Doja Cat posing with a snake to promote her new album and complimentary tour for Variety. Photo from Variety via Greg Swales.
From the pop-focused album “Hot Pink” to being called a satanist for dropping “Paint The Town Red,” Doja Cat took a complete 180° from “Say So.” Earlier this year, Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini, also known professionally as Doja Cat, dropped her single “Attention,” which piqued the attention of fans.
“Attention” gained a lot of stardom on the charts and social media, not only because it was a Doja Cat piece, but because it wasn’t reminiscent of anything she’d made prior. The song, along with the majority of the album, gave us an R&B, chiller vibe rather than her previous pop sensations. Compared to her last album, “Planet Her,” “Scarlet” features more mature themes and tracks, as seen from a couple of song titles.
Three more singles were released to promote the album, including “Paint The Town Red” and “Demons,” which made their viral rounds on TikTok. The album finally dropped on Sept. 22 when fans had conflicting opinions about it and the promotional singles, claiming it was her “old music” repackaged into a new concept.
Listening through the tracklist, the album is truly like nothing Dlamini has produced before. Songs from “Planet Her” continue to be personal favorites, with tracks like “Kiss Me More” featuring SZA and “You Right” featuring The Weeknd hitting Billboard charts upon release. After listening through completely, all the songs stand out in their own way but blend together due to the consistent theme of soulful R&B tracks. Her vocals are much more comfortable on tracks like these, and you can tell throughout the tracks.
The standout, according to many fans and myself, of the album has to be “Agora Hills,” which keeps that soulful R&B theme but takes a more sensual approach. Some of the lyrics within the track do turn fans away, with Doja trolling between verses such as “Baby, you’re literally capping to me right now. You just cap so hard I–” For people who are long-term listeners of Dlamini, this was inevitable.
Overall, Dlamini must be doing something right as her tracks continue to hit the charts. This album was a turning point for her career as it’s unique for her discography, and you can tell she’s much more comfortable producing music with this heavy-bass soulful R&B feel compared to the pop hits prior.
