Written Before Listen
Doja Cat is a singer and rapper hailing from Los Angeles California. She has gotten major buzz over the past two or three years with the songs “Say So” and “Kiss Me More”. They both are somewhat Disco throwbacks and with that being known, she is recognized as a pretty versatile artist for the mainstream. Personally, the two songs that I know from her are good songs in my opinion. I think as a female artist goes, she has that femininity appeal that is similar to Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B but definitely more straightforward. With that being said, let’s see what Planet Her has in store.
Themes
As female rappers go, a majority of them unfortunately get unnecessarily categorized as a “sex rapper”. This is usually thanks to artists like Cardi B, Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion and their massive influence on modern female hip hop. Unfortunately, Doja Cat is one of these artists. There is not a single song that isn’t sex based. I’m not a disapprover of this direction but it’s a problem when you surface yourself into one topic and it’s even worse when the topic is starting to become overdone.
Features
The features on this album are not the most surprising. On “Payday”, we have a great Young Thug feature but unfortunately, he is the only good part of this song. On “I Don’t Do Drugs”, Arianna is the second artist to overtake Doja Cat on here. We also have JID on the song “Options” and it’s unique to see these two on a song and surprisingly, their chemistry is actually there. On the other hand, The two best features on this album are without a doubt The Weeknd feature on “You Right” and the SZA feature on “Kiss Me More”. Both contribute in a great way as they don’t oversaturate the track. Looking at all of the features on the album, you’ll see that Doja Cat needs to be careful on picking features as she might not find the best people for the job.
Genre-Bending
From her biggest hits, Doja Cat takes a blend of dance-pop, hip hop and R&B. That still stands on this album as a majority of the tracks are a crossover of some sort. Surely songs like “Get Into It” and “Imagine” are pure hip hop songs but other than that, every track is usually an R&B or dance-pop track with hip hop influence. There is a gripe with that…It’s been done. She is far from the only one that does this, which makes this a dime a dozen project.
Influences
Doja Cat might not me the proudest with her influences, but they are surely there. There is a lot of Nicki Minaj and Arianna Grande worship all over this thing. There is also a lot of influence from the trap legends like Young Thug and Travis Scott. Also, on songs like “Been Like This”, she brings a slow, emotional R&B vibe that is very similar to 6LACK and Bryson Tiller out of anybody. Once again, it’s pretty dime a dozen, thats really all I can say.
Favorite Tracks
If you could tell, my premise on this album is pretty negative. Luckily there are some songs that are pretty good. The song “Need To Know” is a cloud rap banger with infectious flows and a psychedelic trap beat. The song “Yeah Right” is another one as both Doja and The Weeknd go with each others comfort levels to create an enjoyable track for both artists in consideration. My absolute favorite on the album is easily the hit single for the album “Kiss Me More”. I love the nostalgic dance-pop vibe as well as the SZA feature too. It’s a great song that I actually love. Like I said, Doja Cat is versatile…but she shows her strengths and weaknesses in the worst way possible.
Verdict
Yeah. This was very predictable. I wouldn’t say I expected this but what I heard instead was a lot of direct R&B and hip hop blends that come off as just another forgettable song.
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