Dua Saleh puts on mesmerizing show at Fine Line
by Jeffrey Bissoy-Mattis and Morgan Winston
May 23, 2022
Friday night was a special night in downtown Minneapolis, as fans packed the Fine Line Music Café to see headliner and Minnesota superstar Dua Saleh, and a rising local star in Ricki Monique.
While folks danced, bought drinks, and chatted amongst themselves, Dua, dressed in all black, and their producer made their way to the stage. As they got settled, the dispersed crowd in the intimate Fine Line suddenly got cramped as folks rushed to get the best view of the Sex Education star.
The beat hadn’t even dropped yet and the crowd was already jumping up and down, screaming, “WE LOVE YOU, DUA!!!”
In response, Dua replied back in a subtle flirty voice, “Hi Minneapolis. I love y’all too. I see a lot of my friends. Y’all better dance to this song, the beat goes crazy.”
The beat to “trash snacks” off 2021’s CROSSOVER EP dropped, and before they even spoke a word, the crowd bounced. The moment Dua sang into the mic, the crowd erupted. In that moment, it felt that the roof might come down. As the crowd bopped, Dua hopped across the stage with their chains dangling with them. This scene would replay throughout the night, song after song, hit after hit. We were all in trance, glued to Dua’s mesmerizingly nonstop energy and vibe.
With each new song, house with some electro, or hip-hop fusion with some afrobeats sprinked within, Dua reminded the crowd to keep dancing, and dance they did. Even yours truly had to grab a napkin, cause it was hot in there. (Don’t tell my editor that.)
Heads were swaying, feet were jiving, screams were roaring. As the crowd grew more and more mesmerized, Dua just kept laughing, singing, and bopping with a huge smile on their face. They were home and Minnesota was happy to receive them.
Dua Saleh played fan favorites such as “mOth,” and “cat scratch.” They also sang “macrodosing,” which they dedicated to DJ and producer SOPHIE, who passed away in January of 2021.
The Sudan native also played new tracks that I’m excited to add to my playlists once they’re released. One of them is called “kickflip,” which was dedicated to skaters, and another track they made for rockers and emo punks. As for the kick flip skater trick, Dua shared they were still perfecting it.
After performing both songs and going full emo punk for two tracks they yelled, “I’m trying my hardest not to have my pants fall down. That’s how much I love y’all,” they said, throwing up a heart with their hands. “It’s a heart cause I love y’all.”
Dua also took some time to show love to the marvelous opener of the evening, “Give it up for the f**king opener, Ricki Monique. She was phenomenal. Mybeautifulruin was phenomenal.”
The crowd roared in approval. They and Dua had become one. This connection continued through several more songs. Dua sang a song for Somalis in attendance, dedicated a track to the queer folx in the building, and even brought a fellow Minneapolis artist, Kamilla Love, to sing an unreleased track, “maria.” (That song needs to be dropped TODAY!) My goodness, that was a banger.
If you think that was wild, during their performance of “hellbound,” Dua took a slight pause to observe and hype up a dance circle for 20 people that had formed at the front of the stage. This lituation was unmatched.
As all of this went down, I couldn’t help but think about Dua’s presence on stage and the vibe and joy they bring to a space. The ease with which Dua flows from one genre to the other, is truly a marvel to observe, from house to rock, punk, trap, R&B, and indie. There’s nothing they can’t learn and perform well.
I couldn’t stop thinking of Stromae, the Belgian house/electro/rap artist best known for singles “Alors on danse” and “Papaoutai.” Like the Belgian, Dua’s beats are multilayered, drawing from anywhere from two to five musical genres per song. On each track, their voice naturally flows with the beat, adding a certain energy and rhythm that makes a song feel whole.
In making the comparison, I’m simply acknowledging that Dua is already a master at blending sounds and their ability to slide on any track is freakishly amazing and on that Friday night they left all on the stage for us to relish in and dance to.
When Dua closed their set, they and their producer ran off stage as it turned to black. The crowd, mostly unmoved, stayed put, screaming out, “ONE MORE SONG. ONE MORE SONG. ONE MORE SONG.”
Seconds later, Dua and their producer ran back out. “I heard y’all want one more song?!” They yelled out. The crowd was sent into a frenzy as Dua closed out the night with their hit single, “warm pants.”
They invited three guests to the stage, asking them their name and pronouns. As the three female-identifying guests sat down, Dua serenaded them and the crowd till the song's end.
Earlier in the evening, Ricki Monique, with her signature long braids, walked the stage in lime green pants and a black top, accompanied by her producer Mybeautifulruin, who drove up from Chicago to join her for the special event. Fresh off a Chicago tour and the release of her debut EP Good Seeds (a must listen), this was Ricki’s first time back performing in the Twin Cities. And boy was it something!
As she walked on stage, the crowd roared in excitement. To quiet the crowd, Monique seized the moment by grabbing the microphone and beginning her set in a slam poetry cadence and rhythm, “Peace be loud. Peace be still. Peace be art. Peace be a sh*tting, sometimes I be having sh*ts for peace. Peace is different for each person. My peace is in making good music and sharing it with beautiful people like yourself.”
And with that Ricki Monique began the show.
Her presence on stage still, fierce, calming and electric all at once. Once she started to sing and string her lines together, she and the crowd melted into one. She sang “Immortal,” “FTG,” and “Cereal,” as blue, red and purple lights flashed above her.
It goes without question that the crowd was hype. Fans that were familiar with Ricki’s work ahead of the show sang along with her. The rest bopped their heads to the beat.
Ricki Monique shared her excitement of when she was invited to open up for Dua Saleh. She also left the stage with an extra pep in her step, as if she needed it, after the show. To the folks sleeping on her music, she cried out, “I opened for Dua, what you gotta say?”
There was laughter. There was dancing. There was raging. There was calm. There was love. On that cold and windy night in downtown Minneapolis, Dua Saleh and Ricki Monique shut down Fine Line Music Cafe. It was a night I’ll never forget.
Dua Saleh setlist
trash snacks
fitt
buzzin
sugar mama
kickflip
umbrellar
cat scratch
RE(a)D
chosen
hellbound
maria (song with Kamilla Love)
fav flav
tic tic
focal
mOth
pretty kitten
macrodosing
pearls
i belong to you
warm pants
