Dua Saleh

Dua Saleh is a Minneapolis-based Sudanese-American artist whose artful blend of poetry, alternative rap, and moody electronic music prompted heavy industry buzz at the tail end of the 2010s. With a distinctive vocal style wavering between warm melodic singing and nuanced rap grit, Saleh’s first EP for the Against Giants label earned critical acclaim, setting the table for subsequent releases like 2020′s Rosetta and 2021′s guest-heavy Crossover. Among their 2022 singles was the lush and airy “Chosen.”
Born in Kasala, Sudan, and bearing Tunjur heritage, Saleh — who identifies by the gender non-binary pronouns they/them — moved to the U.S. as a child, fleeing the Second Sudanese Civil War with their family and eventually settling outside of Minneapolis. Drawn to poetry at a young age, they also developed a strong affinity for community organizing, which manifested itself both in their material and activism. Active on the poetry open-mike scene since their teenage years, Saleh sought a more dynamic platform for their art and made their first foray into music with local producer Mike Frey on the 2017 track “First Take.” This led to a collaboration with Minneapolis hip-hop producer Psymun, which resulted in Saleh’s debut EP, Nūr. Released on the Against Giants label in 2019, the EP was a resounding critical success with a unique sound and compelling, socially conscious lyrics.
Their follow-up EP, Rosetta, appeared in June 2020, followed a few months later by the single “Angel Rock.” After the 2021 stand-alone singles “Signs” and “Dashery,” Saleh returned to the EP format with Crossover, a highly collaborative set featuring guests like Duckwrth, Amaarae, and Haleek Maul. The prolific artist continued producing tracks over the next year like 2022′s “I Belong to You” and “Chosen.” ~ Timothy Monger