The Weekly Coos

Doja Cat’s controversial past and present are public, whether through her vocabulary and appearances in incel chat rooms and social media or the disavowment of her fans on Threads – I have my thoughts about the latter as she went at stans, some of whom may have a wild fandom where they need to “touch some grass” – she doesn’t seem to care and that mood buoys in the atmosphere of her her new album Scarlet, which a detachment from the last two pop albums, as her focus is on rapping, letting loose the talent. Scarlet carries an engaging approach from Doja Cat; she uses the red imagery and content of the singles released, like walking around with a red A on her chest like The Scarlet Letter, and speaking through her perspective and emotions on these criticisms and more. Before, Doja was swaying through melodies and themes showcasing the eccentric dynamo of her artistry; now, she’s suggestive and direct, bringing out her true self, the antithesis of her pop-side through hard-hitting punk, boom-bap, and R&B influences in the production, despite wavering in the middle, this is a Doja I can get behind.

Opening with “Paint The Town Red,” Doja Cat sets the tone and direction taken for most of the album. In short, Doja Cat is expressing that she doesn’t give a fuck, and that energy is potent through much of the track. It doesn’t matter what direction she takes, as there is this lingering sense of true self as she doesn’t try to force it. Part of this album is to dispel that her pop self was more for the clout and to get to a level where she could fly by with this 180 shift at ease. From the start, when she first started dropping singles, I got a glimpse of what the aim was, and Doja didn’t stunt the verses. From “Attention” to “Demons,” there was this ferocity building within and getting explored poignantly – it gets heard through the varying contextual avenues taken, like the occasional flex or digging into the layers of her music and what people latch on to as her identity when that isn’t all set in stone. Before Scarlet, Doja Cat rapped and had a lot of fun with it, but we never got to hear her delve this deep into her world as she tacks on the criticism creatively, for the most part. Some songs come off as tired and tried, making the album more bloated than it needs to be.

However, Scarlet is a better attempt at coming after critics due to personality and creativity than Kamikazee by Eminem; that notion hit me in the second song, “Demons,” which tacks on these counters about how Doja Cat is demonic in appearance and rhetoric – one of her iconic looks from Schiaparelli Show earlier this year, where she donned a red dress donned with crimson Swarovski crystals was an eye opener, especially in contrast to the fun, cutesy characters she creates for her performances – and does so without attributing herself to the same stylistic diatribe. With looks, think “Need To Know,” where she plays this love lust cute alien smitten over an astronaut – a concept she touched on with “Kiss You Better,” – her sense of self with style makes other tracks feel empowered with their identity. Whether she’s relishing in who she is and getting uniquely sexual tracks “Gun” and “Wet Vagina” or its subtle commentary on others like “Attention,” Doja finds herself trying to replicate emotional dissonance with grounded understanding that bolsters her self-worth. The track that imbues it flawlessly is “Go Off,” where Doja feels empowered to express and flex her personality. 

Doja Cat treads down varying avenues of content and perspectives relative to sex positivity, love for her body, issues lingering in the music industry, like misogyny (“Fuck the Girls (FTG)”), or how she’s perceived based on stylistic and personal choices in style, or her public manner. Some examples come from one of my favorites, like the fantastic response to pop culture commentators and the media’s overall approach to talking about her aesthetic change – Think back to the Schiaparelli Show – on “Skull and Bones;” these avenues shine bright, and this includes some of the fun flexes that blend into some of the verses. Unfortunately, where it doesn’t hit is where Doja aims to deliver on love as a theme. When she goes that route, it misses, though it’s only three times where it’s of focus, “Agora Hills” is what stood out, as “Can’t Wait” is a little straightforward in flow, and “Love Life” doesn’t carry that oomph of others in production, feeling stuck and unexplorative. Comparatively, when you look at how it fits within this notion of The Scarlet Letter, it’s a theme of focus; however, the potency doesn’t get replicated like other aspects and themes Doja explores when she’s not delivering some technical and written marvel of verses, like on “Balut.”

Scarlet isn’t what it is without the production. It flourishes through these runk-rap, boom-bap, jazz, and R&B over and undertones that keep a steady transitional consistency. Its eccentricities shine alongside Doja Cat’s vocals. Here are some examples of some that stood out – “97” feels like something out of the 90s with its boom-bap aesthetic, gloomy pianos, and fun vocal responses to the chorus; “Agora Hills” is a darker minimalist pop-rap track that fits the tone; the late 90s boom-bap flow of “Skull and Bones;” the shifts in percussion on “Attention” based on vocal delivery adds depth to the glimmering piano keys that appear beneath the percussion-heavy beat – here, it’s faster when she sings and slower when she raps. It’s essential to know that the production shines despite having a plethora of producers. Some don’t always hit like the simpleness of “Love Life” or the forgetful beat and verses on “Shutcho,” still, the transitions hit when spinning it for the first or second time.

Scarlet is fun and direct as it keeps adding to the fire; unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to reign for long periods. With some fantastic moments shining through, you get some dull ones shimmers that leave you wanting more or less. For me, it was evident what Doja Cat aimed for, but bloats the album with some redundancies; it makes the previously intended 15 tracks feel longer, even after only adding two more songs. Trim some of it off, and you get a tighter and more concise album that will hammer home all the points Doja wants to take, specifically through modestly substanceless tracks like “Shutcho” and “Can’t Wait.” I liked it more than Planet Her, but not by much. Still, Scarlet has plenty of tracks I’ll return to easily, like “Demons.”