Rapper, Singer, and Producer Doja Cat Sets the Standard for Modern Musical Triple Threats

Raw talent isn’t the first quality that record labels look for when recruiting artists these days. Being a triple threat in today's micromanaged music industry might seem almost impossible, but Los Angeles artist Doja Cat makes singing, rapping, and producing her own music look easy.

Amala Zandile Dlamini, better known as Doja Cat, was born in Los Angeles to South African and Jewish parents. Being an artist came instinctively: Her father made a living as an actor and film producer, and her mother is a painter. As a teenager, she studied piano and took dance lessons. By the age of 16, she dove deep into producing and songwriting — citing Nicki Minaj, Erykah Badu, Drake, and Busta Rhymes as inspirations. She taught herself to compose on the production platform Logic, which led to her first upload on SoundCloud.

Doja Cat describes her music as bubbly. “It’s cutesy. It’s dark. It’s surprising. It’s trappy-go-lucky with a touch of punk. It’s exactly who I am,” she says. After becoming a Catwoman stan, she adopted her stage moniker and created a goofy, yet lovable social media presence that earned her a cult following. While scrolling through her Instagram, you may find Doja wearing a handful of colorful wigs, videos of her creating beats with her mouth on the Acapella app, and her dancing in a cow costume. That quirky personality translates to her music.
Her first EP, Purrr!, managed to fit five completely different sounds into 18 minutes and two seconds of music. “Beautiful” starts the EP with a throwback hip-hop feel, while “Nunchucks” and “So High” slow things down with alternative R&B. Her versatility allows her to stand out in a bustling music scene, and her sense of humor — as seen in her most popular single, "Mooo!" — doesn't detract from the substance in her music.

On her debut album, 2018's Amala, Doja Cat managed to deliver another 16 tracks with a completely different feel from song to song. On the record, she effortlessly bounces back and forth between bubble-gum rap and sweet vocals, flexing her diverse talents. “Inspiration came from many different places,” she explains about Amala. “Musically, the album is like an Easter basket of singles. I was so young. I was experimenting and getting to know myself as a person and as an artist. I’m making my own way here.”

In an era where social media influencers reign and memes can make or break an artist's career, it’s not often that the industry highlights true musicians that rap, sing, and produce their own music. Doja Cat uses Internet platforms to pique her audience's interests but ultimately allows her music to speak for itself. She can float effortlessly over a beat with feathery vocals, deliver cutthroat raps with distinct melodies, and produce and record the whole damn thing by herself. In the process, she's setting the triple-threat standard for women in the modern music industry.

Doja Cat. 8 p.m. Thursday, August 8, at 1-800-Lucky, 143 NW 23rd St., Miami; 305-768-9826; 1800lucky.com. Tickets cost $30 via eventbrite.com.

8:30 p.m. Friday, August 9, at Flight Club Miami, 3910 NE First Ave., Miami; 786-310-5704; flightclub.com. Admission is free; all ages.