Doja Cat

Doja Cat was born Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini in Los Angeles. Her mother, Deborah Sawyer, is an American graphic designer and painter of Jewish heritage, while her father, Dumisani Dlamini, is a South African performer of Zulu descent known for appearing as Crocodile in the original Broadway cast and film adaptation of Sarafina!. Her parents had a brief relationship, and Doja Cat has described herself as estranged from her father.

After her birth, she lived for five years with her maternal grandmother in Rye, New York, before returning to California. At about eight years old, she moved with her mother and brother to the Sai Anantam Ashram in Agoura Hills, where the family practiced Hinduism for four years. She wore head-covering scarves, sang bhajans and studied Indian classical dance before later taking ballet, tap, jazz and breakdancing lessons.

As a teenager, she joined a professional poplocking troupe and competed in dance battles throughout Los Angeles. She frequently skipped school to participate in online chatrooms and dropped out of high school at 16 while in her junior year. She has connected that decision to struggles with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and said that performing and music had become her main focus.

After leaving school, Doja Cat taught herself to sing, rap and use GarageBand. She searched YouTube for beats and instrumentals, made music at home and uploaded early recordings to SoundCloud. Her song "So High" became the first permanent upload on her account in late 2012 and brought her to the attention of producer Yeti Beats, who helped connect her with Kemosabe Records and RCA Records. She signed at 17 and released her debut EP, Purrr!, in 2014.

Her debut studio album, Amala, followed in 2018. The album initially received little commercial attention, but its later deluxe edition benefited from the success of "Mooo!", "Tia Tamera" featuring Rico Nasty and "Juicy". A remix of "Juicy" featuring Tyga became Doja Cat's first Billboard Hot 100 entry and helped Amala reach the Billboard 200.

Doja Cat uploaded the self-produced video for "Mooo!" in 2018. Its absurd lyrics and homemade presentation turned the song into a viral internet meme, with the video receiving more than three million views in one week. The success demonstrated how effectively she could use online culture to build an audience around music.

Doja Cat's second studio album, Hot Pink, was released in November 2019 and eventually reached number nine on the Billboard 200. It displayed her range as a singer, rapper and producer while moving beyond the novelty associated with "Mooo!". The album included "Bottom Bitch", "Rules", "Juicy" and "Streets", as well as "Boss Bitch", which appeared on the soundtrack for the film Birds of Prey.

The album's defining single, "Say So", gained momentum through TikTok and became Doja Cat's first top-ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100. A remix featuring Nicki Minaj reached number one in May 2020, giving both artists their first chart-topping single and becoming the first female rap collaboration to top the chart.

The success of Hot Pink made Doja Cat one of the major breakthrough artists of 2020. She won Push Best New Artist at the MTV Video Music Awards, Best New Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards and New Artist of the Year and Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist at the American Music Awards. The COVID-19 pandemic postponed her planned Hot Pink Tour.

Doja Cat released Planet Her in 2021, expanding the pop-rap and R&B approach of Hot Pink into a more polished, genre-blending project. Its singles included "Kiss Me More" featuring SZA, "You Right" featuring The Weeknd, "Need to Know", "Woman" and "Get Into It (Yuh)". The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and remained in the chart's top ten for more than six months.

"Kiss Me More" spent 19 consecutive weeks in the Billboard Hot 100's top ten, setting a record for the most weeks in the top ten by a female collaboration. The song won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and became one of Doja Cat's most important collaborations.

In 2021, Doja Cat hosted the MTV Video Music Awards, becoming the first nominee for Video of the Year to host the ceremony in the same year. She also performed at the event and won Best Collaboration with SZA for "Kiss Me More" and Best Art Direction with Saweetie for "Best Friend".

Doja Cat's fourth studio album, Scarlet, was released in 2023 after she signaled a move toward a darker, more hip-hop-oriented sound. She described the direction as a return to the rap style of her earliest work and moved away from the pop and glitter-oriented presentation associated with her previous two albums. The era incorporated punk, experimental and horror-inspired visual elements.

The album's lead single, "Paint the Town Red", became her second United States number-one single and her first solo song to top the charts in both the United States and the United Kingdom. It also became the first rap song to reach number one on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart. Scarlet debuted in the top five in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.

The album's promotional single "Demons" featured a music video co-starring Christina Ricci. Doja Cat supported the album with The Scarlet Tour, her first arena tour, with Doechii and Ice Spice as supporting acts. A deluxe edition, Scarlet 2 Claude, followed in 2024 and included collaborations with ASAP Rocky and Teezo Touchdown.

Doja Cat's music has been described as pop rap, hip-hop, pop and R&B. She is known for moving between singing, rapping, songwriting, production, dance and visual performance. Nicki Minaj is one of her primary influences, and Doja Cat paid tribute to Minaj's style on "Get Into It (Yuh)" from Planet Her. She has also cited Lauryn Hill, Busta Rhymes, Rihanna, Beyoncé, D'Angelo, Missy Elliott and Lil' Kim among her influences.

Her public image is closely tied to social media, online humor and visually elaborate performances. Songs including "Candy", "Say So" and "Streets" gained renewed attention through TikTok challenges, while her humorous posts and unconventional videos helped make internet culture a central part of her artistic identity.

The stage name Doja Cat combines "doja", a slang term for marijuana, with her love of cats. She has said that the name came from one of her cats and a favorite marijuana strain, although she later expressed discomfort with the pothead persona associated with it. Her fifth studio album, Vie, marked a return to pop-oriented music and combined R&B, pop, funk, new jack swing and hip-hop.

Doja Cat was in a relationship with musician Jawny from August 2019 until February 2020. She has discussed attraction to both men and women, saying that she likes people with whom she can have sex, but she has not formally stated a sexual orientation.

She has spoken publicly about alcohol and nicotine addiction during her youth and described quitting cigarettes as one of the most difficult challenges of her life. She has amblyopia and has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, for which she attends therapy.

In 2022, an infected tonsil linked to vaping required medical treatment, and she canceled festival appearances and an opening slot on The Weeknd's After Hours til Dawn Tour. She has also discussed undergoing liposuction after suspecting that she had lipedema.