LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� Before , the adventurous and often absurdist rap phenomenon born from internet celebrity, released her stellar fourth full-length album, the take-no-prisoners she bit the hand that feeds.
Sort of.
On social media, she told her followers, who call themselves 鈥渒ittenz鈥� to A few of her fan pages demanded an apology and then deactivated their accounts when it wasn鈥檛 received. No stranger to bucking convention, Doja Cat had inspired conversation about celebrity and the fans that make them that way. Did she owe them anything? Were they wrong to assume she did?
鈥淎ttention鈥� was the first single she dropped 鈥� a biting treatise on parasocial relationships, particularly, the one between her fans and herself. The sonics amplify the delivery: a 鈥�90s hip-hop beat, the opening lines of the first verse: 鈥淟ook at me / Look at me,鈥� and a break before 鈥淵ou lookin鈥�?鈥�
Fame has its demons, and it鈥檚 usually the source material for very unimaginative pop music. Here, Doja Cat flips the trope on its head 鈥� for one, she鈥檚 abandoned the glossy pop of her last two albums, 2021's 鈥淧lanet Her鈥� and 2019's 鈥淗ot Pink鈥�, and instead sharpened her flow. Throughout, it cuts 鈥� but her humor is never lost. 鈥淥n 鈥淥uchies,鈥� she raps, 鈥淎 hunnid Billies / I鈥檓 the goat / No Eilish.鈥�
Fans as villains may very well be a theme here, because it appears throughout 鈥淪carlet.鈥� 鈥淔---- The Girls鈥� is 鈥淎ttention's鈥� more unforgiving sister song, a burning cathartic release 鈥� it is the song equivalent of a therapist instructing their patient to write a letter with all the incendiary things they鈥檇 like to say to someone who has wronged them. (And, in the case of this example, destroy it.) Except, of course, instead of getting rid of the note 鈥� or having someone accidentally send the letter to its subject, as is the plot to so many sitcoms 鈥� she sends it to everyone, scorched earth-style.
Gone are the days of 鈥� and even further away, the comedic virality of the tracks that made her, like 鈥淢ooo!鈥� Instead there鈥檚 the shimmery 鈥淪hutcho鈥� and its sample of the soft rock hit 鈥淚鈥檓 Not In Love鈥� by the English group 10cc; the new jack swing sweetness of 鈥淎gora Hills鈥�, filtered through Troop鈥檚 1989 hit 鈥淎ll I Do Is Think of You,鈥� and the R&B romance of 鈥淐an鈥檛 Wait.鈥�
In mid-September, her album opener 鈥淧aint the Town Red鈥� 鈥� which features a sample of Dionne Warwick鈥檚 鈥淲alk On By鈥� 鈥� became the first rap song to hit No. 1 in over a year. That was the longest absence since 2001. (For the history-curious: there was between Will Smith鈥檚 鈥淲ild Wild West鈥� and Shaggy鈥檚 鈥淚t Wasn鈥檛 Me.) For the last few months, country music has 鈥� if anyone had the power to dethrone its dominance, it鈥檚 Doja and her rule breaking spirit.
On this album, she goes beyond her 鈥淪carlet Letter鈥� 鈥� and wears the color as a point of pride.
Maria Sherman, The Associated Press
