Doja Cat : "Scarlet"

You might wonder why I am reviewing the new Doja Cat, you might be more surprised to know I listened to her "Hot Pink" album quite a bit and found it leaned more in the direction of Grimes. Things have changed and Doja is more embedded in the industry and the machine that pumps out empty soulless music to the masses. If you think music is all a matter of opinion then lest us look at the facts . Hot Pink" had  15 producers  13 songwriters compared to this album which sadly boasts  27 producers and 33 songwriters.  For some perspective "Darkside of the Moon" only had three people  who were not in Pink Floyd, if you are counting the singer guesting on "Great Gig in the Sky". I know there is someone dumb enough to say 

"But could Pink Floyd make a video like Demons?" 

I guess you have never seen "The Wall".  But we are not here to talk about live shows or videos, just the music on the album.  So let's continue..."Paint the Town Red" works off a sample of Dionne Warwick's "Walk on By"  Upholding a legacy of the music machine since Burt Bacharach and Hal David, wrote the song for Dionne Warrick, but it only took a team of three in 1963, without the use of the technology  producers use today.  This finds her crossing over into just a streamlined radio friendly version. She sings the chorus, so singing her own hooks makes her worth more than rappers who don't but it's still a very low bar, as lyrically she is not doing anything different than Cardi B.  'Demons" is more aggressive. Lyrically it can be summed  up as masturbatory ego stroking, of a fictional persona she is playing.  The production is very different, as the vocals are given a filter to create the illusion that they are underproduced, so more like is given to the mix that has layers. It does not take a genius to know that   "Wet  Vagina" is just a ratchet version of 'WAP" . 

"Fuck the Girls" is ok for what it is , there is enough groove and hook, which is about all this sort of thing is worth. When she raps that "ya'll really phoned it in with the music lately"  it is hard to take seriously with four dozen producers working on this album. How many focus groups did this album in particular have to go through before it was released?  You would think we the team of songwriters on this that there would not be songs that lacked focus like "97'  thought given her track record the more experimental moments see most likely had more of a hand in. The chant of "looks like we don't give a shit" applies to how inspired the song is. 

"Gun" is about as bland as gets and lacks any personality of it's own, making her sound like another faceless corporate pawn. "Go Off" has more identity, but is not as good as "Shutco" that samples 10CC's "I'm Not in Love".  Some of the vocal layers on this album also draw inspiration from the song "Agora Hills" is another one of the lead singles from this album ,so it's one of the more meticulously constructed since there was more marketing money riding on it.  "Can't Wait" sounds like microwaved Lauryn Hill. By the time it gets to the jazzy musings of "Often" this album is becoming something to be endured rather than enjoyed. This song wanders and never finds it's way. If the purpose of this album was to defend her cred as a rapper then "Love Life" is not helping. The layers of sung vocals are more interesting, but lyrically her verses are bland. "Skull and Bones" had me thinking it was a continuation of the previous song.

"Attention" works better when she is singing than rapping. Rapping is not her strong suit, but that is how she wants to market herself. "Balut" makes me think of some of the atmospheric jazzy takes on hip hop during the 90s, but is less impressive. She does hit harder with her raps on 'WYM Freestyle" which is what she should have been doing this entire time and I might have been more impressed. I will round this down to a 6.5, it's polished and some of the songs are alright if you want mindless entertainment, she proves she is a better singer than a rapper, and this is the best an artist can sound when they are driving their career in the wrong direction. Would like to hear this with half the producers and songwriters, and then it might just sound like less than inspired pop music.