Desdamona (born 1973) is an American hip hop and spoken word artist, poet, and teacher from Mount Pleasant, Iowa. Based in Minneapolis, she adopted her stage name from the character in William Shakespeare’s Othello. Desdamona performed in an R&B-inspired group in college before establishing herself as a spoken word artist at Minneapolis open mic events. In 2000, Desdamona performed guest vocals on Brother Ali’s track “We Will Always B”. Her discography featured independent projects and her first official album, The Ledge (2005). She received five Minnesota Music Awards for Best Spoken Word Artist in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006. Desdamona frequently collaborated with beatboxer Carnage the Executioner, forming the duo Ill Chemistry. They recorded the song “Infinity” for her second album, The Source (2007). Other works included the CD-book project No Man's Land (2016) and the co-founding of the B-Girl Be festival.
