Doja Cat

Doja Cat
Doja Cat in 2024
Born
Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini

(1995-10-21) October 21, 1995 (age 29)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupations
  • Rapper
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
Years active2012–present
WorksDiscography
FatherDumisani Dlamini
AwardsFull list
Musical career
Genres
Labels
Websitedojacat.com

Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini (born October 21, 1995), known professionally as Doja Cat (/ˈdoʊdʒə/), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, she began making and releasing music on SoundCloud as a teenager. Her song "So High" caught the attention of Kemosabe and RCA Records, with whom she signed a recording contract prior to the release of her debut extended play, Purrr! in 2014.

After a hiatus from releasing music and the uneventful rollout of her debut studio album, Amala (2018), Doja Cat earned viral success as an internet meme with her 2018 single "Mooo!", a novelty song in which she makes humorous claims about being a cow. Capitalizing on her growing popularity, she released her second studio album, Hot Pink, in the following year. The album later reached the top ten of the US Billboard 200 and spawned the single "Say So"; its remix featuring Nicki Minaj topped the Billboard Hot 100. Her third studio album, Planet Her (2021), spent four weeks at number two on the Billboard 200 and spawned the top ten singles "Kiss Me More" (featuring SZA), "Need to Know", and "Woman". Her fourth studio album, Scarlet (2023), adopted a hip hop-oriented sound and peaked within the top five of the Billboard 200, while its lead single "Paint the Town Red" became her most successful song to date, as it marked her first solo number-one on the Hot 100 among eight other countries.

Described by The Wall Street Journal as "a skilled technical rapper with a strong melodic sense and a bold visual presence",[1] Doja Cat is known for creating videos and performances which achieve virality on social media platforms such as TikTok. Well-versed in Internet culture, she is also famed for her absurdist online personality and stage presence.[2][3][4][5] She has received numerous accolades throughout her career, including one Grammy Award from sixteen nominations, five Billboard Music Awards, five American Music Awards, and five MTV Video Music Awards. She is one of the biggest commercial artists of the 2020s according to Billboard,[6] and was included on the 100 most influential people in the world by Time in 2023.[7]

  1. ^ Richardson, Mark (July 2, 2021). "Songs for a Social Summer". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on September 2, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  2. ^ Yu, Brandon (June 29, 2021). "On 'Planet Her,' Dlamini is fully realized as the future of pop". Mic. Archived from the original on July 16, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021. Doja is a star whose identity is embedded into the internet, from her gaming streams on Twitch to her own wickedly funny inside-joke-heavy TikToks to her dubious forays into chatrooms — her music is just one part of her persona, and arguably even the less important part of her allure for some of her fan base
  3. ^ Fabbro, Rocio (June 28, 2021). "It's Doja's Planet and We're Just Living In It". V. Archived from the original on July 10, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021. Known for her sense of humor, posting viral Tik Toks and sharing silly snaps on socials (see tweet below), Doja infuses everything she does with her unique persona. That's part of what makes her music so relatable and fresh.
  4. ^ Droke, Carolyn (April 22, 2021). "Doja Cat Says She'll Never Have A Typical Pop Star's Personality". Uproxx. Archived from the original on September 2, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Montrose was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Unterberger, Stephen Daw, Kyle Denis, Rylee Johnston, Jason Lipshutz, Andrew; Daw, Stephen; Denis, Kyle; Johnston, Rylee; Lipshutz, Jason; Unterberger, Andrew (October 3, 2023). "Doja Cat Is One of the World's Biggest Pop Stars — Why Does She Still Not Have a No. 1 Album?". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 5, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2023.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "Time 100". Time. April 13, 2023. Archived from the original on April 13, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2023.