Album Review: Amongst the Controversy and the Digital Trolling, Doja Cat Cements a New, Rap-Focused Era with ‘Scarlet’

Doja Cat has been a controversial figure for the better part of 2023, continuously attacking her supposed fans and vitriolically acting out. The real question is, is Doja Cat’s casually cruel nature worth the heat that Scarlet brings?

Written by Rachel Joy Thomas

Photo courtesy of Jacob Webster

Doja Cat, otherwise known by her real name Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini, sits at the top of the rap throne, beating Nicki Minaj by 10 million listeners on Spotify this month. Doja has recently garnered increasing controversy for her social media presence and personal relationships, earning her characterization as a frustrated, scornful rap artist acting out against the nature of a subdued yet harsh music industry. No longer serving others, Doja made it clear through the release of singles “Attention,” “Paint the Town Red,” “Demons” and “Balut” that she was done with the eccentric, fake personality she previously used to address her audience. 

Fans quickly pointed out that the “previous version” of Doja won a Grammy alongside SZA for the famous song “Kiss Me More,” which currently sits at an astounding 1.6 billion streams on Spotify. The popular song, amongst others on her discography, was an apparent illusion that didn’t reveal her true artistry. To the chagrin of fans who believed this representation was her true self, she took to X to call her last two albums “cash grabs” for the sake of streams. After these releases, Doja became increasingly angered by the questions surrounding her personal life and alternative identity, thus forming the basis for her new album, Scarlet. Doja was quick to try and define who she was through her new debut, and its subsequent scathing lyrics pointed directly at the stress of a growing fanbase. 

There are times on this album wherein the intense ways Doja reacted to her fanbase further paint the portrayal of the album in a negative light. The continuous onslaught of lyrics pointing out the increasing desire to move away from the spotlight gets old, as the majority of the singles released pre-Scarlet were exclusively focused on the dichotomy between her fans and herself. That dichotomy, for instance, plays a role on the single “Paint The Town Red,” Doja refers to her fans by saying: They just want my love and my energy / You can't talk no shit without penalties'' addressing the pained relationship between herself and her fans. Problematically, however, it weakens tracks like “Demons” and “Paint The Town Red,” which both over-simplify Doja's inherent desire to move away from her old image. On “Paint The Town Red,” Doja attempts to separate herself from her pop-based image, but she makes the track incredibly similar to other music in her previous discography. The liberation Doja seeks, then, feels like a fake cash-grab, especially when considering some of the similarities her new music still has with her old. The idea that Planet Her, Hot Pink, or even Amala don’t represent the true Doja becomes harder to believe when her most real album still features the ‘Old Doja.’

“Demons” is more impressive when you consider the superb direction of its music video rather than its unadorned beat or relatively simple lyrics. Unlike “Paint The Town Red,” it does take a new approach previously uncharted in Doja’s discography by delving into an intense beat, coupled with the bliss Doja takes in portraying a devilish figure. The song feels like a rip from Justin Bieber’s “I Feel Funny” but is surprisingly non-satirical. Lyrics like “Who are you, and what are those? / You are gross / Percocet got you playing with your nose,” don’t appeal in the same way that other tracks graciously do, weakening the overall ambiance of the album, even though it fits the new image Doja is trying to cultivate to a greater extent.

On “Balut,” Doja incorrectly identifies the Filipino dish ‘Balut’ as “a bird being eaten alive.” "It's a metaphor for Twitter stans and the death of Twitter toxicity. The beginning of 'X' and the end of 'tweets,’” she said on an Instagram story. More accurately, the name may come from the famous saying, “I Da! Ba-Loot!,” coined by Ric Flair, a professional wrestler featured at the beginning of the song. As one of the weakest tracks on the album, it leaves much to be desired in terms of its lyrics but has the occasional pop of production and instrumentation to keep it going. It’s a relaxed track that flaunts and idolizes the success Doja gained from unknowing fans supporting her previous work. With production from Roget Chahayed, who helped Doja with hits like “Kiss Me More” and “Ain’t Shit,” you may expect more from the track that touts Doja’s success coming to her as quickly as “taking candy from a baby.”  

In contrast, one of the strongest tracks on the album, “Attention,” shows a better side of this internal struggle. There is a sense of beautifying, crushing strength that simply isn’t captured on other tracks on this album that touch on similar themes. “Attention” confounds the expectations placed on Doja. The 27-year-old musician scaldingly raps: “Now you can afford not to be lousy, go and do shit / Talk your shit about me, I can easily disprove it, it's stupid / You follow me, but you don't care about the music.” As Doja’s flow continues, you get a genuine sense of the unrealistic expectations placed on a rapper who wants to create their content but feels pressured by the blinding hate they receive. With eye-opening lyrics and entrancing instrumentals, this track represents the stronger side of Doja’s new mythos.

Another strong contender, “Fuck The Girls (FTG),” lays the groundwork for the former-pop singer's career as a rap artist. With its ‘90s-style beat, the song comments on social media's “girl-hating” nature. Doja illustrates the specific nature of parentification in the music industry, severing the parasocial relationship many of her “kittens” had with her; “Come get ya bad-ass kids, no need to mention / I been sittin' on that thought for minute, now I got time for a min / I'm never poppin' no shit, I focus most on my craft.”

With the full release of Scarlet, the album's themes expanded more of Doja’s new rap-heavy focus, which became increasingly more enjoyable while listening. While a large part of the record focuses on the new Doja, a few songs have a surprising amount of pop flair. Sprinkled in with her new direction comes speckles of the “Old Doja,” reflected on tracks like “Agora Hills.” 

The Soundcloud-inspired trap-rap slow-bop is a somewhat unfortunate love song, possibly referencing Doja’s recent romance with J. Cyrus. There is a fun, pop-filled nostalgia reminiscent of the ’90s. Sampling Troop’s “All I Do Is Think Of You,”the 1989 song gives a stunning mix of R&B elements while remixing the song with pop elements. Doja’s flow takes a lighter approach as a refreshing interlude to some of the album’s more hard-hitting rap songs. Although the song has occasional campy lyrics — “Like Fortnite, I'ma need your skin” — it has a fair share of clever, enthusiastic lines that almost feel reminiscent of her renounced era.

Regardless of how we see her, Doja enjoys and takes great pride in life. Tracks like “Can’t Wait” are a soundscape filled with early 2000s forte. Emphasizing all of the good things in life, Doja once again references boyfriend J. Cyrus during this song, saying to him: “Yeah, and I wouldn't do this for no man / It's a understatement if I tell you you's important.” Rapping about her joy in being both Doja and Dlamini on “Love Life,” she says, “ I love it when my fans ain't mad, when I looked snatched / I love it when my mom cook food, she bake that mac / I love hearin' the roar when I go on the stage on tour.” 

Despite the controversy and occasionally simplistic lyrics on Scarlet, Doja has made it apparent that she loves her new direction and won’t return to her old image. Scarlet is too good to despise, regardless of some of its lukewarm aspects. The troubling nature of Scarlet, however, doesn’t exist in the quality of the music, which remains on-par with Doja’s other albums, but rather her disillusionment with an industry that remains regardless of her struggles within it. A frustrating aspect of Scarlet is the over-saturation of tracks that continuously point out the relationship between Doja and her fanbase, without digging into why she continues to participate in what seems to be a soul-crushing occupation. Her continued participation remains a mystery, but one that will permanently impact the way Scarlet appears. Regardless, Scarlet is a mix of strengths, weaknesses, and everything in-between.