Q&A: With the Freedom to Create, Dirtsa Talks Upbringing, Cultural Inspirations & More With the Release of New EP ‘Truly Didi’
“WHAT DRIVES ME IS THE ABILITY TO CREATE FROM SCRATCH” — Franco-Cameroonian melodic emcee Dirtsa says. The very crux of all art fixes itself around some variation of this idea — the idea of creating from nothing, of something becoming something else, the idea of renewal. For Dirtsa, the world serves as a canvas for her artistry, one driven by an instinct to observe and express, a process of securing self within the incomprehensibly vast. The construction of a piece of work onto blankness relies on an inevitable reflection, questioning, and, eventually, reclamation, a journey in which Dirtsa finds freedom not only at the end of but within. It is this freedom that allows her to transform darkness into light and examine, both retrospectively and ahead, matters of society and self.
The release of her latest EP, Truly Didi, serves as a letter to self, an ode to heritage, and a flag of honesty that waves itself assuredly. Screenshots of the mind in all its facets, Truly Didi explores these many levels that make up a single human experience, nudging ultimately at authenticity and fearlessness as vital to growth. Sonically, Dirtsa is playful, her process experimental, as she finds influence in the likes of Skepta, Ella Fitzgerald, Kendrick Lamar, Peggy Gou, among others.
The stylistic range of Truly Didi stems not only from a general genre boundlessness that so effortlessly characterizes her body of work but within each track itself, where in which Dirtsa’s evident love of music and sound, art and language, crafts a world of production, lyricism, and vocals that is detailed and truly her own. With decorous blends of alternative rap tones and echo-laden, lofty, R&B notes, the EP arrived, musically, not only as the conceptual confluence of Dirtsa’s own worlds — her heritage, love of poetry, and utilization of music as freedom — but as a meaningful contribution to the manifold nature of hip-hop music today.
Rather than an explicit iteration of familiar projects, Dirtsa funnels deep to harness a power grander than herself — a strength she offers to us with an open palm, a power needed to face and overcome. Subtly and with intricacy, she makes us aware of her sensitivity, the cathartic power that music serves for her. She tells us stories of pain, proving its necessity to healing and unfolds a narrative in which she faces the interwoven tightropes specific to young black women, gifting us with a piece of her own history. Dirtsa shows us that the ugliness of truth is beautiful, that love and fight, like dark and light, cannot exist without each other, and in a world that finds more solace in music than it realizes, she shows us that the art of creation is courageous and that there’s peace in that.
Read on below as Dirtsa unpacks her newest project, Truly Didi, her journey, roots, and musings.
LUNA: Hey Dirtsa! Before I say anything else, your new EP, along with all your music, is insane — such a great sound, such a great energy you have.
DIRTSA: Nice to meet you Nicole. Thank you so much!
LUNA: So, tell us about your story as an artist. What are the origins for this love of music, and how did this become what it is today?
DIRTSA: I wouldn’t know where to start. It goes far back but at the same time was very random yet totally made sense. I think I was very sensitive to music in general without necessarily realizing it.
LUNA: Yeah, that makes sense — like a natural affinity to it. How was your relationship with music growing up?
DIRTSA: Music was one thing that was always there, whether it was the music my parents were listening to or the music my siblings were playing. I grew up soaking it all in. My upbringing was also very much school-driven, so the music got suppressed a lot in that way too. I didn't grow up knowing anyone in the industry but more so just appreciated music for music. My first year of middle school, I participated in a musical. Then you grow up and kind of don’t think much about it. In middle school, I started writing poems, but I had this very traumatic experience where my French teacher read one of my poems and told me, “You don’t know how to write, you will never know how, don’t even think about it” and it broke my heart a bit.
LUNA: Damn, that must’ve been super destabilizing, I’m sorry to hear that. I guess in the long run it was a kind of test of strength for you — you know, the greatest artists, writers, and visionaries always have a story like that.
DIRTSA: I kept on though, but in private. She wasn’t with me to check my work, and it was really doing me good. I don’t know what she read in my words, but it was literally my first poem ever and she did me like that. Then you grow up and the feeling is still very much there, so I focused on school. But there was also this part of me that didn't sit well — I was not listening to myself, and it’s really later on, around 20 years old, that I began to embrace music in general.
LUNA: I’m so glad you did. Throughout this, who has kind of carved their spot as your sources of inspiration?
DIRTSA: I draw a lot of inspiration from my family. My sister, Sia, helps me a lot with music, and not only that — she’s one of my biggest sources of inspiration. That girl is awesome.
LUNA: That’s so sweet. Sonically, I can hear how deeply inspired you are by such a range of worlds, and they all come together to create one that is quite unique to you. I was making my way through your discography and the diversity in your sound is super cool. You play around with drill beats, there are latin, afro-influences, trap, R&B, dance, soul influences. There’s some crazy production and a really nice grasp on the relationship between language and sound.
DIRTSA: Cameroon and France both influence my sound a lot. There’s the Bohème and the traditional. I draw inspiration and study artists such as Yung Lean, Peggy Gou, Cesaria Evora, Kanye West, Missy Elliot, Ella Fitzgerald, Skepta, Nicky Minaj, and more. I also feel I’m inspired by society in general. I think I observe things and try to process things around me.
LUNA: All such great contributors to music, for sure. Do you find that music is super experimental for you? What’s your process like?
DIRTSA: I think music for me is instinctive. I don’t have any training in the matter. It is quite experimental for me, yes. But the process is also spending a lot of time listening to production and trying to see what I hear on it, and this is how I experiment. If it comes, I let it out until I’m done with the process.
LUNA: I know that you are also a painter and poet! So lovely, I am both myself. Evidently then, you perceive the world, or at least process it, through this hyper-observational, creative lens. How have these other art forms interplayed with your music?
DIRTSA: Aye, hello! Music was the door of entry for all of those to follow for me. It’s when I started experimenting with it that I thought to myself, “Is there more?”
LUNA: I hear you. Music, like art or poetry, is one of the most powerful forms of catharsis. Do you find that you feel a lot?
DIRTSA: I do. I’m really sensitive, and I’m trying to do better with being in tune with my emotions.
LUNA: How do you think this translates through to your music and art?
DIRTSA: Music helps a lot with that because when you create, the energy put into creation is transformed into something else through the process. It helps redirect that emotion and turn it into sometimes something better, something that can soothe yourself but also others.
LUNA: So what would you say the role of music is for you?
DIRTSA: Music serves a purpose of freedom and creation to me. And what nourishes me can be people, our society, my feelings through it all, also. People sometimes can ooze so much beauty, and teachings too. It’s a whole mix.
LUNA: Is that what draws you to it?
DIRTSA: Music has always been there. What draws me to it is that feeling of having something that helps you put words to things — it can really help you push forward through whatever you might be experiencing.
LUNA: Extending on that, what drives you as an artist and I guess, as a person?
DIRTSA: As an artist, what drives me is the ability to create from scratch. I like to have fun with the experience and see myself evolve. As a person, it’s the feeling you receive when listening — I believe in music that cures. So I'm trying to put a silver lining to all songs because I want us to be able to move forward and stay in movement.
LUNA: It’s so cool like that — you can observe your own growth through creating music, but also be driven by the music to grow.
DIRTSA: Yeah, for me, it’s all about progression.
LUNA: Your lyricism is super intentional — power in every word. I mentioned before how well you grasp this very mutual and significant connection between language and sound. What’s your writing process like?
DIRTSA: Sincerely, thank you, Nicole! I don’t even know. My lyrical process depends on the song — I think my base is poetry, whether it is prose or rhymes. But those are things I don’t think about much.
LUNA: Are there any lyricists in music or rap, or poets that have shaped you?
DIRTSA: I was just really fond of poetry in middle school. It’s something I can salute French school education for. I had access to outstanding French poets and writers like Verlaine, Baudelaire, Eluard, Rimbaud, Camus, Vian, and more. Lauryn Hill and the Fugees were also people my siblings were listening to. I grew up around sounds like that. On my own, I was introduced to the UK scene by Skepta and Little Simz. I hope it only gets better from here!
LUNA: Again, all such insanely beautiful names. What are some of your favorite lyrics you’ve written?
DIRTSA: So many! An extract from “Pouring” that goes, “I picture ourselves leaving the shore, / upping the score, / pouring some more, / Look at me now man I bloom by the core, / Leave them in the past, set me free from the crows / I tell you again we make exquisite doves, / Ebony got roots in a place of gold, / It used to be heaven and then it got bought.”
Also from “Control” there’s “No longer blind and I feel fine, / I see colors and I shine, / Count me out but still I rise / I will never stop the fight.”
And from “10”: “I remember the days that we spent by the tree / making promises when it was us three / and who would have thought all of this get to be, / now I'm no longer scared I will no longer freeze, / if I see my shapes then know that I will seize it, / Gemini my mind but one voice that is speaking, / often by myself cause I enjoy reflecting.”
There are so many more as well.
LUNA: Ah, these tracks are so great — I’m going to listen to them again after this. So, your new EP, Truly Didi is out, how exciting! How does it feel, releasing your second EP?
DIRTSA: It feels as stressful as it is joyful! We are doing this all independently. The process of it all was a lot of work, but I’m also really happy it is finally coming out.
LUNA: Is it freeing to have a new body of work out?
DIRTSA: Every time I release a body of work like that, I also try to take the time to see the opportunity given, to be able to work on music in the first place
LUNA: How is this release different to your first EP, or your singles?
DIRTSA: I worked on it differently from what I used to do. This is my first project where I recorded all the demos myself at home. There’s a real DIY aspect to it. I hope it feels good because I just did things how I felt they should be done in a more direct manner, trying to do my best at it. The visuals and the cover were shot in our basement with my sister. I am wearing my father’s shirt. The intention of it is more personal, and as a whole it was a true challenge. After the first EP, we were introduced to a painting, and I wanted us to liberate it and give place to that artist’s point of view where the listener becomes a character.
LUNA: That’s so interesting — everything from the very speck of intent to the process to the execution has that level of earthiness to it, grounded. As you were creating this, and I guess now that it’s out, do you feel a shift in yourself as an artist, and the art as a whole?
DIRTSA: I feel there will always be shifts, at least I’m hoping for them. I see my sound evolve, and every time I’m loving it. It’s definitely growing with me, yes.
LUNA: What would you say was and is your purpose with the EP?
DIRTSA: It’s a call for action in all of us. For us, for others. To call for a better living together.
LUNA: If it was a world in itself, give that world a word.
DIRTSA: Awakening.
LUNA: Oh yeah, for sure. What aspects of yourself would you say have awakened?
DIRTSA: I’m learning to be patient with myself. If I’m patient with myself, I can be patient with others.
LUNA: Your first track, “Marie, I’m Drunk,” alludes to Travis Scott’s “Maria I’m Drunk.” Love the reference. Could you explain the creative foundations and choices you made in this one?
DIRTSA: It does! This song intrigued me when I first listened to it, and I then developed the obsession of creating a version of my own, serving as confessions. The track takes you into the life of a character that is lost because some things they thought to be true turn out to be the opposite. They are trying to re-establish their connection with something higher than themselves and find solace. In this experience, they are growing into someone stronger and managed to establish their truth.
LUNA: A kind of middle state — you explore this really authentically, that place between knowing what you desire and having the strength to reach that spot. Did the track signify a specific moment for you?
DIRTSA: I started writing this song when I was in uni, and it was kind of a weird period for me where I totally understood that I didn’t want to be in the places I was at the moment sometimes. This feeling was confirmed by some life experiences that helped put me back on track.
LUNA: The drill beat on “Pouring” is crazy. The genre founded itself in this ability to really convey, authentically and truthfully, very specific experiences. Beyond the sound, I guess you could say its conceptual grounding has become a style in itself too. You’ve had other tracks with a drill beat and you’ve managed to craft your own take on the genre, bringing in other rhythms. What draws you towards this sound?
DIRTSA: I honestly appreciate you noticing my take on it, and thank you, again! That one started with my sister and I playing with random beat apps and then connecting with Exil Beats to cook it all up. The percussion in particular drew me to it. And it’s only natural because it takes direct inspiration from different percs rhythms from different African countries.
LUNA: In “Control,” your vocals along with the instrumentation, the underlying choir-type vocals, and the speech that interjects towards the end come together to create this very transcendent quality. Cohesively, “10” opens with this beautiful instrumental, and you have the similar underlying vocals. They hold this same outer-worldly, very layered, ambient, make-you-feel-something effect. Sound-wise and conceptually, what were the inspirations for these tracks?
DIRTSA: To me, they complete each other — they serve as a transition point in the EP. The moment we get our power back, you must keep pushing through and continue using your voice. "Control" was inspired by my first disillusions, which were significant — those things that can happen in the field of relationship where I've seen people close to me who are victimized channel the will to take their power back. “10” was inspired by the concept of going against determinism. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think it’s Kendrick Lamar who did that thing where he was counting from five, and I had been wanting to test it out for a while so I tried it here and I’m loving the result. The counting represents the frame I was talking about.
LUNA: Kendrick’s verse on “3 Peat”? When he counts from 25 to 1 — he’s a poet in its full and complete definition, the best.
Your final track on the EP, “Say Shit!” ends the listening journey on some high energy. Loved this one — it ends the EP with a sense of finality but simultaneously readies us for your journey ahead, projecting us forward with you.
DIRTSA: This track came to be as I was experimenting more. I wanted to try something different with my sound and try a Playboi Carti essence. With this one, I wanted to bottle up outside voices and push our protagonist forward. It’s a song that I want to empower because when we have the power forward, we make things advent for the better — for ourselves and others. We have the means to be more considerate of our feelings and others’ feelings, and that’s what I wanted to portray.
LUNA: Going back to “Control,” your sample of Nina Simone’s speech was such a powerful, moving choice. A lot of your artistry explores your heritage and experiences of culture and adversity in the world, as well as who you are in the grander spectrum of a world that claims to be evolving. How does it feel to be occupying a role in a time and space that is finally making some kind of acknowledgment that change is to be made?
DIRTSA: For me, it feels like now is the time more than ever to make that change. It is great to be able to enjoy free access to chances, yes, but it’s also something that to me feels very normal. On any land, it feels good to enjoy freedom, resources of said land, yes — but is it something everyone experiences? Not so much. I feel it’s a work in time. I don’t necessarily feel relieved yet, but I’m also not seeing this on a pessimistic scale. Like you said, acknowledgement is being made, we have to keep working on it.
LUNA: Of course — we aren’t even close.
DIRTSA: When we touch on those questions there's a lot of things we have to take in consideration.
LUNA: There’s much more to it, always. Hip-hop itself has been a catalyst and medium for reclamation: blues, jazz, soul, R&B — all so entrenched in the history of its creators. What do you hope you are able to say and share?
DIRTSA: I see it as a true chance and hope to be able to do it justice. The message I want to share with the 5-year-old I was is “You can do this too!”
LUNA: Cultural experiences are such key shapers of who we are — in what ways would you say your cultural identity has informed your art and music? Do you draw from your Franco-Cameroonian roots in your music?
DIRTSA: I think both influence me a lot without me necessarily being conscious of it. The more I learn about myself and heritage, the more I’m able to bring it forward and create around it whether it is sonically, visually, conceptually, or drawing inspiration. My process of creation always takes a lot of time processing the piece of instrumental and following instincts on it.
LUNA: I’m sure the process and creation of the EP was fun and reflective and probably every emotion in the book. Are there any memories that you hold dear to you in this process?
DIRTSA: Yes, a lot: me being younger and having discussions with my sisters, remembering what it was like growing up — it goes by so fast. One day we are four and the next we are adults.
LUNA: It really does — I feel that. In listening to the EP, what do you hope your listeners are able to gain?
DIRTSA: I hope they are able to find confidence in it. I hope they have a great experience, and I hope this is something that helps them feel better and push forward.
LUNA: In terms of live performances, I’m sure we’ll be seeing much of you in the upcoming months and years. What are your favorite live performance experiences?
DIRTSA: One of my favorites was Chauffer dans la noirceur! The experience of performing live was not something I'd done a lot prior to winning the Pernod Ricard Live Music Contest in 2021. That experience allowed me to learn and tour during COVID-19.
LUNA: What elements of live performance are so special to you?
DIRTSA: I like the fact that interaction is direct between the people present and the artist. The connection is immaculate. What draws me in is that proximity.
LUNA: There’s such a strong connection between the audience and the artist — it must feel surreal, almost hard to grasp that they are there with you in that moment. Moving forward, what can we look forward to hearing and seeing from you?
DIRTSA: I’m looking forward to the release of Truly Didi into the world, my second body of work. I’ve put my heart in crafting this one. And for my career, I’m looking forward to meeting my community and seeing us grow together, reaching milestones, and being there for each other. More music, I’m hoping for too!
LUNA: Looking forward to it! Lastly, what does freedom mean to you?
DIRTSA: Freedom to me is in everything. It’s in cooking a good meal, in having a roof or a place to call home, in having a family to share this with — it’s in the simple things. It's the freedom to live in peace, the freedom to be, the freedom to create.
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