Loads of artists current an unapologetic entrance, however Doja Cat appears genuinely proof against any type of on-line controversy. Two months earlier than the discharge of ‘Scarlet’, her transitional fourth album, the singer, rapper and frequent beef magnet known as out her followers for calling themselves “Kittenz” within the vein of Beyoncé’s Beyhive or Taylor Swift’s Swifties. “My followers don’t identify themselves shit,” Doja posted on Threads, a social media platform she has since disappeared from (like us all). “Should you name your self a ‘kitten’ or fucking ‘kittenz’ meaning it is advisable get off your cellphone and get a job and assist your mother and father with the home.”
A day later, when a disgruntled former ok**ten requested Doja to reassure followers that she “loves them”, the musician replied with brutal honesty: “I don’t although cuz I don’t even know y’all.” Although she misplaced 500,000 followers within the fallout, an exodus she in comparison with “defeating a big beast”, she has since made her place abundantly clear on this album’s lead single, ‘Paint The City Crimson’. “Followers ain’t dumb,” Doja raps over an opulent pattern from Dionne Warwick‘s ‘Stroll On By’, “however extremists are.” Ouch – although this didn’t cease ‘Paint The City Crimson’ from going to Quantity One within the UK, US and past.
Doja has additionally talked up ‘Scarlet’ by dismissing her final two albums, 2019’s ‘Scorching Pink’ and 2021’s ‘Planet Her’ – each multi-platinum smashes – as “money grabs” crammed with “digestible pop hits”. The art work for her earlier materials on streaming companies is now bathed with a crimson hue, in step with this period’s aesthetic. In equity, she has put her cash the place her mouth is by distancing herself from Dr. Luke, the controversial producer who polished up a few of her greatest pop hits. “I don’t assume I must work with him sooner or later,” Doja mentioned in 2021; and definitely nothing right here mimics the blissful disco sound of her Luke-produced breakthrough music ‘Say So’. As a substitute, ‘Scarlet’ is a a lot harder affair that repositions Doja as a rapper first and singer second.
If Doja has been stung by previous criticism of her abilities – Remy Ma mentioned final yr: “I don’t consider her as a rapper” – she now appears intent on rising above it. “A number of folks that have been sleeping say I rap now,” she insists on ‘Demons’, a hard-hitting brag observe that options the understanding line “I’m the fastest-growing bitch on all of your apps now.” The music that follows, ‘Moist Vagina’, underlines her level with some tight self-mythologising rhymes: “Fairly face plastic – it’s giving Kardashian / Agent 47, yeah, I’m giving murderer / Kick me out the Met however I actually run style”.
Working with producers together with her common collaborators Rogét Chahayed, Kurtis McKenzie and Y2K, Doja comes out preventing from the beginning. ‘Fuck The Women’ lays a combative hook over a ’90s hip-hop beat; ‘Ouches’ is pushed by the nonchalant chorus “appears like we don’t give a shit”, and the midtempo intercourse jam ‘Gun’ is thrillingly filthy. “Mentioned, James Dean, let me in them denims – put me in your whip and let me experience it ’til I cream,” she raps. The latter additionally options one among Doja’s famously plainspoken come-ons: “Stick it up me in the lounge.”
Round its midpoint, ‘Scarlet’ turns into extra sensual and reflective, although Doja nonetheless finds time to inform us she “don’t fuck incels” on the in any other case nostalgic ‘Agora Hills’. The harp-flecked ‘Shutcho’ is constructed round one other expensive-sounding pattern – 10cc’s smooth rock chestnut ‘I’m Not In Love’ – and ‘Can’t Wait’ reveals off her underused soulful vocals. “To not be an excessive amount of however I’m all the time me round you,” she raps over a balmy beat that harks again to Lauryn Hill’s traditional ‘The Miseducation…’ album. “However whenever you go away, I’m transferring very awkwardly with out you.” Her phrasing could also be clumsy, however she sounds genuinely loved-up.
All of it provides as much as an overlong, barely repetitive however in the end compelling album of two halves. Late within the day, she checks herself on ‘Love Life’ by admitting “I do know I’ve had a mood earlier than” and injects some humour into the woozy ‘Balut’. “The one drawback that I havе and I’ll be so actual,” Doja deadpans, “[is] I hit the stagе and lose the crystals on my toenails.” Nonetheless, by this stage, there’s little doubt that Doja has made her level – that she doesn’t owe us something however to be herself.
Particulars
- Launch date: September 22, 2023
- File label: Kemosabe, RCA
