Doja Cat

Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini (b. 21 October 1995), a.k.a. Doja Cat, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer who is best known for becoming an internet meme while achieving viral success following the release of her 2018 single “Mooo!”.

Amala Dlamini, known as Doja Cat, was born on October 21, 1995, in Tarzana, Los Angeles. Her father, Dumisani Dlamini, a renowned South African actor, starred in Sarafina! Her mother, Deborah Sawyer, is a Jewish-American graphic designer. Amala has often described her relationship with her father as estranged, although Dumisani has disputed this.

After spending her early years in New York, Amala's family moved to a Hindu commune in the Santa Monica Mountains. Later, they returned to California, where Amala pursued her passion for dance, mastering Bharatanatyam and later breakdancing. She joined a professional troupe while still in high school but dropped out at 16 due to ADHD.

Living a tough life post-dropout, Amala began creating music on SoundCloud. Her track "So High" caught the attention of Kemosabe and RCA Records, leading to a record deal at just 17. As Doja Cat, she gained fame for her viral hits and unique style. Recognized by The Wall Street Journal as a skilled rapper, she has won numerous awards, including a Grammy, and was featured on Forbes' "30 Under 30" list in 2021.

Following getting noticed on Soundcloud and her subsequent record deal with Kemosabe and RCA Records, Doja released a number of singles and was even signed by OG Maco's label, OGG, temporarily. She eventually took a hiatus stating writer's block and what she felt was a creative limbo as revealed in her interview with Rolling Stone. Doja had her first major commercial release with the song "Roll with Us" in February 2018 following that brief hiatus.

The following month saw her release, "Go to Town", the lead single from her upcoming debut album, and"Candy" the second single from her album, which eventually became a sleeper hit when it featured as the soundtrack for a viral dance challenge on TikTok in 2019. This really helped Doja’s career trajectory as the single went on to chart in Australia, Canada, and the United States, where the song peaked at 86 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned Doja her first solo entry on the chart.

Doja released her self-titled debut album, Amala, on March 30, 2018, which was released through RCA and Kemosabe Records. However, this was largely skipped and ignored by critics and failed to chart in any market. Doja in her Rolling Stones interview claimed this was because she was forced to finish the production of the song without any support from the label and that she was under the influence of marijuana most of the time while recording this album.

Later that year, Doja truly achieved stardom when her self-published, homemade music video for "Mooo!", a novelty song where she fantasizes about being a cow with absurdist lyrics became viral and made her into a meme. This helped it achieve over three million views within the first week as reported by The Verge who also stated that the success of "Mooo!" kickstarted her career again following the largely forgettable debut album and has "irrefutably proved" to her record labels that she was an extremely marketable artist. This directly led to labels starting to pay more attention to her as stated by her in her Rolling Stones interview.

The following year, Doja released Hot Pink in November 2019, which received generally favorable reviews, eventually peaking at number 9 on the Billboard 200. She also released the single "Boss Bitch" which was a part of the soundtrack for the 2020 DC Comics film Birds of Prey. “Say So”, her fourth single from the album, was originally released alongside the album in 2019 but managed to gain wider popularity through the video-sharing platform TikTok after going viral. This virality on TikTok helped "Say So" peak at number 5 on the Hot 100, which earned Doja her first top-ten single and was later deemed the most-streamed song by a female artist in the United States in 2020.

Later the same year, a remixed version of "Say So" featuring Nicki Minaj was released which topped the Billboard Hot 100 and earned Doja and Nicki their first number-one single as well as the first-ever rap collaboration by female artists to top the chart. The success of “Hot Pink” and “Say So”, in general, helped Doja get nominated for the Best Female Hip Hop Artist and Video of the Year at the 20th BET Awards and won the MTV Video Music Award for Push Best New Artist where she also performed a medley of “Say So” and “Like That”. She also won the Best New Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards and The New Artist of the Year as well as the Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist at the American Music Awards in 2020.

She subsequently featured on "Motive" from Ariana Grande's album Positions which peaked at number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100, which became the highest debut position Doja had achieved and her second entry in the Top 40.

Doja was nominated for Best New Artist, and "Say So" was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 63rd Grammy Awards. The same year she also earned a spot on Time’s 100 Next List, which highlighted 100 upcoming and emerging figures in the world.

March 2021 saw Doja reveal Planet Her as the title for her fourth studio album in an interview with V. The following month, she released "Kiss Me More" featuring SZA as the lead single. The song achieved critical acclaim and commercial success and spent a record nineteen consecutive weeks within the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. It also peaked at number 3 on the chart and gave Doja her third top 10 single.

Planet Her received positive reviews and peaked at number 2 on the Billboard 200 and was among the top 5 in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Australia, Norway, and Ireland.

Following the success of Planet Her, Doja won the Top Female R&B Artist at the Billboard Music Awards in 2021 and also won a Best New Pop Artist at the iHeartRadio Music Awards.

Doja has also guest-starred in the second season of the TV series Dave and is currently a brand ambassador for Pepsi, starring in their advertisement wherein she performs a modern rendition of "You're the One That I Want" from the musical film Grease, as part of their collaboration. Billboard reported Doja closed 2021 as the fourth bestselling female artist overall and as the bestselling female R&B and hip-hop artist in the US. Doja starred in Taco Bell’s commercial for their Super Bowl LVI advertisement.

Doja won the 64th Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo Performance for “Kiss Me More”, and was nominated for six other Grammy Awards. She threatened to quit in 2022 but has since reiterated her stance to not release any new music although a new song titled "Vegas" was released in May 2022 as the lead single for the biographical film Elvis by Baz Luhrmann.

In 2022, Doja Cat continued to rack up accolades, earning Female Rapper of the Year and Performer of the Year at the XXL Awards. Her live performances consistently drew attention, often going viral for their creativity and her magnetic stage presence. That same year, she expanded her reach by covering Hole's "Celebrity Skin" for a Taco Bell commercial that aired during Super Bowl LVI.

September 2023 saw the release of Doja Cat's fourth studio album, Scarlet, which marked a shift toward a more hip-hop-focused sound. The album debuted in the top five on the Billboard 200, with its lead single, "Paint the Town Red," becoming her biggest hit yet. The track not only became her first solo number one on the Hot 100 but also topped charts in eight other countries, solidifying her status as a major force in the music industry.

As of 2024, Doja Cat's net worth is $12 million according to Celebrity Net Worth. She has mainly earned that impressive number through her music career, brand endorsements, as well as modeling for brands & endorsing their products on her social media posts.

Other than being active on TikTok and Instagram, she is also active on Twitter with 5.4 million followers as of August 2022. She currently has 13 million subscribers on YouTube and over 24 million followers on TikTok.

Not a lot is known about Amala’s personal life as reported by the Los Angeles Times. Elle reports Amala was in a brief open relationship with Jawny, an American musician until their break up in February 2020.

Despite not having formally come out or openly stated her sexual orientation, it is rumored that Amala is queer or at least bisexual owing to her statement in an interview with Pride, “you can kinda have sex with anybody,” and her song Naked contains sexual innuendos about her being bisexual.

Doja has opted for a restrained approach to social media after her ascent to stardom. She actively advocates for world leaders to tackle the "devastating hunger crisis" in Africa using her Twitter account. She has also recently tied up with Poshmark, revealing a curated collection of goods that are in line with the singer’s style. Doja even listed 13 personal items on the platform available for purchase with proceeds going towards the Musicians On Call nonprofit.

Doja also became a character in the House Party video game, with a portion of the proceeds being donated to a South African non-profit organization ACFS. Following the murder of Breonna Taylor in 2020, Doja donated $100,000 to a fund set up to honor the life of the ER technician who was shot and killed by police officers in March 2020 as reported by NME.

In March 2022, Doja Cat contemplated quitting music after facing significant backlash during her visit to Paraguay for the Asunciónico festival. The event was canceled due to severe weather, and fans who had gathered outside her hotel were disappointed when she did not come out to greet them. Her silence on social media regarding the situation fueled accusations of indifference, especially compared to her interactions with fans in other countries.

In response to the criticism, Doja Cat tweeted that she was not sorry and declared her intent to leave the music industry, even changing her Twitter handle to "I Quit." However, she returned to Twitter two days later, expressing gratitude toward her fans.

After that, in May 2022, Doja Cat shared her struggle with nicotine addiction on Twitter, revealing that she had developed an infected tonsil due to vaping. The condition required medical intervention, and she announced plans for a tonsillectomy. This led to the cancellation of her summer festival appearances and her scheduled performances as the opening act for The Weeknd's After Hours til Dawn Tour.

In July 2023, Doja Cat sparked controversy with comments on Threads that suggested she did not fully appreciate her fans, leading to a loss of over 250,000 followers on Instagram.