After her 2018 hit single MOOO! went viral online, hip hop artist Doja Cat rode the hype to her debut studio album Amala. The follow-up album Hot Pink is a new high for her musical career.
“Won’t Bite (ft. Smino),” “Bottom Bitch,” “Talk Dirty,” “Streets,” and a version of “Juicy” featuring Tyga are clear standouts of the album. These tracks are linked by catchy lyrics that connect Doja Cat’s words to pop culture references from various forms of media while also showcasing the odd yet extraordinary features of Smino, Gucci Mane and Tyga. Some standout lyrics include: “On a boat like I’m Noah / On Xan like I’m Noah,” from “Bottom Bitch.” “Now, when you talk like that (When you talk to me), I be in my bag / I be in my bag, now, baby, I’m all in my bag (When you talk dirty back)” (Talk Dirty), and “We play our fantasies out in real life ways and / No Final Fantasy, can we end these games though?” (Streets).
As seen from her livestreams on Instagram, she makes, writes and produces her own music. Even though Hot Pinkhas sexual themes, that’s Doja Cat’s now signature theme. She produces a distinct sound that many other artists don’t do today. The same applies to her previous 2018 album, Amala. With Doja’s album being overtly sexual, they seem to call back to old and new successful hip-hop artists such as Lil Kim, Nicki Minaj and Queen Latifah, among others. With that being said, Doja clearly seems to be influenced by Erykah Badu, Pharrell, Jamiroquai, PartyNextDoor and Drake as well.
Doja mentioned that despite her obvious influences on Hot Pink, she’s finding more of herself. According to an article from FADER, she stated: “With my first album, it was a little bit like I was practicing […] It’s like, you know the first time you do anything, you kind of have to figure out who you are? I feel like with this second project I know who I am and I know what I want and I know what I want it to sound like. I’m really proud of this.” Doja also stated to Exclaim, the reason why she gave the exceptional album its name is that: “…I wanted people to feel that before they got into the music that it felt passionate, warm and welcoming […] I think that the color hot pink describes those things the most. It’s my favourite colour and has been for my whole life so for my second project where I’ve found myself and I’m more refined, I felt that this title was the best choice.”
Just as she said in her interviews with FADER and Exclaim, I do believe that Hot Pink is an upgrade to Doja’s growing musical career. Each song on the album contains a different kind of sound and vibe. One song is catchy and upbeat with discussions of sex, while another song is auto-tuned and contains a sad message. Hot Pink overall is the kind of album you can vibe to, dance to and, of course, simply listen to.