5 Takeaways From Doja Cat’s New Album, Scarlet – Warungku Terkini

Back in June, Doja Cat signaled the start of a new era with “Attention.” The song—a mellow rap cut that drifts on a twinkling harp sample—was a pointed departure from the hi-def pop of prior hits like “Kiss Me More” and “Say So.” Tanu Muino’s visual for “Attention” was just as stark, with Doja skillfully dodging crazed fans. The video introduced the artist’s alter ego Scarlet, the namesake of her new album, who walks the streets naked save for a head-to-toe coating of fresh blood. The sharp turn on “Attention” was no accident; not long ago, Doja skewered her chart-dominating third album, 2021’s Planet Her, and its predecessor Hot Pink, calling them vessels of “mediocre pop” and an overall “cash grab.” It was a rare and raw moment from one of pop’s biggest stars.

She followed “Attention” with “Paint the Town Red” and “Demons,” then performed all three tracks at the VMAs, where she paid tribute to Britney Spears in a gray micro suit surrounded by a throng of bloodied dancers. Days later, she dropped Scarlet’s final single “Balut,” sticking with the themes of her previous three: Obsessive fans, reply guys, and Doja’s insistence that she can’t care when she’s so busy dripping in diamonds and designer clothes. Despite the hype, Scarlet is not all clapbacks and diss tracks; Doja enlisted a trusted cadre of producers across the 17-song record, which sways between boom-bap hip-hop, cosmic jazz beats, and hyper-melodic ’90s R&B. Doja might have ditched her glossy pop sound, but she isn’t content to switch over to just one style. On Scarlet she returns as a rapper, a singer, a hater, a lover.

Unpacking the Samples

Doja Cat was sparing with samples on Scarlet, but there are a handful of borrowed sounds across the record. The most obvious (and likely the most expensive) passage is snipped from Dionne Warwick’s 1964 heartbreak ballad “Walk on By,” penned by gilded hitmakers Burt Bacharach and Hal David. On “Paint the Town Red,” Doja reframes the title hook as a threat; Warwick’s voice curls like smoke around Doja’s barbed verses, which mock high-profile features and “extremist” fans.

On “Ouchies,” you can hear brash loops of “Come On,” a 1994 Miami bass banger by Luke of 2 Live Crew. “Agora Hills,” meanwhile, coasts along the smooth tones of Troop’s late ’80s R&B hit “All I Do Is Think of You.” “Shutcho” opens with a chipmunk-voiced loop of the chorus to 10cc’s classic “I’m Not in Love.” For the ’90s soul track “Can’t Wait,” producers tapped a hip-hop favorite: The Honey Drippers’ 1973 song “Impeach the President” has been sampled hundreds of times, by the Notorious B.I.G., Dr. Dre, Digable Planets, N.W.A., 2Pac, Eric B & Rakim, Nas, and many more. Though it is brief, one of the more playful snippets on Scarlet occurs in the opening moments of “Balut,” when pro wrestler Ric Flair growls, “Remember this, girls—none of you can be first, but all of you can be next!”

Doja “Touched Not One Key”

Doja Cat recently posted a brief producer appreciation video on her Instagram stories; it was classic Doja. “I don’t know why everybody keeps crediting me for any of the beats on my album,” she balked. “I have a handful of very talented beat makers on my album, and I touched not one key, touched not one button.”