling for a measly $4.99, which is a worth excuse to shortchange Sallie Mae this month. Yes, you’re broke, but you’re never too broke to rustle together a fistful of singles for artfully recrafted indie rap songs. Treat yourself, hip-hop heads.
