Doja Cat: Everything you need to know about the 'Scarlet' rapper

Doja Cat seems to kick it up a notch with every new release, and now she has a Grammy Award under her belt too! The shape-shifting rapper, singer and producer has certainly built herself a reputation as one of the most exciting pop talents, enthralling fans and critics worldwide with her tongue-twisting raps and infectious melodies — not to mention, her infectious humour!

After skyrocketing to the top of the charts with viral hits like ‘Say So’ and 'Paint The Town Red', Doja Cat has taken her seat at the forefront of the scene, combining Hip Hop, R&B, Rock and many other influences in her unique sound. Let's take a look at everything there is to know about her, including her rise to fame, her latest album 'Scarlet' and single 'MASC' and following her UK tour in 2024.

Who is Doja Cat?

Born Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini, Doja Cat is a rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer.

Since taking the internet by storm with meme-ready ‘Mooo!’ Doja has gone from strength to strength, racking up accolades, stealing the show at multiple award ceremonies and inspiring social media-dominating challenges with her buzzworthy sounds.

How old is she?

Doja’s birthday is 21st October 1995, making her 29-years-old currently.

The ‘You Right’ hitmaker is a Libra, as she hints with this stylish hairstyle modelled after the astrological symbol, in the official music video for The Weeknd assisted track taken from her third album ‘Planet Her’.

Where is she from?

A Los Angeles native, it’s no surprise that the ‘Streets’ entertainer was born in a city rich with musical and pop cultural heritage. Soon after her birth, Doja and her mother moved to New York, staying for five years. She then settled back in her home state of California, first moving to Oak Park and then the Sherman Oaks neighbourhood of L.A.

How did Doja Cat come up with her stage name?

Doja has previously said that as a teenager, she was somewhat of a stoner. On top of this, she always had cats coming in and out of her house and has expressed her love for the furry creatures. Combining two of the things she loved the most, her unique artist persona was born and she has stuck with it ever since.

How did Doja Cat become famous?

It took some time before Doja Cat started receiving her flowers. Growing up, she took dance classes in ballet, tap and jazz and was eventually part of a breakdancing troupe that toured the Los Angeles.

Doja’s aunt would give her singing lessons, which enabled her to enrol in a performing arts school. Her journey as an artist began at the age of 16, after Doja dropped out of high school. She would spend most of her time surfing the internet looking for beats on YouTube to record her own tracks over.

Initially, Doja was hesitant to share her tracks with the world, often deleting her songs shortly after releasing them. Eventually, she landed on her first breakthrough.

Uploading her song ‘So High’ to Soundcloud, it caught industry attention, leading to a recording deal with Kemosabe Records and RCA. Boosted by the label backing, Doja’s debut EP ‘Purrr!’ was released in 2014, cementing her as a promising upcoming artist with her early experimental style.

For the next few years, Doja spent time perfecting her craft. Developing her artistry, she collaborated with several producers and upcoming artists. But it wasn’t until 2018 that we saw the results of her behind the scenes refinement come to fruition.

Reintroducing herself to the scene, Doja Cat dropped her debut studio album, ‘Amala’ in March 2018. The project featured singles like ‘Go To Town’ and ‘Candy’ and highlighted the L.A. singer's versatility.

Whilst Amala didn’t reach the commercial heights she would go on to reach in the future, it played a pivotal role in spring boarding the ‘Juicy’ star into the mainstream. In August 2018, Doja released the hilarious video to her meme track, ‘Mooo!’ making use of green screen video effects and a racy cow print outfit to rack up over five million views in two weeks.

The track was a real novelty; Doja jumped onto Instagram Live to come up with lyrics with her fans and, in under six hours, finished the recording of both the track and video from her bedroom.

The success of ‘Mooo!’ pushed Doja into the spotlight. It was the first of many viral hits she would go on to pen and drew more attention to her debut album, which finally cracked the Billboard charts over a year later in August 2019.

Is Doja Cat having a break?

Doja did reveal in 2022 that she was going to take a break. She announced in March 2022 that she was planning on quitting music — later, in an interview at the Billboard Awards, with E! News, she explained: "It wasn't a joke, not to me at the time. I'm here because I make music and I want to make music again. It's like how am I supposed to do that when I'm doing a bunch of things?"

She went on to say: "I'm getting a break and that break is going to be me making music."

But thankfully she hasn't quit, the singer released a new album at the end of 2023.

Doja Cat's latest album

Following her cryptic post in June 2023 teasing something new was on its way, Doja released a new single called 'Attention' on 16th June 2023. She then released another track called 'Paint The Town Red' on 4th August 2023.

Doja released music videos for both songs, with them amassing over 38 million views collectively in just two months — while 'Paint The Town Red' reached Number 1 in the UK and stayed there for five weeks!

Doja Cat's fourth album 'Scarlet'

If that wasn't exciting enough, Doja revealed on 29th August 2023 that she did in fact have a brand new album on the way! Titled 'Scarlet', her fourth album was released on 22nd September 2023.

She previously told CR Fashion Book about the influences of her next album, saying: "I just know there’s a lot going on. I’m very into this ’90s German rave kind of vibe right now and it’s really fun.

"I know that’s kind of the trend at the moment but I loved that stuff as a kid and now that I can express it (obviously, I couldn’t buzz my head and wear a furry bra and have a belly button piercing back then), I’m sort of embracing that. That’s kind of a hint to the album. Rave culture, not house."

She also previously revealed that on the album she will be doing more rapping than singing in an interview with Elle.

Doja Cat's new music

In March 2024, Doja Cat started to tease her new song 'MASC'. The singer shared a short clip of a song along with a still of a close-up of her blonde hair.

Is Doja Cat going on tour?

She just finished her tour! Following the release of her album 'Scarlet', in December 2023 Doja Cat announced an eight-date tour for 2024, featuring four UK dates.

She visited Glasgow, Birmingham, London and Newcastle in June 2024.

Doja Cat's biggest songs

Not only does Doja have a knack for creating absolute bops - but she seems to have the art of releasing a TikTok viral hit absolutely down! Take a look through our guide to Doja Cat's biggest hits right here — from her iconic 2018 release 'MOOO!', to epic collabs and chart-topping tracks.

Which other artists has Doja Cat collaborated with?

Awards, tours and live performances

Doja has built a reputation for her eccentric live performances. In 2014, she embarked on her first tour in support of her debut EP, ‘Purrr!’. The entertainer wouldn’t headline her own tour again until 2017, when she kicked off the first leg of her ‘Amala’ tour, followed by the Fall tour across 2018-2019.

After the successful release of her sophomore album, ‘Hot Pink’, Doja was to set out on the hotly-anticipated tour of the same name in 2020, but due to COVID, she was forced to cancel.

Continuing her medley-based performances, Doja took the stage at the 2020 Billboard Music Awards, performing Moulin Rouge-inspired renditions of ‘Say So’, ‘Juicy’, and ‘Like That’. At the 2020 MTV Europe Music Awards, she scooped the Best New Act award, switching it up by performing a Metal rendition of ‘Say So’.

Picking up two awards in one night at the 2020 American Music Awards, Doja performed ‘Baby, I’m Jealous’ with Bebe Rexha after winning New Artist of the Year and Favourite Soul/R&B Female Artist.

Doja was nominated for three 2021 Grammy Awards and, although she didn’t win any, her performance of ‘Say So’ was lauded as one of the night’s highlights. May 2021 saw Doja win Top Female R&B Artist at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards, performing ‘Kiss Me More’ with SZA at the ceremony.

Doja was also nominated for two BRIT Awards in 2022, her song 'Kiss Me More' with Sza was up for International Song of the Year, which Olivia Rodrigo won with 'Good 4U' and International Artist of the Year which Billie Eilish won.

In April 2022, Doja Cat won her first Grammy Award, after being nominated for seven this year alone. The rapper took home the award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, with SZA for their song 'Kiss Me More'.

In 2024, Doja Cat's single 'Paint the Town Red' got her nominated for Video of the Year for in the MTV Video Music Awards and Best Pop Solo Performance at the Grammys. She was also nominated for Best Melodic Rap Performance and Best Rap Song for her single 'Attention'.

No stranger to the spotlight, Doja has made a number of late-night talk show appearances, performing on the likes of ‘The Late Late Show’ with James Corden and ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’

Did Doja Cat perform at The BRIT Awards 2022?

Doja Cat was announced as a performer at The BRIT Awards 2022, however unfortunately she had to pull out after a member of her crew tested positive for Covid-19. The rapper posted a statement in January explaining why.

Did Doja Cat cancel her 2022 performances?

Due to ongoing problems with her throat, Doja shared the disappointing news that she would be cancelling her upcoming shows. The singer shared that she was still recovering from surgery on her tonsils to remove an abscess and gave several updates on her social media accounts before sharing the news about her shows.

Family and personal life

Doja was born into a rather artistic family. Her mum is a painter of Jewish-American heritage and her dad is a South African actor, composer, dancer and film producer. Her aunt is a singer and helped Doja develop her skills from a young age to earn a spot in a performing arts school.

Her father, Dumisani Dlamini, wasn’t present during Doja’s childhood, but she has expressed a willingness to connect with him, having previously attempted to establish contact when she was 13.

Whilst living in the Sherman Oaks neighbourhood of Los Angeles, Doja and her mother belonged to an ashram, a Hindu spiritual settlement, in the Agoura Hills mountain range. They both practiced Hinduism, with Doja learning an Indian classical dance style called Bharatanatyam.

Recounting her time at the ashram, she has said that it was a beautiful place, but she wanted to do ‘teenager things’ like skating and eating cheeseburgers. After practicing Hinduism for four years, she left the ashram with her mum.

She grew up to the sounds of her mum playing the likes of Erykah Badu, Fugees and Jamiroquai around the house. Doja has named Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj as two of her biggest musical inspirations. This exposure to different types of music, along with her experience in dancing styles such as ballet, hip hop and jazz show why she is such a versatile entertainer and performer today.

Doja loves to rap and sing about relationships and romance, but she is known for keeping her personal love life pretty lowkey. From August 2019 to February 2020, she dated indie pop musician JAWNY, but if she HAS dated anybody else, Doja has done a good job of keeping it under wraps.

The ‘Kiss Me More’ hitmaker is Los Angeles through and through, so it is no surprise that Doja has now also purchased a luxury house in Beverly Hills for a whopping $2.2 million.

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