Doja Cat is a producer, songwriter and producer. Her career started almost by accident, with the release of the track “Mooo!” The song went viral, propelling the artist to fame. Her career advanced thanks to her active social media presence on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. She is also recognized for her unique musical performance, often unconventional musical style and artistic ability. Learn more at losangeleska.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the artist is “a skilled technical rapper with a strong melodic sense and a bold visual presence.” She has won multiple prizes over her career, including Grammys, Billboard Music Awards, American Music Awards and MTV Video Music Awards. According to Billboard, she is one of the most successful commercial artists of the 2020s, and Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2023. Here, you can also learn about the life of the famous American actress Kate Hudson, who was born in Los Angeles.
Early life
Doja was born on October 21, 1995, in Los Angeles, California, into a family of artists. Her mother, Deborah Elizabeth Sawyer, is a Jewish-American artist. Her father, Dumisani Dlamini, is a South African actor, composer and film producer of Zulu descent best known for his leading role in the 1992 musical film “Sarafina!”.
Shortly after her birth, Doja and her mother moved to New York City, where they lived for five years. Her family eventually returned to California, where her mother enrolled her in ballet and jazz classes. Her aunt, a singer, gave her singing lessons to help her get into a performing arts school. She later started attending breakdancing classes and joined a professional troupe, with which she competed in dance battles throughout Los Angeles. She eventually dropped out of high school at the age of sixteen.
Beginning of a career and record deal
Doja Cat characterized life after dropping out of school as “messy,” stating that she slept on the floor and spent all night and day searching the internet for beats to compose her own music. She learned to sing, rap and use the GarageBand app at home while she wasn’t working, often making music and uploading it to SoundCloud.
Her career started to take shape in 2012. The singer’s debut SoundCloud upload was “So High,” which she released towards the end of the year. In August 2014, the singer released her debut album, “Purrr!”. In mid-2015, Doja Cat signed with OG Maco’s label, OGG. Following the record deal, in late 2016, they collaborated on the song “Monster”.
In February 2018, the singer released a promotional single titled “Roll with Us”. The following month, she dropped a single and music video for “Go to Town”. This track became the lead single of the debut album. In the same month, “Candy” was released as the album’s second single. In 2019, a TikTok dancing challenge went viral, and the track became a smash. This resulted in the single hitting the world charts in Australia, Canada and the United States, where it peaked at number 86 on the Billboard Hot 100.
On March 30, 2018, she released her debut studio album, “Amala”. The album was largely ignored by critics upon its release and failed to chart in any market. The album eventually peaked at number 138 on the Billboard 200 at the end of 2019.
Breakthrough with “Hot Pink”
In October 2019, the singer achieved significant success with the release of “Bottom Bitch,” the lead single from her second album. Following that, the single “Rules” was released, along with the announcement of her second studio album, “Hot Pink”. It was released on November 7, 2019, and received generally positive reviews. The album eventually reached number 9 on the Billboard 200.
In January 2020, “Say So” was released to the radio as the fourth single from “Hot Pink”. The song was originally published with the album in November 2019 and eventually gained popularity on TikTok. The singer’s most popular song of 2020 in the US was the solo version of “Say So,” which peaked at number 5 on the Hot 100 and became her first single in the top ten. In May 2020, following the release of the “Say So” remix featuring Nicki Minaj, the single topped the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first number-one single for both artists. In March 2020, the singer was supposed to go on the Hot Pink Tour to promote the album, but it was postponed owing to the COVID-19 epidemic. With the release of the album, the singer was nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards in 2021.
In June 2021, the singer released her third studio album, “Planet Her.” This album peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. It featured the successful songs “Kiss Me More” with SZA, “You Right” with the Weeknd, “Need to Know”, “Woman” and “Get Into It (Yuh)”. Her duet with SZA earned the two a Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo Performance in 2022. In September 2023, the singer’s fourth album “Scarlet” was published. The album’s hit singles included “Paint the Town Red” and “Agoura Hills”.
In addition to her own music, the singer has collaborated with other artists on songs such as “Best Friend” with rapper Saweetie in 2021 and a remix of “34+35” with singer Ariana Grande in 2020.
Scandals around the singer
Doja Cat has faced a lot of criticism during her career, especially for her use of homophobic language and her professional relationship with the producer.
In 2018, Doja Cat was accused of using homophobic language on Twitter. The singer later apologized for her words. In May 2020, she was hit again for a song she released on SoundCloud in 2015 called “Dindu Nuffin”. In the song, she used demeaning language for victims of police brutality, which is common in far-right movements. After receiving criticism, she deleted the song.
Doja Cat was also criticized for her professional relationship with the producer, who was involved in a long-running legal struggle with fellow artist Kesha over sexual harassment and defamation. In 2014, Kesha filed a civil lawsuit against Dr. Luke, accusing him of sexual assault, and he sued her for defamation. Kesha’s suit was dismissed in 2016.
Sources of inspiration
Doja said her biggest musical inspiration is probably Nicki Minaj, and writer for XXL Stacy-Ann Ellis remarked that Doja and Nicki Minaj had comparable cartoon productions on stage. Doja Cat has also mentioned D’Angelo and Rihanna as her major influences. She also stated that singer Beyonce is one of the driving forces behind her professional success.
Doja Cat has been recognized for her musical versatility, including her abilities to sing, rap and produce. In the future, the singer aspires to be known as a worldwide artist, not only in music but also in the visual arts and dance. Her second full-length studio album, “Hot Pink,” features her beats as well as a series of videos written and produced by her. Doja described “Hot Pink” as a restart of her career and the most sophisticated and accurate expression of herself. Her upbeat style of music reflects her escapist fantasy worldview.
Doja Cat has been described as a “skilled troll”. She is known for posting humorously absurd content on platforms such as TikTok. Doja Cat is well-known for her unique sense of humor and rebellious attitude, as well as her passion for creating various types of online content. The singer admits, “I’m a punk.” “I enjoy being punk for people who take things too seriously.”