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What music have you turned to during hard times?

We asked you that question, and here's what Lila had to say.

One album that I always return to when I'm experiencing heartbreak or hard times is

Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Mercette. I feel like she really just guessed it.

Her music will energize you, but it is also so cathartic and angry and fierce sometimes,

but also it is encouraging. And I feel like the equal parts encouragement and screaming

like screw you really has helped me get through the hardest of time.

Lila, thanks for that message. That catharsis is the driving force behind

Desa's newest album, Barry The Lead. The rapper, singer, writer, and podcast host has been

the game for a while. Desa came up as part of the Minneapolis rap collective Doomtree,

but she joined in 2005. She was featured in 2016's chart-topping Hamilton Mix tape,

and she's collaborated with the Minnesota Orchestra on a number of performances and even a live

album. She's the author of my own devices, true stories from the road on music,

science, and senseless love, and host of the podcast deeply human. She's also a villain and PR

host. You may have heard her guest hosting 1A. But like many of us the last few years weren't

easy for Desa. And her new album, including the pop-forward chopper, is her way of reckoning with

and dancing away those feelings. After the break, Desa joins us from our studio in D.C.

to talk about her new album, Barry The Lead. I'm Jen White. You're listening to the 1A

...