In the past year, we have seen many new female artists emerge, specifically female rap and hip-hop artists. Although rappers such as Nikki Minaj and Cardi B have dominated the charts in recent years, new artists are gaining more and more popularity.
As of Feb. 29, 2020, Doja Cat is listed at number three for “female rap artists with the most monthly listeners on Spotify” — with 26 million monthly listeners.
Doja Cat, less known as Amala Dlamini, first gained widespread attention in 2018 when her “Mooo!” music video became viral. Since then, she has managed to break down her reputation as a “meme” and is being taken seriously as an artist. She was often mocked as being a one-hit-wonder, but she has proven that to be false with her newest releases.
On Feb. 26, 2020, Doja Cat performed her fifth track “Say So” from her sophomore album “Hot Pink” on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
In this performance, Doja Cat was seen sporting a transparent sequin jumpsuit with pink feathers on the lower half of her legs to create the illusion of bell bottoms, a staple of ‘70s fashion. She’s worn similar outfits in the past, so this could become a trademark of her persona. She was also wearing a crimped pastel pink wig that flowed beautifully on stage.
The stage design included disco balls that reflected purple and pink lighting, adding to the feminine glamour of the performance. In an interview, Doja Cat said the color hot pink “is a passionate color, it’s a sexy color, it’s just a vibrant color, and I wanted a vibrant project.” So far, she has definitely delivered.
Less than 11 hours after the “Say So” performance, she released the corresponding music video. It’s no surprise that her live vocals and the studio version of the song sound almost identical. In under seven hours of the release, the video surpassed one million views, showing how highly anticipated it was. Not only was it on YouTube’s trending page but it had multiple trending hashtags on Twitter.
One reason for the video’s success is the wildly popular TikTok dance that complements the song, which is implemented in the choreography for the video. The creator of the dance, Haley Sharpe (@yodelinghaley on TikTok), made an appearance during a dance circle in the video.
The ‘70s disco and hippie era serve as inspiration — this is apparent in the set design, special effects, wardrobe, hairstyles and makeup. Everything is colorful and lively, creating modern-glam aesthetics with a retro twist. She executed the groovy elements of the decade wonderfully.
On Friday, Feb. 28, 2020, her tickets for the “Hot Pink” tour became available for purchase. Every concert was sold out in only two hours.
Overall, all of Doja Cat’s music videos have very different premises, showing her versatility. Because she is a fairly new artist, she’s in the midst of developing her own style. She’s full of such unique creativity, so her fans are looking forward to her future releases.
Opinion writer Ruby Chapdelaine can be reached at [email protected]
