By Aaron Quinones
Contributing Writer
“I never learned to superstar from a textbook,” said Doja Cat as she drops her fourth studio album titled “Scarlet.” On this album, Doja looks to prove all the critics wrong who say she isn’t a rapper. She debuts her new alter ego, named “Scarlet,” after teasing it on X, stating, “Scarlet is here” shortly after the release of “Attention,” her first single from this new album.
“Scarlet” opens up with Doja’s now number one charting second single, “Paint The Town Red.” In this campy Halloween song, she lets it be known that she doesn’t “need a big feature or a new sidekick” and she would soon prove that, as “Scarlet” is her first album to not have any features by any artists. Doja talks about how she let things get in her head while being on the rise to her fame. “Paint The Town Red” is a catchy song and even samples “Walk On By” sung by Dionne Warwick.
Things soon take a dark turn as the next track titled “Demons” showcases Doja’s experimental dark side. After causing controversy due to her promoting satanism, she rubs it in her haters face, asking the audience “How her demons look.” The music video for the song “Demons” is really high-quality when it comes to the budget of the music video, and it actually makes it look like a high-production horror movie.
Doja Cat has some amazing album tracks like “Wet V*gina,” “F**k The Girls (FTG)” and “Go Off.” Some of my personal favorites from this album are “Ouchies,” “Gun,” “Agora Hills,” “Attention,” “Balut,” and “WYM Freestyle.”
“Ouchies” especially is a fun workout song. Doja gains inspiration from the sport of boxing in the chorus of the song. “Gun” is a very classic Doja song and her verses are really enjoyable.
“Agora Hills” is currently gaining a lot of popularity from the general public. “Agora Hills” is a dreamy love song that takes inspiration from female rap icon Nicki Minaj, who is Doja’s clearest influence when it comes to her work. In “Attention” which was the first lead single off the “Scarlet” album, Doja claps back at the haters in both verses of the song, letting them know that their negativity isn’t letting them stop her. She also talks about being compared to the likes of Nicki Minaj and how she takes those comparisons as compliments and not as disses.
“Balut” opens with a message from WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair. Doja’s angelic voice on this track is really satisfying and you could even fall asleep while listening to it. In Doja’s last track of the album, “WYM Freestyle,” Doja goes back to her early roots as she simply just has fun while rapping on a beat. She begins to bark like a dog and flexes on other artists about selling out her shows and winning many trophies.
Overall, “Scarlet” is an experimental but memorable album for Doja Cat. She finally was able to do things she wanted to do in her career instead of sticking mostly in the pop-like sound. With “Paint The Town Red” currently charting at number one, it seems all the drama that has happened during this roll out of her new album didn’t affect her. Though some songs on the album may be skippable, like “97,” “Skull And Bones,” and “Shutcho,” Doja does a good job making sure most of her album has complete bops.
