By Kai McMillian
Scarlet by Doja Cat (originally named Hellmouth) is her 4th studio album, released on September 22, 2023, by Kemosabe and RCA Records. This is her first album with no features since her debut EP Purrr!, released in 2014. This record contains elements of Pop, RnB, and Hip-Hop, with a mixture of rapping and singing. Scarlet contains 17 songs. Doja released “Attention”, “Demons”, and “Paint The Town Red” as pre-release singles. Paint The Town Red earned Doja a #1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 and Billboard’s Global 200. This album peaked at #1 on Billboard’s 200, marking her third time. On top of this, Doja is embarking on her first arena tour, The Scarlet Tour with guests Doechii and Ice Spice, with her first show in the Chase Center in San Francisco on October 31, 2023.
In my personal opinion, Scarlet is an amazing album that showcases Doja’s talents when it comes to lyricism, rapping, singing, and storytelling. Her flow in these songs greatly resembles the style of early rap to me. The songs on this album revolve around the topics of love, finding confidence in yourself, empowerment, and forgetting what people think about you. My favorite songs on this album are “Can’t Wait”, “Agora Hills”, and “Demons”. “Can’t Wait” is about her feelings of intense love and devotion towards someone. It expresses Doja’s feelings and excitement to be with her lover, as expressed in the lyrics “All the things I do, all the plans I move, all the men I shoo, Mm, boy, I can’t wait to get next to you, I can’t wait to get next to you”. Agora Hills is a song about waiting to “show off” your partner and the love you share with each other. The title is also a play on words of Agoura Hills which is a city in California where Doja Cat lives. Some lyrics are “Kissin’ and hope they caught us, whether they like it or not, I wanna show you off”. The last song , “Demons”, bashes the people who have seen her as, ironically, a demon after her change up from her last eras to her new style and music. Doja suffered attacks online due to her shaving her head, switching up her aesthetic, and her promotions of her album. Some lyrics are “How my demons look? Now that my pockets full? How my demons look? Now that you b–ches shook?”
Scarlet is definitely a great album for rap and r&b lovers, as Doja combines these two main genres very naturally and effortlessly into this record. It is a big change from Planet Her as that album is more pop-heavy and this one is more rap-heavy. Even if you are picky with the genres you listen to, this album will definitely be worth a try. I would give it a 9/10, as one song in particular is not my cup of tea. The song being “Paint The Town Red” as I have heard that song probably a few thousand times from social media and on the radio. Still, an amazing album!
beniciapaw.com 