The Flower That Knew offers a genuine and joyful expression of individuality amid the chaotic cultural landscape.
If I ask you to think of an artist who has cultivated an honest and authentic social media presence, who comes to mind? For me, it’s DijahSB. Amidst the haters, naysayers, and general skullduggery that floods my social media feeds, the Toronto-based rapper is a breath of fresh air. They are funny, whipsmart, and often self-referential without coming across as hokey or heavy-handed. To know DijahSB through their irreverent and often on-the-nose observations is to instantly want to root for their success against all the odds.
Yet there’s another side of DijahSB that’s equally public: their music. As suggested by the title and artwork of their sophomore full-length, Head Above the Waters, DijahSB works hard to present the world a cool, collected, and comedic persona on the surface while below, they are hiding away all the hard work and effort it takes to keep themselves in the game. Where that album’s songs sometimes felt forced into the musical narrative suggested by its title, its follow-up, The Flower That Knew, feels like DijahSB has finally taken root and started blooming from the inside out. It is the work of a seasoned and mature artist operating on a new plane and with a newfound sense of self that’s starting to bridge the gap between their two sides.
Continuing Conversations
DijahSB goes deep into Toronto’s rap scene, queer artists bashing down the door of hip-hop, how to be good at X (formerly Twitter), and more.
“For the first time ever in my life I feel energized,” they declare on “Back Outside,” one of a handful of key lyrical signposts peppered throughout The Flower That Knew. As celebratory as the song is, it doesn’t lose sight of the struggles and pitfalls it took to get to this stage: “Right now, I’m a little fatigued,” they rap with a detached casualness that belies the seriousness of their words, adding “I was dealing with some things that you just wouldn’t believe.” But anyone following DijahSB between releases will know what’s been going on. She lays it bare across The Flower That Knew, from financial issues to relationship woes to fighting for a place at the table as a non-binary Black artist.
“I’m Blooming,” “Fertilize,” and “Chantel’s Garden” are positively brimming with growth, sustainability, and self-preservation. The beats get lighter as the subject matter grows weighty on the infectiously boppy “Don’t Touch!” and silky smooth “How R U.” That song, particularly, hits hard. “Feel like I’m stuck in the same day over again / I look like fine but my real friends know I pretend,” DijahSB admits just before flowing into the song’s breezy chorus about not knowing whether to answer the titular question sincerely or to try and feign that everything is okay when it’s not. At the height of the pandemic, asking someone, “How are you?” could have opened a door for real human-to-human connections. But just as quickly as that door opened, the lifting of restrictions and a return to “normal” has meant we’re all back to asking but not really caring.
DijahSB cares, though, and they care enough to be vulnerable and open with the world about what that struggle means to them and how they’ve managed to make their way through it. The Flower That Knew is not about overcoming obstacles but coming out further ahead than you were when you first faced them. It’s an album that literally and figuratively showcases DijahSb’s artistic strengths and growth over time. Like her social media presence, The Flower That Knew is a genuine, joyful expression of individuality that stands out in our current cluttered, chaotic, and often incoherent cultural landscape.
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