Scarlet is the fourth studio album by American rapper and singer Doja Cat. It was released on September 22, 2023, via Kemosabe Records and RCA Records. Disillusioned with pop music and dissatisfied with music critics questioning her status as a rapper, Doja Cat felt inspired to create a "masculine" follow-up to her third studio album, Planet Her (2021). Musically, the record marks a departure from the pop-driven sounds of its predecessors Hot Pink and Planet Her which she called cash grabs, being predominantly centered around the genres of hip hop and R&B.
Background[]
After being nominated for the BET Award for Best Female Hip Hop Artist in May 2021, Doja Cat was criticized by social media users who felt she was "too pop" to be considered as a rapper. She responded to the criticism on Twitter, by writing, "Don't ever fuckin [sic] disrespect me as a rapper. After the last song I dropped, you will respect my pen and that's fuckin [sic] that." She weighed in further on the debate during a cover story with Rolling Stone in December, saying, "Anyone who says that I'm not a rapper is in denial. They don't know what they're talking about." A few days after the profile piece was published, Doja Cat revealed on an Instagram livestream that she was interested in creating a double album; with one side focused on her pop rap sounds, and the other side containing 12 hip hop songs produced by 9th Wonder and Jay Versace.
In an interview with Elle in May 2022, Doja Cat addressed claims that she was not a rapper in the "traditional sense" by stating that she has "rapped since the beginning, and I really couldn't even sing that well to begin with—I got a lot better. I use my voice as a tool to create these worlds, and it's fine if people think that I can't rap." She also confirmed that her upcoming fourth studio album will be "predominantly rap".[1] She doubled down on the album's main genre in April 2023 by stating "no more pop", and that she agrees with "everyone who said the majority of my rap verses are mid and corny. I know they are. I wasn't trying to prove anything, I just enjoy making music. But I'm getting tired of hearing y'all say that I can't, so I will." Doja Cat also denounced her previous two albums as "cash grabs" and "digestible pop hits". On April 26, radio personality Ebro Darden shared that he had the opportunity to listen to approximately eight songs from the album while it was in its "early stages", stating "I heard straight rap records". After being asked about potential producers, he responded "I don't even think it's producers that we know. I think she's got her own batch of producers." On August 27, she announced that the album was finished.
The deluxe edition's existence was confirmed in a Apple Music interview, Doja confirmed it would happen soon, and that she was heading to chop it up.[2] On January 13, 2024, Doja shared via Instagram stories the original working track list of the deluxe.[3] Two of the songs in the deluxe, "PISS" and "DISRESPECTFUL" aren't seen here, and instead three scrapped tracks. During an interview on Apple Music interview The Therapy Gecko Podcast in February 2024, Doja Cat confirmed that she was gearing to release Scarlet 2: CLAUDE, the deluxe edition of her fourth studio album Scarlet.[4] It is titled after "Claude Frollo", the antagonist of Victor Hugo's 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.
She chose to name the edition after Frollo because she felt that his tyrannical personality "connects to the story of Scarlet in some way," and serves as a "metaphor for the people that creatives endure on a daily basis in a bigger picture, a bigger scale".[5]
On March 29, 2024, Doja Cat announced the deluxe edition's lead single, "MASC", and shared the album's cover art.[6] Some fans commented that the artwork resembled sheep's wool or pubic hair; in response, she criticized these comparisons and explained that the cover is a closeup photo of her hair, whose tightly coiled texture is classified as 4C.[7] Scarlet 2: CLAUDE was released on April 5, 2024, containing seven new tracks. The song "MASC" featuring Teezo Touchdown was released simultaneously as its lead single, accompanied by a music video directed by Doja Cat and Jamal Peters.[8] The whole album was leaked on Discord the night before the album was released, on April 4, 2024.
Concept[]
Imagery[]
Leading up to the album's release, Doja Cat adopted a darker aesthetic and image, claiming that she had "a lot of pent-up feelings and anger" which she wanted to express through beauty, further describing her new style as "punk", "experimental" and "manic". She initially shaved her hair and eyebrows, and then got a number of tattoos, including a creature from Fortunio Liceti's De monstris (1655) on her arm, a scythe surrounding her ear, and the skeleton of a bat on her back, which she claimed to symbolise a "new beginning". At times she also wore red contact lenses and blood-like makeup. She expressed similar imagery in the music video for singles "Attention" and "Paint the Town Red", the latter of which also depicted occult-like paintings by Doja Cat herself. These changes in her persona received criticism from some fans, who deemed these changes "demonic" and "frightening", and accused her of being a Satanist, and a member of the Illuminati. She was unbothered by these reactions, tweeting in February 2023 that she enjoyed "playing with people’s ignorance and stupidity for [her] own happiness and personal gain", and then in April 2023 addressed her fans in saying "Your fear is not my problem".
Title[]
Doja Cat shared a name for the album, Hellmouth, in March 2023. By April, she was unsure of whether or not the name would stick, and later clarified to Interview magazine that she did not have an album name yet, with the working title subject to potential change. While speaking to Time for their annual list of influential people, she shared that she "might just mess with everybody and completely turn the tables on them. But I like the idea of Hellmouth because it sounds good. And it's provocative." On May 9, she revealed another title, First of All, through social media, before retracting on May 15. In an interview with Business Insider on May 26, Doja Cat revealed that the reason she kept changing the title is due to a combination of indecisiveness and crowdsourcing. She described her process for selecting an album title as her putting her "ADHD kind of on display — by accident, I guess. I thought that Hellmouth was the name of the album, but then it wasn't. But I'm good at doing things last minute. So I've been firing off random stuff and reading comments and seeing how people receive it and then, you know, saying 'no' a lot. 'Just kidding'." She concluded by saying she thinks she finally has a name for the album, and swiftly added, "It's not First of All." In an article for Harper's Bazaar, author Angie Martinez revealed the title to be Scarlet, on August 16, 2023.
Composition[]
During a cover story with Variety in February 2023, Doja Cat expressed that Scarlet will diverge from the "pink and soft things" and "pop and glittery sounds" that she has been noted for; opting instead for a more "masculine" sonic direction. She claimed to have purposefully misled journalists and fans into thinking that her album would be inspired by 1990s German rave music, rock, experimental jazz and R&B, rather than rap. However, it was later confirmed that the upcoming album will blend various hip hop and R&B genres, although Doja Cat stated that this album would exclusively contain rap songs. She admitted that she had become tired of creating pop songs, adding that the genre is not exciting to her anymore.
In an interview with Rolling Stone in June 2023, Doja expanded on the influences and inspiration for her upcoming album, saying that she had been reconnecting with the music that she was raised listening to, such as Erykah Badu, John Coltrane and 90s hip hop.
Scarlet 2: CLAUDE[]
Scarlet 2: CLAUDE is the deluxe edition of Scarlet. It was released on April 5, 2024, through Kemosabe Records and RCA Records. It contains seven new tracks with two featuring ASAP Rocky and Teezo Touchdown. It was supported by the lead single, "MASC".
The deluxe edition's existence was confirmed in a Apple Music interview, Doja confirmed it would happen soon, and that she was heading to chop it up.[2] On January 13, 2024, Doja shared via Instagram stories the original working track list of the deluxe.[3] Two of the songs in the deluxe, "PISS" and "DISRESPECTFUL" aren't seen here, and instead three scrapped tracks. During an interview on Apple Music interview The Therapy Gecko Podcast in February 2024, Doja Cat confirmed that she was gearing to release Scarlet 2: CLAUDE, the deluxe edition of her fourth studio album Scarlet.[4] It is titled after "Claude Frollo", the antagonist of Victor Hugo's 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.
She chose to name the edition after Frollo because she felt that his tyrannical personality "connects to the story of Scarlet in some way," and serves as a "metaphor for the people that creatives endure on a daily basis in a bigger picture, a bigger scale".[5]
On March 29, 2024, Doja Cat announced the deluxe edition's lead single, "MASC", and shared the album's cover art.[6] Some fans commented that the artwork resembled sheep's wool or pubic hair; in response, she criticized these comparisons and explained that the cover is a closeup photo of her hair, whose tightly coiled texture is classified as 4C.[7] Scarlet 2: CLAUDE was released on April 5, 2024, containing seven new tracks. The song "MASC" featuring Teezo Touchdown was released simultaneously as its lead single, accompanied by a music video directed by Doja Cat and Jamal Peters.[8] The whole album was leaked on Discord the night before the album was released, on April 4, 2024.
Release and promotion[]
Scarlet got three singles. Its lead single, "Paint The Town Red", was released on August 4, 2023. It also became a massive commercial success and marked Doja Cat's first solo number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, the UK Singles Chart, the Billboard Global 200, and several other national charts worldwide. It was followed by "Agora Hills" in September 2023 and "MASC" in April 2024. Promotional singles for the album include "Attention", "Demons", and "Balut" that were released in June and September of 2023. To support the album, Doja Cat embarked on The Scarlet Tour in October 2023, her first arena tour as a headliner.
Track listing[]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Paint The Town Red" | Doja Cat, DJ Replay, Karl Rubin, Jean Baptiste, Earl on the Beat, Burt Bacharach, Hal David & Bacharach, David | Earl on the Beat, Karl Rubin, Jean Baptiste, DJ Replay | 3:50 |
| 2. | "Demons" | Doja Cat, Christina Doman, d.a. got that dope, Danny Levin | d.a. got that dope | 3:15 |
| 3. | "Wet Vagina" | Kurtis McKenzie, Flip_00, Cadenza, Lee Sung Woo | Kurtis McKenzie, Cadenza, Flip_00, whereyouathan | 3:12 |
| 4. | "Fuck The Girls (FTG)" | Doja Cat, Amil Raja, Kurtis McKenzie, Scribz Riley, Beat Butcha | Kurtis McKenzie, Scribz Riley, Beat Butcha | 2:32 |
| 5. | "Ouchies" | Doja Cat, Rhys, London on da Track, Luke, Philip Cornish, Sean Momberger, TBHits | London on da Track, Rhys, Sean Momberger, TBHits, Philip Cornish | 2:02 |
| 6. | "97" | Doja Cat | Jay Versace, Sam Barsh | 2:57 |
| 7. | "Gun" | Doja Cat, Boobie, Kurtis McKenzie, Lee Stashenko | Kurtis McKenzie, Lee Stashenko, Boobie | 2:56 |
| 8. | "Go Off" | Doja Cat, Lee Stashenko, Kurtis McKenzie, Rian Lewis | Kurtis McKenzie, Lee Stashenko, Rian Lewis | 3:17 |
| 9. | "Agora Hills" | Doja Cat, Bangs, Brian Holland, GENT!, Earl on the Beat, Jean Baptiste, Michael Smith | Earl on the Beat, GENT!, Jean Baptiste, Bangs | 4:25 |
| 10. | "Can't Wait" | Doja Cat, Aaron Shadrow, Earl on the Beat, Jasper Harris, Jean Baptiste, Presley Regier, Roy C | Earl on the Beat, Jean Baptiste, Jasper Harris, Presley Regier, Aaron Shadrow | 3:55 |
| 11. | "Often" | Doja Cat, Ben Nartey, Derek Williams, Jay Versace | Jay Versace, Ben Nartey | 3:18 |
| 12. | "Love Life" | Doja Cat, Ben Nartey & Jay Versace | Jay Versace | 3:56 |
| 13. | "Skull And Bones" | Doja Cat, Ayo The Producer, Kas (Producer), Syde-FX, Motif Alumni, Kaeyos, A.J. Sealy | Ayo The Producer, Kaeyos | 4:08 |
| 14. | "Attention" | Rogét Chahayed, Y2K, Doja Cat | Y2K, Rogét Chahayed | 4:35 |
| 15. | "Balut" | Yeti Beats, Doja Cat, Rogét Chahayed, Kurtis McKenzie | Yeti Beats, Rogét Chahayed, Kurtis McKenzie | 3:27 |
| Digital (Bonus Tracks Edition)[9] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
| 9. | "Shutcho" | Doja Cat, Bangs, Eric Stewart, GENT!, Graham Gouldman, Earl on the Beat | Earl on the Beat, GENT!, Bangs | 3:07 |
| 17. | "WYM Freestyle" | Doja Cat, Bradley Powell, Kurtis McKenzie, Sergio R. | Kurtis McKenzie, Sergio R., Bradley Powell | 2:04 |
| Deluxe (Scarlet 2: CLAUDE)[10] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "ACKNOWLEDGE ME" | Doja Cat, DJ Camper | DJ Camper | 3:10 |
| 2. | "DISRESPECTFUL" | Doja Cat, London Cyr, yeeshy, Kali Kali, PJ Escobar | London Cyr, yeeshy, Kali Kali | 2:36 |
| 3. | "URRRGE!!!!" (featuring A$AP Rocky) | Doja Cat, A$AP Rocky, DZL, Runway the Catwalker, Kory Adams, Kelvin Krash, Kingpin Skinny Pimp | DZL, Runway the Catwalker, Kory Adams, Kelvin Krash | 2:32 |
| 4. | "OKLOSER" | Doja Cat, Yeti Beats, Carter Lang, Jasper Harris, Solomonophonic, I Am Kevo | Yeti Beats, Carter Lang, Jasper Harris, Solomonophonic, I Am Kevo | 2:49 |
| 5. | "MASC" (featuring Teezo Touchdown) | Doja Cat, Teezo Touchdown, Pooh Beatz, Go Grizzly, Tommy Parker, Ambezza, B-Win | Pooh Beatz, Go Grizzly, Tommy Parker, Ambezza | 3:25 |
| 6. | "PISS" | Doja Cat, CashMoneyAP, Hoops, Christian McCurdy | CashMoneyAP, Hoops | 2:35 |
| 7. | "HEADHIGH" | Doja Cat, Kurtis McKenzie, emil, Joe Harrison | Kurtis McKenzie, emil, Joe Harrison | 3:19 |
| The Joy remixes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "DISRESPECTFUL" (featuring The Joy) | Doja Cat, London Cyr, yeeshy, Kali Kali, PJ Escobar, TBA | London Cyr, yeeshy, Kali Kali | 3:24 |
| 2. | "ACKNOWLEDGE ME" (featuring The Joy) | Doja Cat, DJ Camper, TBA | DJ Camper | 3:42 |
| 3. | "Shutcho" (featuring The Joy) | Doja Cat, Bangs, Eric Stewart, GENT!, Graham Gouldman, Earl on the Beat, TBA | Earl on the Beat, GENT!, Bangs | 4:30 |
Scrapped tracks[]
- "Ain't News"
- "Crack"
- "Dead Inside"
- "GANG" (Deluxe scrap)
- "Go Team"
- "HUNGRY" (Deluxe scrap)
- "I Don't Mind"
- "Loon1e"
- "n.h.i.e." (released on American Dream)
- "RIDER" (Deluxe scrap)
- "Seeing Stars"
- "Shots"
- "Sweet n Salty"
- "Who Are You"
- "Your Man"
Gallery[]
Promotional photoshoots[]
Videos[]
Official Videos
Audios
Trivia[]
- Original titles for the album were "Hellmouth" and "First Of All"
- Deluxe Edition was originally titled: "Scarlet 2: Claude Frollo".
- Doja's favourite song from the album is "97".
- "Paint The Town Red" was added as the Side B for "Demons" on Spotify.
- On September 1, an EP for "Paint The Town Red" was also released, including a clean version of the song and remixes.
- Standard edition is the second featureless project by Doja Cat, following Purrr!.
- Deluxe Edition includes five features.
- "Balut" was supposed to feature an unknown artist before being scrapped as the album turned into a solo project.
- It was seen on one of the working track lists posted by Doja, written "Balut ft. ..." the feature getting cropped off.
- "HUNGRY" was played by Doja on her Instagram live on February 10, 2024, first being revealed in the original Deluxe track list.
- This album has most tracks out of her discography, with a total of 27 songs.
- On the CD version of Scarlet, there is extra vocals on "Balut" nearing the end of the song.
References[]
- ↑ https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/doja-cats-next-album-will-more-masculine-previous-work.html/
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Apple Music interview - Doja Cat: 'Scarlet', Fans, Fame & New Music
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 X/Twitter - Doja Cat seemed to tease that a ‘Scarlet’ deluxe album could be released soon with a working tracklist
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Here’s Doja Cat In A Full Gecko Costume, Discussing A Celsius-Fueled Beef She Nearly Got Into
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Doja Cat Shows Off Her Backside With 'Scarlet II: Claude Frollo' Art"
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Instagram - 🦴\🦴\ ASC 4.5.24
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Doja Cat Responds To Criticism Of The Artwork For "Masc": "Let's Move Forward""
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Doja Cat Announces New Single 'MASC' Ahead of 'Scarlet' Deluxe Edition"
- ↑ "Scarlet by Doja Cat on Apple Music"
- ↑ "Scarlet 2: CLAUDE by Doja Cat on Apple Music"
[]
v • e  | |
|---|---|
| Tracks | Paint The Town Red • Demons • Wet Vagina • Fuck The Girls (FTG) • Ouchies • 97 • Gun • Go Off • Shutcho • Agora Hills • Can't Wait • Often • Love Life • Skull And Bones • Attention • Balut • WYM Freestyle |
| Deluxe tracks |
ACKNOWLEDGE ME • DISRESPECTFUL • URRRGE!!!! • OKLOSER • MASC • PISS • HEADHIGH |
| Scrapped tracks | Ain't News • Crack • Dead Inside • GANG • Go Team • HUNGRY • I Don't Mind • Loon1e • n.h.i.e. • RIDER • Seeing Stars • Shampoo • Shots • Sweet n Salty • Who Are You • Your Man |
| Artists | Doja Cat • A$AP Rocky • Teezo Touchdown • The Joy |
| Tour | The Scarlet Tour |