A Badly Broken Code

A Badly Broken Code is the debut studio album by Dessa, a member of Minneapolis indie hip hop collective Doomtree. It was released by Doomtree Records in 2010.

A Badly Broken Code
Studio album by Dessa
Released	January 19, 2010
Genre	Hip hop, alternative hip hop
Length	47:19
Label	Doomtree Records
Producer	MK Larada, Dessa, Lazerbeak, Cecil Otter, Paper Tiger, Big Jess, Andrew 'Ronin' Lucas
Dessa chronology
False Hopes (2005) A Badly Broken Code (2010) Castor, the Twin (2011)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
The A.V. Club	A−[1]
Robert Christgau	A−[2]
HipHopDX	4/5[3]
Tiny Mix Tapes	[4]

The album title comes from a line in the poem "Nostalgia" by American poet Billy Collins.[5]

Reception

Jakob Dorof of Tiny Mix Tapes gave the album 4 stars out of 5, saying, "The result is likely one of the best hip-hop songs you'll hear this year, let alone from the rare type of MC that manages to be white, female, and supremely talented all in one."[4]

The A.V. Club listed it as the 20th best album of 2010.[6] In 2010, City Pages listed it as the "Best Local Album of the Past 12 Months".[7]

The track "The Bullpen" was frequently used as walk out music at rallies by Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar during her 2020 Democratic presidential primaries campaign.

Track listing

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Children's Work"	MK Larada	3:12
2.	"Poor Atlas"	Dessa	1:38
3.	"The Crow"	Lazerbeak	3:38
4.	"Dixon's Girl"	MK Larada	2:43
5.	"Mineshaft II"	Cecil Otter	3:41
6.	"The Chaconne" (featuring Matthew Santos)	Paper Tiger	4:42
7.	"Matches to Paper Dolls"	Big Jess	3:31
8.	"Go Home"	Paper Tiger	3:32
9.	"Seamstress"	MK Larada	3:59
10.	"Dutch"	Lazerbeak	3:20
11.	"The Bullpen"	Paper Tiger	2:36
12.	"Momento Mori"	MK Larada, Dessa	2:18
13.	"Crew"	Paper Tiger	2:56
14.	"Alibi"	Paper Tiger	3:03
15.	"Into the Spin"	Andrew 'Ronin' Lucas, Dessa	2:35

Charts

Chart	Peak position
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[8]	13
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[9]	48
US Rap Albums (Billboard)[10]	22

References

1. Koski, Genevieve (February 23, 2010). "Dessa: A Badly Broken Code". The A.V. Club. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
2. Christgau, Robert. "CG: Dessa". Robert Christgau. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
3. Tardio, Andres (February 1, 2010). "Dessa - A Badly Broken Code". HipHopDX. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
4. Dorof, Jakob. "Dessa - A Badly Broken Code". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
5. Walsh, Makena (March 29, 2011). "Breaking The Code: A Q&A With Indie Rap Songstress Dessa". The Creators Project. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
6. "The best music of 2010". The A.V. Club. December 8, 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
7. "A Badly Broken Code by Dessa - Best Local Album of the Past 12 Months". City Pages. 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
8. "Dessa - Chart history - Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
9. "Dessa - Chart history - Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
10. "Dessa - Chart history - Rap Albums". Billboard. Retrieved April 4, 2016.

External links

• A Badly Broken Code at Discogs (list of releases)
• "Dixon's Girl" on SoundCloud