Doja Cat, Scarlet | Album Review 💿

After dipping her toes into pop on Planet Her, Doja Cat embraces rap on her enjoyable, if imperfect, fourth studio album, Scarlet.  

Grammy-winning artist 🎙 Doja Cat (Amala Dlamini) has blown up over the past few years.  Her 2021 album, 💿 Planet Her, was her biggest success on the charts.  Often, the case is, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. In other words, another pop album from Doja likely would have yielded similar success.  Instead, post-Planet Her, the rapper/singer has embraced rap once again.  Her fourth studio album, 💿 Scarlet is far edgier than Planet Her – see a couple of the NSFW song titles 😬.  Less commercial, aside from the pop success of 🎵 “Paint The Town Red”, there is plenty to heart about Scarlet even if it’s not perfect.

“Paint The Town Red” 

“Said pop make money, now you try, bitch / You could use a revamp with a new vibe, sis.” Doja Cat is locked-in in aggressive, RAP mode on opener 🤩 🎵 “Paint The Town Red”. Produced by 🎛 Earl on the Beat, Amala gets a lift with the beloved, soul classic, 🎵 “Walk on By” by 🎙 Dionne Warwick being sampled overtly. The first thing we hear from Doja is the chorus, in all its assertive glory: “Yeah, bitch, I said what I said / I’d rather be famous instead / I let all that get to my head / I don’t care, I paint the town red.” WOO! If the chorus weren’t feisty enough, the post-chorus certainly is, adding to the infectious nature of the track (“Mm, she the devil / She a bad lil’ bitch, she a rebel…”). Beyond the chorus, the biting, unapologetic bars continue in the verses whether its, “Said my happiness is all of your misery / I put good dick 🍆 all in my kidneys” from the first, or, “I’m a demon 😈, Lord / Fall off what? I ain’t seen the horse.”  Fully embracing all things hip-hop, Doja Cat shines on 🎵 “Paint The Town Red”.   

Appears in 🔻:     

• These 13 Songs Bleed 🩸 Red (2023)    
• Paint 🎨: 3 to 5 BOPS No. 67 (2023)    
• Awesome Songs: August 2023   

“Yeah, ayy / How my demons look (How them demons) / Now that my pockets full?” Doja Cat raps in the chorus of her single, 🤩 🎵 “Demons”. She continues, “How my demons look (Ayy, yeah) / Now that you bitches shook? (Bitch).” Woo! “Demons” is turned up from the start, thanks to malicious sounding production from 🎛 d.a. got that dope.  Features that stand out include tape strings and horns. “Demons” is anchored by a banging, distorted trap beat. Amala has ample fuel for her fire, serving up a mean, hard-nosed approach.  Just as the simple, but catchy chorus suggests, she’s incredibly unapologetic. In the first verse, she bites, “If you throwin’ dick at me (Do it, nigga) / That shit should be big at least (Do it, nigga).” Clearly, size matters, boys! Speaking of dick, there’s more of it in the second verse: “I done took the whole dick and blew my back out / I just swallowed all his kids and spit the class out.” Doja comes out swinging on 🎵 “Demons” with a compelling flow and an IDGAF attitude.  

“Wet Vagina” 

“I bring the drip with wet vagina.” Say what?! Only Doja Cat could pull of a song like 🤩 🎵 “Wet Vagina.” Produced by 🎛 Kurtis McKenzie, Cadenza, Flip_00, and whereyouathan, it features stellar detuned synths and a banging trap beat. Doja maintains an edge dropping unapologetic bars and an aggressive approach. “I been puttin’ twenties in they titties on stage,” she asserts in the first verse, adding in the second, “Pass the popcorn ‘cause I really like rap beef / I got hot songs, that’s why everybody at me.” WORD. She’s cocky and confident with no shortage of 💧, hence the wetness.  Next, it’s 🤩 🎵 “Fuck The Girls (FTG),” bold by virtue of the f-bomb which graces the title and fuels the chorus (“Fuck the girls / They ain’t with me, then they with me, so / Fuck the girls / I don’t need ‘em, I’m too pretty”). Once again, McKenzie is behind the boards, collaborating with 🎛 Scribz Riley and Beat Butcha.  The flow is captivating by Doja, particularly when she’s her angriest (“Said suck my dick, clit, tits, I’m yellin’ 666”). “Fuck The Girls (FTG)” covers more territory than its title suggests.  

Doja Cat asserts herself as dominant and unbeatable on 🎵 “Ouchies.” The chorus sums it up: “Let me get it started / Round one, fight / Round two, ice / Round three, bye.” She insults the competition in the first verse: “Y’all really phone it in with the music lately.” BURN! Among the most colorful lines of the song and the album hails from the second verse: “A hunnid billies, I’m the G.O.A.T, No Eilish.” 🤩 🎵 “97” brings the jazz rap vibes 💪. She shows off some melodic sensibilities in the chorus. Even though there is a sense of refinement with the jazzed-up backdrop (🎛 Jay Versace and Sam Barsh), Doja remains rough around the edges, whether it’s “Looks like we don’t give a shit” from the chorus, or “Yeah, said these are clothes, motherfucker, what are those?” She impresses with her wordplay and references made (“Speedin’ through my city, we medicated the horses / You could hit up PETA, the paint on me make me gorgeous”).  

“Gun”  

Would it surprise you to hear that 🎵 “Gun” is about a natural gun? “Baby, I know how to use a gun… / I can make that dick go fuckin’ grrah-ta, ta-ta-ta.” Enough said! The record features lush, rhythmic synths, anchored by a trap beat (produced by McKenzie,  🎛 f a l l e n, and Boobie). Amala gives us plenty of game. In the first verse, it’s “I said, James Dean, let me in them jeans,” and, “Hide it in my pussy like you hide it in yo’ sleeve.” In the second verse, she shocks with, “Shoot it down my throat but with a silencer, nigga” (😳) and, “Jump on that machine and load the turret, give ‘em friction, ayy / Cock 🍆 it when I walk into the room…”    

On 🎵 “Go Off,” Clearly, you don’t mess with Lil’ mama. Why? “‘Cause she might just pop… / She that bitch in charge, she the real top dog…” Essentially, Doja paints a portrait of a bad bitch, with plenty of entertaining bars. “She mixed the Fendi with the Shein, she don’t slide in no DM,” she spits in verse one. “She snap just like a Pocky, I put that all behind me,” she asserts in verse two, adding, “These bitches all admire, she buildin’ her empire.” Ultimately, “Go Off” marks another enjoyable, pleasant moment from Scarlet.  

“Shutcho”

🎵 “Shutcho” gets a lift via sample, specifically, the 1975 song, 🎵 “I’m Not in Love” by rock band, 🎙 10cc. Produced by Earl on the Beat, 🎛 Gentuar Memishi, and Bangs, “Shutcho” benefits from a banging beat and sensational keys. Furthermore, it features a solid mix of melodic and rapped moments. One of the best moments is the pre-chorus, which, “Got you cussin’ on a Sunday now (On a Sunday; good lord) / Run my check up while they run they mouth.” The following chorus is a blast too, as Doja spits, “Shutcho, shutcho goofy ass up (Shut up, bitch)!” Her flow is epic in the second verse specifically. Clearly, she doesn’t give a f🤬ck! 🤩 🎵 “Agora Hills” is another stellar that benefits from a sample, this time the 1989 🎙 Troop song, 🎵 “All I Do Is Think of You”. “Agora Hills” features more R&B vibes, in addition to rap, something we see more of in forthcoming tracks.  The chorus sets the tone as the first major section of “Agora Hills”:  

“Kissin’ and hope they caught us (Ah) 

Whether they like or not (Not) 

I wanna show you off (Off)…”  

There is plenty of sex, unsurprisingly, including “Suck a little dick in the bathroom” (verse one), and “‘Cause love is pain, but I need this shit / We fuck too good when the bean kicks in / Like Fortnite, I’ma need your skin / Don’t give a fuck where the penis been.” Doja wants to show off her man in public, even if it’s not the best idea.  

Another song, another sample! Fueling 🎵 “Can’t Wait” is the 1973 song, 🎵 “Impeach the President” by 🎙 The Honey Drippers.  A pro includes the old-school, hip-hop beat. Like “Agora Hills,” “Can’t Wait” embraces more R&B compared to the earliest songs on Scarlet. Even so, Doja still drops plenty of pointed, un-pitched bars. Thematically, the focus for Amala her lover – she’s dedicated, baby! 🎵“Often” finds Jay Versace and 🎛 Ben Nartey constructing a jazzy, soulful backdrop, intact with a robust bass line. More neo-soul than hip-hop, Doja seems to channel her inner Erykah Badu, focusing exclusively on singing. “Often” is not my favorite from Scarlet, but you can’t knock the neo-soul aesthetic.   

“Love Life”  

At this point, arguably, Scarlet loses a bit of steam. 🎵 “Love Life” benefits from more wizardry from Jay Versace – soulfulness should never be knocked.  The chorus is repetitive but catchy. Also, shout out Doja’s tone when she raps. 🎵 “Skull And Bones” is more interesting, trading out Versace for 🎛 Ayo The Producer and Kaeyos behind the boards.  The backdrop is celestial. Also sweet is the warmth of the sung vocals in the chorus. The chorus itself marks one of my favorite moments from Scarlet. The sound and – wait for it – the vibe go a long way. There is a nice contrast of rapping in the verses following the warmth of the chorus. There are ear-catching lines, as always, including, “You need to mind your business, Helga Pataki,” a 📺 Hey Arnold reference. Doja’s flow remains potent.  

“Baby, if you like it, just reach out and pet it.” Hmm, pet what, Doja Cat 😈? The sexual innuendo is alive and well in the lyric from 🤩 🎵 “Attention”. This joint does NOT thrive on sexual endeavors.  Instead, Doja raps about tweaking her sound (“My taste good, but I just had to redirect my cookin’”), fame, and criticism by others (“Lookin’ good, but now they all sayin’ I’m ugly”). “Attention” features production by 🎛 Rogét Chahayed and 2K, who give her a lusher sound in the chorus while the verse embraces old-school, hip-hop vibes. She sings in the pre-chorus and chorus, both of which set the tone. By the time she commences the first verse, she firmly has our attention, packing punch with her bars. “Talk your shit about me, I can easily disprove it, it’s stupid / You follow me, but you don’t really care about the music.” She’s ferocious in the second verse too, following her assertion about putting “a thong all in my ass and taught you how to shake it.” “Y’all fall into beef, but that’s another conversation,” she states, addressing her colleagues mixed up in drama.

Appears in 🔻:     

• Awesome Songs: June 2023

“Balut” 

🤩 🎵 “Balut”, the penultimate cut from Scarlet, begins with a 🤼‍♂️ Ric Flair sample, which reappears at the end. Before she raps one note,  the tone is set. “Balut” features sophisticated production courtesy of 🎛 Yeti Beats and Rogét Chahayed, once more hearkening back to jazz-rap and boom bap.  Even in the chorus, given the classy backdrop, Doja is kinder and gentler. Following the chorus, she goes in on the first verse: “Dishes on my ass, still I’m thicker than some oatmeal / Glass houses, I don’t really like to keep my stones there / Oh, well, I’ll buy another property for four mill’.” Later, in the second, she asserts, “Copy this (Copy this), copy that (Copy that) / Every bitch that is her copycat / Copy the greats, that’s my number one strategy / But beware that you can’t copy stats.” All told, 🎵 “Balut” marks another highlight from Scarlet, named balut because “it’s a metaphor for Twitter stans and the death of Twitter toxicity”. Scarlet concludes with the two-minutes and change 🎵 “WYM Freestyle,” the orchestral backdrop and trap beat combo are a win. Furthermore, those unapologetic, cocky, confident bars by Doja are a fitting way to close things out. 

Final Thoughts 💭

All in all, Doja Cat releases an often enjoyable, respectable, and well-rounded rap album with 💿 Scarlet. Is it perfect? Is it a tour de force? The answers to both questions are no. That said, the Grammy winner has plenty of highlights and, it is great to hear her spitting bars after so much focus on pop on her previous album, 💿 Planet Her. Scarlet is DEFINITELY worth checking out.  

🤩 Gems 💎: “Paint The Town Red,” “Demons,” “Wet Vagina,” “Fuck The Girls (FTG),” “97,” “Agora Hills,” “Attention” & “Balut” 

🎙 Doja Cat • 💿 Scarlet • 🏷 Kemosabe / RCA • 🗓 9.22.23

[📷: Kemosabe / RCA]