Photo Courtesy of RCA Records

   After clinging to the ceiling in a black demon suit, Doja Cat crawls toward the fearful woman on her bed, staring with blood red eyes. 

   From hot-pink rap pop to satanically influenced horror pop, rapper Doja Cat’s daring new album, “Scarlet,” takes a massive genre leap as she attempts to leave her former musical identity behind. Although each of her albums have a unique personality and concept, this album is by far the most obscure. Following much controversy after the release of “Paint The Town Red,” Doja Cat continues to ride this train of provoking upset by releasing “Demons” along with the rest of her album this Friday. 

   “Thank you Doja cat for reminding me to go to church,” says a Youtube commenter on the Demons music video. Some listeners have even gone so far as to make Christian remixes and share them on TikTok. Doja Cat has refused to ride out the inertia of her original fame, and instead chooses (for better or for worse) to completely shift styles with a form of music that can widely be perceived as “shock art.”

   Other artists, like Sam Smith, who sang “Unholy” have also taken part in this art form, and have received similar levels of criticism. Certainly shocking is the juxtaposition of her old style of music to her new style. Her first album features a song entitled, “MOOO!” in which Doja Cat literally raps, “B****, I’m a cow” over and over again with silly graphics in the background.  It’s as if “Scarlet” was made by an entirely different person.

   In the new brave and bold lyricism, she asserts herself as not a jester for the masses, but an artist who can do whatever she wants. “I don’t need to wear a wig to make you like it,” she raps over the upbeat instrumental in “Paint The Town Red.” Despite the wide range of reactions, from disgust to fascination, Doja Cat has truly proven the duality of an artist.

   Even though the beats are relatively catchy, the bold risks taken in this album aren’t enough to distract from some of the juvenile lyricism. In “Demons” she sings, “We are enemies, we are foes. Who are you, what are those? You are gross.” As a viewer, I was impressed by the bravery of Doja Cat to steer from the status quo. Aside from  this though, the quality of the writing is nothing to write home about as some of the songs sound like a diss track written by a sixth grader.

   Doja’s beginnings root from her popularity on TikTok and the songs that got people dancing and lip syncing. In “Scarlet,” she hoped to rebrand herself and leave behind this shallower art form. In her quest to reinvent herself, she seems to have left behind the brilliance and flow of her older music in favor of an edginess that seems to lack real flavor. 

   In all its terrible irony, the sound, “Paint the Town Red ” has 2 million videos on TikTok, many involving dancing and lip syncing. Doja Cat has succeeded in proving to the public and her fans that she is unpredictable and chooses who she wants to be, even if it upsets people. However, she has failed to leave behind her “TikTok music” identity and create an album that measures up to her older ones. 

   While this accusation of promoting Satanism is shared by many appalled viewers, other fans seem to get a thrill out of the blatant rejection of the norm for pop art. Time will tell what persona Doja Cat will take on in the future, with ‘demon’ having now been crossed off the list.