Rapper, singer-songwriter, and spoken-word poet Dessa has released the music video for her song, “Fire Drills,” with clips of young children and power lyrics that explore the narrative of women’s roles in society. The music video premiered on NPR who praised the artist as “any descriptor used to sum up Dessa had better use a whole mess of hyphens.” Boston Globe hailed it as “may be the most powerful song of the year.”
Dessa explained “Fire Drills” on NPR stating that:
“With ‘Fire Drills,’ I wanted to write about the experience of traveling as a woman, and often as a woman alone. I didn’t want to be scolding or vengeful — I wanted a song that could serve as a little portal into a particular way of looking at the world. In the interest of keeping themselves safe, women are discouraged from participating in vast swaths of human experience. We’re advised to travel in the daylight, in groups, and on familiar roads. But wandering lost alone has value, man. And getting home before dark every night means you miss all the fireworks. Asking women to live smaller lives is not an acceptable solution to the problem of a dangerous world. This music video for this song was an international project, which felt particularly appropriate for the subject matter. The director, Irene Kotnik, filmed in Berlin, sometimes simply handing her iPhone to the kids featured in the footage. I think her work captures a spirit of rebellion, youth and adventure — all of which helped fuel the writing of the song, and continues to fuel our nightly performances of it.”
“Fire Drills” is on Dessa’s fourth studio album, Chime, which was released earlier this year. For more information check out her website.
