Rapper Missy D brings bilingual story to Alliance Française's music fest
The Vancouver artist performs at Fête de la Musique on June 21, sharing her journey from French to English through hip-hop.
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Missy D discovered early that music could teach her a language. The Vancouver rapper and singer is bringing that story to Alliance Française's annual Fête de la Musique on June 21.
Born in Rwanda, Missy D lived in Côte d'Ivoire and Zimbabwe before moving to Canada. French was her first language. "I first started doing music on the stage in French when I was a young kid at around 11," she explained. "It sort of evolved as my hobby, and I never thought I would be doing this full-time. Then, when I moved to Vancouver, while I was learning English, while I was going to school at UBC, I wanted to write more music in English, so I sort of dabbled more in that art form. It was my way to communicate. Music is truly universal. It was my way to learn a language. My way to connect with people, my way to build a community, was through music."
She graduated from UBC in 2015 with a bachelor's degree in life sciences, earth and environmental sciences, and statistics. In 2016, she released her debut album, When Music Hits You Feel No Pain, which featured uplifting and empowering tracks almost entirely in English.
In 2022, after the pandemic, Missy D found herself reflecting on her roots. "I started to think back to where it all started, and how music has been this constant in my life, and I was like, 'Hey, I haven't been writing in French in a long time.' So I decided to go back to the start." That led to her album Case Départ, which is primarily in French. She kept the lyrics simple so her anglophone friends in Vancouver could follow along—a choice that also made the songs more accessible to younger listeners.
Some of those French-language tracks ended up in Manie Musicale, an international competition where students and teachers of French vote on which of 16 francophone songs will be the most popular.
Missy D performs at Fête de la Musique on June 21 from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Alliance Française Vancouver, alongside Kaya Ko, Alpha Yaya Diallo, Phantom Jungle, and other eclectic acts.