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<v Speaker 1>What's up, everybody. Welcome back to Crash Course Pot, the

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<v Speaker 1>music podcast for music heads by a music head. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>your host, Ashtoney, and today we are looking at an

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<v Speaker 1>artist who essentially hacked the Internet to become a global icon.

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<v Speaker 1>She's been a cow, a pop princess, and a high

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<v Speaker 1>fashioned demon. Yes I said cow. We're talking about Amala

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<v Speaker 1>de Lamini, known to the world as Doja Cat. We've

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<v Speaker 1>been talking about super accredited, influential stars and the music

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<v Speaker 1>sphere for a couple of episodes now, and it's only fitting,

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<v Speaker 1>especially after the Antonoff episode, that we segue into Dojacat. Also,

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<v Speaker 1>I was not thrilled to have mispronounced her album. I

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<v Speaker 1>pronounced it VI when it's so clearly V. And the

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<v Speaker 1>on top of that, just a really quick you know,

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<v Speaker 1>before we get into the episode. And that's also, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>my explanation for the two week hiatus that last episode.

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<v Speaker 1>I was so exhausted and tired and I wanted to

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<v Speaker 1>honor my commitment to you guys' weekly episodes. But after

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<v Speaker 1>hearing it, I mispronounced Lord's album. I forgot what I

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<v Speaker 1>called it, but mispronounced that mispronounced V. Doja CAAT's album

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<v Speaker 1>and just the passion and the energy was not there.

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<v Speaker 1>I wasn't feeling the episode, so decided to say two

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<v Speaker 1>weeks off to recuperate, get my energy back, get my

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<v Speaker 1>motivation back, and on top of that, correct the mispronunciation

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<v Speaker 1>of Dojakat's album V And what better time to do

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<v Speaker 1>it than doing a whole episode dedicating a whole episode

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<v Speaker 1>to Doja Cat. So that's the thought process behind this

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<v Speaker 1>episode today. So let's get in to everything, shall we.

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<v Speaker 1>So Doja Catt is often called the Queen of pop rap,

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<v Speaker 1>although some argue that she's not hip hop. I'd like

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<v Speaker 1>to counter that argue with have you heard any of

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<v Speaker 1>her songs? Inty ways, her path wasn't paved by a

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<v Speaker 1>label or a talent scout. It was paved by her

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<v Speaker 1>own laptop and a deep understand meme culture. Today we're

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<v Speaker 1>looking at how she transitioned from a SoundCloud outlier to

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<v Speaker 1>a stadium headliner and why she's currently one of the

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<v Speaker 1>most polarizing figures in music. So let's get into it.

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<v Speaker 1>To understand Jojakat, though, you have to understand her work ethic.

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<v Speaker 1>Growing up in Los Angeles, she was a high school

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<v Speaker 1>dropout at sixteen. But she wasn't just sitting around being lazy.

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<v Speaker 1>She was a digital hermit. She spent her days downloading

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<v Speaker 1>beats from YouTube and teaching herself how to use garage band.

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<v Speaker 1>I wonder if she used fl studio. Not sure. In

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<v Speaker 1>twenty twelve, she uploaded her first permanent track to SoundCloud,

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<v Speaker 1>a song called so High. Even then, though you could

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<v Speaker 1>hear it the technical precision in her rapping mixed with

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<v Speaker 1>a really airy melodic vocal style. It took years, and

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<v Speaker 1>I mean years, the world to notice, but those early

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<v Speaker 1>days of the solo grind were her training ground. Her

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<v Speaker 1>stage name actually came from two of her interests at

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<v Speaker 1>the time, her love of cats and a specific strain

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<v Speaker 1>of weed. Now, as someone who's currently eight months sober,

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<v Speaker 1>I love to say this every chance I get, and

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<v Speaker 1>I walking a very different path myself. I'm just eight

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<v Speaker 1>months sober from weed, you guys. I find it fascinating

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<v Speaker 1>to look back at her origin story and see how

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<v Speaker 1>it evolves for Doja Cat though, that name became a brand,

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<v Speaker 1>but the discipline she developed in her bedroom studio is

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<v Speaker 1>actually what built her career. In order to have such

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<v Speaker 1>a huge, global scale career, It takes tons of discipline,

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<v Speaker 1>like no one is just falling into a career like

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<v Speaker 1>Doja CAATs. Twenty eighteen was a turning point. She released

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<v Speaker 1>a joke song called Moo be a a Cow. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>a Cow. I don't want to say the B word,

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<v Speaker 1>but it's I'm a cow moo moo. It's actually a

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<v Speaker 1>very humorous music video. It looks like an old school

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<v Speaker 1>game boy video game esque style with like the crappiest

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<v Speaker 1>green screen background. And I say that endearingly because as

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<v Speaker 1>basic and simple as it is, it came together to

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<v Speaker 1>make such a a memorable cultural statement in music videos.

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<v Speaker 1>So she recorded that in her bedroom, hammered a green

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<v Speaker 1>sheet to the wall and wear a cow outfit. She

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<v Speaker 1>was also eating a burger and fries, which from my

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<v Speaker 1>memory when I watched the old when I watched like

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<v Speaker 1>old interviews, she had ordered food like uber each or something,

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<v Speaker 1>and it came in the middle of her doing the

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<v Speaker 1>music video, so she just kind of like added that

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<v Speaker 1>in as like extras. I don't know where I heard that,

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<v Speaker 1>but I remember hearing that before. Anyways, that music video

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<v Speaker 1>and song went viral instantly. But while the world was laughing,

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<v Speaker 1>Doja was playing the long game. She proved she understood

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<v Speaker 1>absurdity as a strategy. She quickly moved from meme girl

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<v Speaker 1>to pop queen by working with production heavyweights like Max Martin,

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<v Speaker 1>the same architect for Backstreet Boys. Actually, songs like say

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<v Speaker 1>So didn't just hit the charts, they redefined them, and

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<v Speaker 1>say So became the moment TikTok officially became the primary

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<v Speaker 1>driver of the music industry. Max Martin didn't work on

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<v Speaker 1>the hit kiss Me More. The primary architect of the

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<v Speaker 1>Hot Pink and planet her era was actually doctor Luke

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<v Speaker 1>Tyson tracks Sidebar. Anyways, what makes Dojacat different from other

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<v Speaker 1>viral artists is that she's a triple threat. She raps

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<v Speaker 1>with technical boom back precision, She sings pop hooks perfectly,

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<v Speaker 1>and her dance training in ballet and jazz makes her

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<v Speaker 1>live shows a theatrical experience. She isn't just an internet artist,

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<v Speaker 1>She's a high level performer. Let's just say that. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>let's get into the technical side, because this is crash

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<v Speaker 1>course pot after all. So what makes Dojacat's music sticky

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<v Speaker 1>isn't just the hooks. It's the vocal stacking. She's no

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<v Speaker 1>own for recording dozens of layers of her own voice

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<v Speaker 1>to create these thick, lush harmonies. And she's a student

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<v Speaker 1>of vocal percussion. If you listen closely to her verses,

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<v Speaker 1>she's using chirps, clicks, and tonal shifts to act as

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<v Speaker 1>a second drum kit. Basically, it's a level of detail

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<v Speaker 1>you usually only see from veteran producers. And I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>if she's getting into this at sixteen and earlier, then

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<v Speaker 1>quite naturally she's a veteran producer at this point. Let's

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<v Speaker 1>dive deeper, though, into the technical skill, the pop rap hybridity,

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<v Speaker 1>shall I say so? I already said about vocal stacking,

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<v Speaker 1>and on tracks like Vegas or Paint the Town Red,

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<v Speaker 1>she layers her own voice to create her own harmonies,

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<v Speaker 1>much like Backtree Boys did, but she did it solo

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<v Speaker 1>in a digital booth. I think that it proves she

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<v Speaker 1>isn't just a personality, she's a technical musician, a veteran.

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<v Speaker 1>Shall we say also the genre fluidity. We touched on

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<v Speaker 1>pop and rap, but we haven't mentioned her disco and

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<v Speaker 1>house influence. Say So is essentially a new disco track,

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<v Speaker 1>and her more recent work like twenty four twenty five

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<v Speaker 1>era leaned heavily into like nineties Chicago house beats. It

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<v Speaker 1>explains why her music works in clubs and on the radio.

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<v Speaker 1>It also shows she's studying music history, not just TikTok trends,

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<v Speaker 1>all qualities of a highly disciplined veteran artist in my opinion.

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<v Speaker 1>And then we talked about her vocal percussions. I think

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<v Speaker 1>this is a technique she took from Busta Rhymes or

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<v Speaker 1>even Nicki Minaj, and it gives your listeners something specific

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<v Speaker 1>to listen for when they play her tracks. It's just entertaining.

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<v Speaker 1>Let me just say like that, it's entertaining. So let's

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<v Speaker 1>rewind back to twenty twenty three for her album Scarlet.

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<v Speaker 1>That's when she was in her shaved head era and

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<v Speaker 1>no eyebrow era. She was essentially trolling the pop industry

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<v Speaker 1>that tried to box her in. There's more to say

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<v Speaker 1>on that, but we keep it strictly music here. If

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<v Speaker 1>you want the tea, go find a tea channel. I

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<v Speaker 1>will say this. There was this viral comment on threads

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<v Speaker 1>or Moment when a fan asked her to say she

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<v Speaker 1>loved them, and she replied, I don't though, just because

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<v Speaker 1>I don't. Just wait, I don't though, because I don't

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<v Speaker 1>even know y'all. Using the quote I don't know you,

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<v Speaker 1>I guess made the fans mad and she developed this

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<v Speaker 1>reputation of not liking her fans, But you see her

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<v Speaker 1>work ethic outweighs the backlash or anything she's done. Even personally.

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<v Speaker 1>For me, there's a lot where I have to separate

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<v Speaker 1>the artist from the art, and the art is so

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<v Speaker 1>so good it makes me feel like, well, I'm still

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<v Speaker 1>listening to this despite my personal opinions about her. But

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<v Speaker 1>she's right, we don't know her, and that's what makes

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<v Speaker 1>music such a good thing. You don't have to know

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<v Speaker 1>anything about the person to enjoy the music, although I

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<v Speaker 1>would like them to have a moral compass regardless, moving on,

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<v Speaker 1>moving on, Whatever the case, her statement I don't know

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<v Speaker 1>you is a blunt reminder of the difference between a

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<v Speaker 1>fan and a friend, and we should remember that. We

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<v Speaker 1>should remember that. So let's fast forward to now in

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<v Speaker 1>twenty twenty five. With her latest album VI and the

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<v Speaker 1>massive world tour, we're seeing Jacat come full circle. She's

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<v Speaker 1>embracing pop melodies again, but on her own term. She's

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<v Speaker 1>no longer the girl trying to get a hit she

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<v Speaker 1>is the hit. What's the takeaway here, guys? Do Jacat

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<v Speaker 1>is a lesson and one of initiative. She didn't wait

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<v Speaker 1>to take a seat at the table. She built her

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<v Speaker 1>own table using a laptop and a bedroom green screen.

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<v Speaker 1>She reminds us that in the digital age, authenticity, even

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<v Speaker 1>when it's weird, abrasive, or confusing, is the ultimate currency.

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<v Speaker 1>She stayed true to her vision even when it meant

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<v Speaker 1>being the villain for a while. Arguably, I believe there

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<v Speaker 1>were times when she said that Planet Pink was it

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<v Speaker 1>Planet Pink and I actually mix it up Hot Pink

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<v Speaker 1>and Planet Her. There is record of her saying that

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<v Speaker 1>though were cash grabs, but I'm my girl, those were

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<v Speaker 1>some good songs. If those were cash grabs, I don't

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<v Speaker 1>even want to say it. She had say So, which

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<v Speaker 1>was on that when not my favorite. She also had

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<v Speaker 1>Juicy loved that song, Bottom Bitch Love that song Rules,

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<v Speaker 1>which was actually the song that I very first even

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<v Speaker 1>knew who she was. Rules was trending on Twitter and

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<v Speaker 1>it made me click the music video and that was

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<v Speaker 1>my first introduction to Doja. Caat Cybersex was my actual

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<v Speaker 1>favorite bot by Doja cat Like that. That was also

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<v Speaker 1>a good one. Streets was okay. I don't know why

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<v Speaker 1>she says Hot Pink was a cash grab. It was.

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<v Speaker 1>I think it showcased her talent and arranged you very

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<v Speaker 1>very well. It was a perfect album for the mainstream

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<v Speaker 1>to get to know her. And then we have Planet

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<v Speaker 1>Her with songs like Woman Naked, Payday, Get Into. I

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<v Speaker 1>would say Planet Her, I would agree where he could

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<v Speaker 1>have been a cash grab because there's not one song

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<v Speaker 1>on there that I like very much. And then we

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<v Speaker 1>move into Scarlet, which Scarlet has several songs that I

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<v Speaker 1>like in addition to vibe this newer album. So everyone,

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<v Speaker 1>that's our dojacat lesson, that's our take on Doja Cat.

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<v Speaker 1>She's proof that you can be the villain of the

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<v Speaker 1>Internet one day and the most streamed artist the next.

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<v Speaker 1>As long as the work is undeniable, you don't have

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<v Speaker 1>to fit into a box that people build for you.

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<v Speaker 1>And that's why I like her. Her talent supersedes any

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<v Speaker 1>antics she's ever had. She's incredibly talented. More entertainment down below,

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<v Speaker 1>click a link. Thanks for listening, and I will catch

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<v Speaker 1>you guys on the next episode of Crash Course Pod.

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<v Speaker 1>You guys, what was your favorite dojacat era. Let us

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<v Speaker 1>know in the comments.