Doja Cat's biggest mistake wasn't dealing with the devil, it's her commitment to being annoying
A review of Doja Cat’s 3rd single "Demons" from her newest album, Scarlet, which was announced yesterday and is set to come out September 22nd.
What do you think of when you think of Doja Cat the past few months? Christians on TikTok crucifying her music then making dancing videos to the same songs a video or two later? Or maybe you’ve just heard the new singles on any short-form media service because everyone and their mom uses it as the default? Doja Cat is unfortunately everywhere and the only reason I have for the devil maybe being real is the unexplainable control she has on pop culture musically despite being anything but revolutionary.
At first, you may notice Demons has a (excuse my verbage) “goofy” beat that could possibly home a solid rap verse. It sounds like something Zack Fox could’ve cooked up. Instead Doja uses the off-putting beat to spew the same lyrics about being better than everyone else and whatever you call the sexually-explicit lines that leave a bad taste in your mouth. “I just swallowed all his kids and spit the class out” is not exactly what people envision when they hear Doja is trying to seriously rebrand herself as a rapper. I’m not trying to disregard her genuine want to be regarded as a rapper instead of what most of the general public sees as a “R&B”- pop star. I would label Demons as a rap song. It’s just not necessarily a good one. She screams the hook in a Rico Nasty-esqe scream that could’ve carried the song onto bigger and better things, but instead is the song’s high point. It’s genuine, and that’s its downfall.
The rollout for her album has been nothing short of messy and controversy after controversy. First it was her being “demonic” and “selling her soul” (see any piece of visuals for any of her singles, or her instagram, or the headlines), then it was her remarks about her fans and her commitment to trying to sever the parasocial ties in what was probably the worst way possible. Then it was her trying to clap back at the people calling her out for her *allegedly* emotionally abusive and racist ex-Twitch streamer boyfriend J. Cyrus. It’s exhausting, and what’s even worse is the public’s reaction.
Doja Cat is an annoying edgelord. She is not the new reincarnation of the devil. I have to argue that turning to folk music like the rest of the past A-lister musicians would have made her fall off harder than the demonic rebrand she gave herself. You can’t have your Solar Power era and eat it too. Paint The Town Red at least had a solid sample/beat where her lyrics fit in. It was catchy and the lyrics said exactly what was needed to said in a concise manner. When people expect edginess given the visuals that have been served this era, they don’t expect the same sounding music. With that said, the music video for Demons starring Christina Ricci will be released tomorrow along with the song.
