Doja Cat: A Freak of Art

What is the job of a musician in the entertainment world? Even further, what is the job of a woman in the music industry? She is forced into sexualization for fan service appeal but criticized for being "too sexy" or "too political" for a contradicting conservative world. Where is the sense of identity for the artist in their work when it is drastically pushed away for views? Well, today's artist embodies her essence in her work and rejects society's views placed on music artists.

Doja Cat's misfit but sultry personality makes her different from the average musician in today's industry. Gaining recognition from her odd but sexy cowgirl fantasy featuring anime titties to compliment her frame in her uncharted but memorable song, "Mooo!" from her debut album, Amala. The artist continues to push forth rhythm flows, complementing the energetic soul and video imagery of a world far beyond the limits of imagination.

Though her beginnings of "udder play" seem outrageously new, Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini, age 26, started her career as a SoundCloud artist during her teenage years in her home of Los Angeles. Dlamini was always involved in the arts as her mother, Deborah Sawyer, made sure she was in classes, such as ballet and jazz lessons in New York. Even her father, Dumisani Dlamini, the South African actor known for his star role in Sarafina's 1992 musical film, shows that Dlamini was made for the stage. However, the classical arts did not appeal to her, and she ventured off into breakdancing, even becoming part of a professional pop-locking group in Los Angeles.

As her popularity grew from dance halls, she decided to take her music to the next level, dropping out of school at 16. The tasks of searching for soundtracks, teaching herself to sing, rap, use GarageBand, her favorite animal, and marijuana strain were essential to creating the renowned artist known today as Doja Cat. Though her first SoundCloud hit, "So High," led to the opportunity for her to sign to Kemosabe Records with the assistance of producer Dr. Luke. It would not be until 2019 that Doja Cat would have a breakthrough single, "Say So," which boosted the sales of her second album, Hot Pink. The album would open the door for her performance on the VMAs to her major feature tracks with artists, such as Nicki Minaj and The Weekend.

Doja Cat's popularity has only grown from here, but many believe her controversy does not outweigh her work ethic. For example, in 2015, the rapper produced a song called "Dindu Nuffin," a racial slur used to mock victims of police brutality. Last year, the song had resurfaced on the internet, and fans were not exactly pleased with its contents. Vulture Entertainment News addresses the situation using Cat's statements via Twitter, stating, "As for the old song that's resurfaced, it was in no way tied to anything outside of my personal experience. Its meaning is in response to people who often used that term to hurt me. I tried to flip its meaning but recognized that it was a bad decision to use the term in my music".

There are plenty of songs expressing the issues of police brutality in communities of color. But what is the problem with the track beside the name symbolizing a derogatory term? The "dindu nuffin's" that Cat discusses throughout the song are people who struggle in low-income neighborhoods. Thus, they resort to criminal acts for survival. Many people of color live with a "criminal tag" on their backs for this exact stigmatism. So, a young artist wants to discuss this issue; even if she does not dive into it as deeply, she opens the door. Yes, Doja Cat, a girl who says, "bitch I'm a cow" and freely displays sexual fantasies, can be political. Though the name interprets a bit much for the song to be considered severe content, Cat has a voice that deserves respect. Dlamini finds her voice and sets her place in the music industry from this issue and many more.

As her success is still on the rise, Doja Cat's latest album, Planet Her, was a sexy but elegant embodiment of the orgasmic feel of female empowerment. Although her songs such as "Ain't Shit" and "Need to Know" took off immensely on social media platforms, such as TikTok. Many critics felt that the artist has not changed from her farmer days, continuing to bring forth erotic and fun-loving pop songs. An AVClub article titled "Doja Cat Loses Herself in The Pop Space of Planet Her" by Gabriella Sanchez discusses but mostly critics Dlamini's album for being too safe and predictable towards an audience. Sanchez showcases this issue, stating, "Unfortunately, on Planet Her, Doja Cat throws what she knows to the wayside, opting to dive into the crystalline pool of predictable pop sounds. The problem with such clear waters is that you can see straight to the bottom—and Doja Cat is wading in the shallow end". Though the album features primarily typical beats, Dlamini taps into a different style of the intoxicating smooth flow of pop music. However, the album does not stay in shallow waters. She finds her voice to uplift her female audience with songs such as "Woman," which discusses female empowerment and shows no fine line between the strength or intelligence between men and women. But, if the album's listers choose not to pay attention to the lyrics instead of its background beats, they miss these critical elements.

Dlamini tries to reveal herself outside of her quirky rap style and outrageous visuals to give her audience an elegant side of her music. But she is told it is not enough, and critics say it is "too predictable." So, where is the freedom to allow Doja Cat to uplift her audience from social issues or make them laugh at how chaotic the world is? Society may not be ready for someone of Dlamini's background to step outside of the boundary's artist face. But her work proves that she is not afraid of the world criticizing her every move because the bigger goal is her audience. She is highly personal with daily social media live Q&As and streaming on her Twitch account, "dojacattington," for gameplay. The artist demonstrates that her close relationship with her fanbase matters, and she does not separate herself from normality.

Today, Doja Cat only plans to push herself further in her work as she recently told MTV News that she intends to produce a new album. So, it's obvious she continues to push out work but wants to do things according. But she does give some insight to what the album will entail stating, "It's very similar to Hot Pink, in the sense that each of the songs do have their own personality," going on to say, "It's not going to be perfectly consistent, I've never been anyway." Which one could not agree more as the artist staples herself on being outside the box? Regardless, fans could not be more excited to hear that the artist plans to produce more work in the coming year. But one cannot help but wonder what is next for the kitty as she embarks on a new album and deals with recent extreme popularity.

In a recent interview with Paper Magazine, Dlamini talks about her future intentions for her music. Though she starts with jokes of "finally wearing pants," she gives her piece a more profound outlook. "There are people who rap in a certain way because they want to do something so elaborate and so smart that it makes you go, 'Oh my God, I would've never thought of that, but I'd rather be the other end of that, which is being ignorant and stupid and saying whatever I want." Cat goes on to say, "Or just being, like, 'I don't want to think too hard today." Some artists feel that if they do not discuss issues outside of themselves, they will not value the music industry. But that is not precisely true for an artist like Doja Cat because what makes her stand out is that she does not care to be too serious.

It would take away the random and outrageous girl that gave us erotic farmer memes if she did. The goal for Dlamini is to be an artist that stands outside of the norm. She is still young and has all the time in the world to be an artist that displays social views. Currently, she wants to focus on being herself and having fun, which is a challenging but beautiful thing in an industry that constantly wants her to change. Though she is a celebrity, Doja Cat is still the teenage girl that stepped out of Los Angeles with only her dreams and quirky personality leading the way. So, as critics place their labels continuously on what she should be, one can only think of words from the kitty herself, "got milk bitch got beef, god damn."