Doja Cat is an American singer, rapper and songwriter. She has recently hit the top of BIllboard Hot 100 with her song “Say So”.
So let’s dive into some trivia and facts about her life and career thus far.
- Her real name is Amalaratna Zandile Dlamini
- She was born in October 21, 1995
- She is known professionally as Doja Cat
- Doja Cat is an American singer, rapper and songwriter
- She first rose to prominence with the release of the music video for her song “Mooo!”
- The song went viral in 2018
- She subsequently became known for creating music videos and songs that achieve widespread popularity online
- She has gained popularity specifically on social media apps like TikTok
- She was born and raised in Los Angele
- Doja Cat began making and releasing music on SoundCloud when she was a teenager
- She signed a joint record deal with RCA Records and Kemosabe Records at the age of 17
- She subsequently released her debut extended play, Purrr!, in 2014
- She released her debut studio album, Amala, in 2018
- This was followed by a deluxe repackage in 2019
- The deluxe edition featured the singles “Tia Tamera”, “Mooo!” and “Juicy”
- Her second studio album and her follow up, Hot Pink (2019), reached the top 10 on the US Billboard 200
- The remix for its single, “Say So”, which featured rapper Nicki Minaj, topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 2020
- Amalaratna Zandile Dlamini was born on October 21, 1995 into an artistic family in Tarzana, Los Angeles
- Her mother, Deborah Elizabeth Sawyer, is a Jewish-American painter
- Her absent father, Dumisani Dlamini, is a South African actor, composer and film producer of Zulu ethnicity best known for Sarafina!
- Following birth she immediately moved to Rye, New York, where she lived for five years
- She returned to Oak Park, California with her single mother
- It was during this time when she participated in ballet, tap and jazz lessons
- Her mother played music from artists such as D’Angelo, Jamiroquai, Tupac, Earth, Wind & Fire and Erykah Badu in the house
- She returned to Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles at the age of 11 and a half
- Τhere she lived in an ashram and practiced Hinduism for four years
- During this time she also took part in breakdancing classes, further joining a competitive troupe
- She would frequently skip school to participate in a chatroom filled with offensive rhetoric
- She has cited Rihanna and D’Angelo among her biggest influences
- In her early career, Doja Cat cited Japanese culture as an inspiration
- Doja Cat has previously addressed the absence of her father Dumisani Dlamini, claiming that even though he actively comments on her Instagram posts about how proud he is, she has “never met him”
- She told The Fader: “I don’t hold grudges against him or anything in any way, but obviously it’s a little weird”
- Her father however has indirectly denied these statements, stating he has a “healthy” relationship with his daughter
- In 2013, Doja Cat stated she was Jewish
- When asked about her sexual preference in an Instagram live, Doja Cat stated “I like both [men and women]. I like dicks and I also like, um, I like people that I can have sex with. You can kind of have sex with anybody, right?”
- In September 2018, Doja Cat sparked controversy on social media when her Twitter account history revealed the usage of homophobic slurs
- Doja Cat initially defended her past remarks
- Her response was met by even more backlash, including a critical tweet from Will and Grace actress Debra Messing
- Doja Cat has since issued a series of apologies for her derogatory words and deleted her tweets
- The controversy generated much discourse regarding the limits of “cancel culture”, the growing trend of outcry on social media resulting in celebrities being deserted and careers abruptly derailed following publicized misconduct
- In May 2020, American singer Lana Del Rey made an Instagram post about being criticized for allegedly “glamorizing abuse” and she mentioned Doja Cat in the post
- Doja Cat responded by commenting “gang sunk that dunker”, a phrase with no clear meaning
- That same month, a 2015 song by Doja Cat titled “Dindu Nuffin” resurfaced
- “Dindu Nuffin” is a term used by the alt-right to ridicule African-American victims of police brutality that claim that they are innocent
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