Dana Dentata is Los Angeles' very own ethereal, rapping, gothic angel
Welcome to CHEW THE FAT WITH…, our long-form profile series where we invite you to sit down with fashion’s next generation as they dig deep into their memories. To chew some fat - defined as an informal conversation brimming with small talk - we encourage you to pull up a chair and take a big old bite as we spill the tea on the life and work of the industry’s need-to-knows. Just remember to mop up after yourself.
My friend Joe keeps telling me how 2021 is the year of healing; and for L.A based rapper DANA DENTATA, that’s her modus operandi. Like an ethereal, gothic angel, she’s descended from heaven above (Canada in this context) to fight in the battle against our demons. And in a time that’s been like no other, the performer’s focus on spiritual growth and awakening feels more poignant than ever. “I feel like I’ve completed a thesis on my life,” she remarks over the phone in her deep, loamy voice with a hint of Canadian twang, recalling her morning spent with her boyfriend and the dog they’re fostering from Texas. Together, we chatted about catharsis, homesickness, idols, and the greatest albums of all time.
One thing that strikes me about Dentata is her incredibly rich bounty of musical references, as well as her ability to excel at anything she puts her mind to. Like a cat with nine lives, she can add model, metal singer, stripper, rapper and the first female artist to be signed to ROADRUNNER RECORDS (a heavy metal label whose clients include SLIPKNOT and SLASH) to her noteworthy resumé. A one-trick pony Ms. Dentata certainly is not. That’s also not the mention that Dentata truly does look like an IRL angel, with dreamy blue eyes and a full pout to boot, albeit while sporting a jet black mullet. It is beauty in an uncanny valley sense, much like her namesake, the mythical vagina dentata. FYI, that’s when a vagina contains a wee set of teeth, in case you didn’t know.
Blessed with the ability to transform her pain into art; the tenderness of Dentata’s music and the cathartic process she went through whilst producing it reminds me of the communal screaming in Midsommar where Dani, played by FLORENCE PUGH, heaves and wails out her agony and trauma. “Recording this album was my transformation and recovery from all the trauma in my life, that’s what the last year for me has been,” the rapper explains. “It was a really intense, emotional process where I learnt so much about myself.”
Phoebe Shardlow: Let’s go back to the beginning - growing up, what did you listen to?
Dana Dentata: When I was really little I was into WHITNEY HOUSTON, BRANDY, BRITNEY SPEARS, CELINE DION and ALICIA KEYS - proper pop. Then around the time I turned 10 or 11 I got into Marilyn Manson and LIMP BIZKIT - my favourite band. I also got into 50 CENT, EMINEM and KID ROCK, but Limp Bizkit were a huge part of me growing up. I notice all these references in my work now more than ever.
PS: How did you find the experience of making your first album?
DD: It took over a year and it goes along with my real life spiritual awakening. My transformation, recovering from all the trauma in my life, that’s what the last year for me has been. It was a really intense, emotional process where I learnt so much about myself.
PS: Was it a cathartic experience?
DD: I feel like I’ve completed a thesis on my life. I can’t wait for you all to hear it.
PS: Did you make the majority of the album over lockdown? Did that, in some ways, make things easier?
DD: I think it made devoting time to it easier. When things shut down I had a lot of time to process and go through all the shit I experienced. I wrote a lot of the songs in my apartment; which is my safe place. I would not have been able to do that if I was still playing shows and on tour. In a way I think it was a special gift where I got to stay home and gestate this.
PS: You say gestate - does the album feel like a child to you?
DD: Absolutely, it’s my baby.
“If you have the opportunity to be on a stage and entertain people, you should take advantage of that. I feel like my shows are a real performance as well as an emotional, compelling experience.”
PS: Do you have a favourite song? Or do they all feel like your kids?
DD: If I were a listener of my music and not myself, I would probably like D in the D, just because I like the sound and everything about it. I think it’s a hard-ass song. But then I think I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Trust No Dick because that’s a song of mine I really held onto secretly. There was a time where I was listening to other people and making electronic pop music but I had Trust No Dick in my back pocket, like a little secret. Everyone was telling me, “you shouldn’t rap, sound pretty and sing,” but then that song took on a life of its own and I had to release it. I think it changed a lot of things for me, it became more than a song; it became my motto. A movement almost.
PS: When do you feel like you’ve put on a really great performance?
DD: I feel like that after every show! It’s always been important for me to put on a performance and not just play songs live. I’ve been so inspired by people like ALICE COOPER who will add in props and a narrative. If you have the opportunity to be on a stage and entertain people, you should take advantage of that. I feel like my shows are a real performance as well as an emotional, compelling experience. I turn into a different person on stage, I become this Dana Dentata character and it’s not even me. I’ll have no stage-fright, no fear, nothing! When that girl comes out and does that show it’s gonna be a good one. That’s my alter-ego taking over.
PS: Is it a form of release?
DD: Absolutely, a lot of the time I’ll cry afterwards. Most of my pain is in my music so it feels like I’m exorcising it. Post-show can feel like a therapy session.
PS: Did you attend a lot of shows growing up?
DD: It’s all I’ve ever done. Even when I was 14, me and my friends would take the bus hours away to see our favourite bands. We’d get stranded out there and the bands would end up driving us home. I’m from Toronto and the music scene there when I was a teenager was huge. Every single person was in a band. It was all you did: see your friends and see bands. Concerts were and are my world.
PS: Did the scene in Toronto help kick off your career in music?
DD: I had an all-girl band when I was 18 called Dentata - it was so nice to find other girls who wanted to start a band too. I was in a couple of other bands briefly with a bunch of guys but the experience of being a girl in a band amongst other girls is such a special thing. There's a different dynamic and different egos, you feel accepted and considered. A reunion show one day is something I’d love to do.
PS: Do you ever get homesick?
DD: I’m not a homesick kind of person because I’ve been doing my own thing since I was so young. I’d never had my own apartment in my name until I moved to California a year ago, so I do feel like I’m finally home in that sense.
PS: If you could say anything to your fans right now what would you say?
DD: I talk with my fans everyday, we have a group-chat. I have such a special relationship and connection with them because of the content of my music and message. It goes so much deeper than, “I like your music and that’s such a cool song.” It’s always very emotional and intense. I wish they would know that they help me so much. By talking with them and not having a god-complex and just conversing as two people they help me as much as I help them. I learn so much from my fans, I talk so much about mental health and they’ll suggest certain books and stuff. Our relationship goes both ways and it’s a wonderful thing. It feels like family.
PS: I must know...what are your top five albums of all time?
DD: Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water by Limp Bizkit; Get Rich or Die Tryin’ by 50 Cent; Live Through This by Hole (Author’s Note: Live Through This is a G.O.A.T album. “It’s f*cking perfection, it’s timeless” - Dana Dentata); The Great Milenko by Insane Clown Posse; The Eminem Show by Eminem.
PS: I always think about the phrase, ‘don’t meet your heroes’. Would you agree with that sentiment?
DD: Oftentimes, the people that we idolise are not the people we actually think they are, so I agree with that. I see a lot of sadness coming from these people and I’ve seen behind that curtain of their lives and it’s pretty dark and sad. Right now, obviously, Marilyn Manson is a prime example of that. That’s someone who was my idol and then you realise that they are not at all who you thought they were. It’s f*cked up! It’s not okay, there’s no excuse for any of it. Alternatively, it can also be amazing to meet your idols and talk with them. I’ve been mentored by so many people I look up to and have taken on their advice and used it. As a singer it’s great to meet the people that have inspired you because they have so much wisdom to share.
PS: And finally, what’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
DD: Be yourself, be you and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Only the times where I’ve been like ‘f*ck it, I’m gonna do me’, have given me the most success. You really have to be your genuine, authentic self. Don’t dim your light.
Film by CHARLIE MCHARG
Featuring DANA DENTATA
Creative direction by JEFFREY THOMSON
Styling by YAEL QUINT
Video edit by MICHAEL PIETRZYK
Music by NEY LIQA
Fashion assistance by AUSTIN SATHER
Special thanks to BRIT BUCKLEY
Dana wears AGENT PROVOCATEUR, CHANEL, GIL RODRIGUEZ, JANET MANDELL, MAGDA BUTRYM, MAISIE WILEN, MANOLO BLAHNIK, SAKS POTTS and TOM FORD