Who is Doja Cat: Biography, Personal Life, Career and More

Laelia Yang March 26, 2022 | 15:00

Doja Cat, an American rapDoja Cat, an American rapper, appears to be calling it quits.per, appears to be calling it quits.

Los Angeles' Doja Cat rose from viral novelty track buzz to being a mainstream superstar with her smooth, hypnotic R&B-flecked pop songs of sexuality, friendship, and personal power. She gained some significant attention with her early releases, but it was her 2019 sophomore effort, Hot Pink, that took Doja Cat to the top of the Hot 100.

Subsequent charting singles and collaborations with SZA and Saweetie further solidified her star power, and made the arrival of her 2021 album Planet Her all the more hotly anticipated. A number two Billboard 200 hit, Planet Her also earned several Grammy nominations. Doja's savvy cover of Hole's "Celebrity Skin" charted in 2022, spotlighting her adventurous, genre-crossing sensibilities.

Who is Doja Cat: Biography

Doja Cat’s real name is Amala Zandile Dlamin. Doja Cat was born in Los Angeles, California on July 4th, 1996.

She says that she changed her stage name from ‘M’ to ‘Doja’ when she entered high school because she didn’t want her African name. According to Rap Genius, she said that people at school would always ask what it stood for and that they couldn’t pronounce it. She then told them that it was short for “Doja cat”.

Her stage name has many meanings. ‘Doja’ was the name of a type of weed that she liked to smoke in high school. She said that “Cat” came from her love for art and how cats have an artistic quality to them.

Doja Cat Family

Her mother’s name is Nomsa Dlamini and she was born in Swaziland, Africa in December 1971. She moved to the United States in 1997 with her then-husband.

Doja Cat’s father is Matthew Thomas Knox who also goes by ‘Lil Matt.’ He was born on January 12th, 1984, and raised in Louisville, Kentucky.

Doja Cat has stated that she never met her father, which makes sense because he is already married with children. She also stated that she wouldn’t want to meet him anyways.

Doja Cat Personal Life: Dating History

The 'Say So' singer appeared to be relaxing in the pool with her fans when a man in the back called her 'babe.' Turning the camera away, she replied to the man saying "Oh, I'm on live," before ending the stream.

Fans speculated on who the mystery man was, with French Montana being the number one suspect, especially with the two having been linked since October 2020.

French Montana

Photo: xxlmag

Doja Cat and French Montana have continued to fuel dating rumors after the two were spotted spending time together on vacation in the Bahamas. Spotted in a video on French's IG stories, the pair were seen on Thursday at the top of the waterslide while celebrating the birthday of lawyer Adam Jia.

In the eight-second clip circulating on Twitter, the Unforgettable rapper is seen showing Doja how to dive into one of the resort’s tall slides. In the video, Doja offered him a not-so-reassuring pep talk, telling the music attorney, "It was great knowing you" and later, with a giggle, "I just met you" as if he wasn't a shared colleague. Doja Cat and French Montana sparked dating rumors back in October 2020. The pair were spotted hanging out with each other on a yacht while on vacation together.

However, Doja swiftly shut down rumors she was dating the 'Unforgettable' artist.

Bree Runway

In July 2021, fans speculated whether Doja Cat and UK artist Bree Runway are dating. The rumours were sparked when Bree wrote: "my hot date @DojaCat" with a ring emoji along with two photos of Doja, on Twitter. Doja replied to the tweet with a licking tongue emoji. The 'Kiss Me More' singer also made a post of her own on Twitter, writing: "I have a girlfriend and I’m going public @breerunway" while sharing photos of Bree.

It seems as though Doja and Bree are close friends, joking around on the timeline. However, some fans think they may be an item.

Lil Dicky

Doja Cat and Lil Dicky sparked romance rumors after the rapstress appeared on his show, Dave. While Dave season two premiered on June 16th, 2021, Doja Cat appeared in a recent episode. In the trailer for season two, Lil Dicky’s Dave matches with Doja Cat on a dating app. He then shows his parents a photo of the 'Say So' singer, noting that her Wikipedia claims she is ‘half Jewish’. Even though the pair were just an on-screen romance, fans really believed the pair would have chemistry if they dated.

Johnny Utah

Photo: celebrity

Doja Cat was in an official relationship with indie artist Johnny Utah aka JAWNY, aka Jacob Sullenger. The pair met in 2019, and they shared how they met during an Instagram Live session (now archived as a YouTube video). "I found his music video for ‘Honeypie,’ and I didn’t like the song,” said Doja, according to Distractify.

Doja revealed that Johnny had commented on one of her Instagram posts, and one thing led to another. Johnny apparently sent a message to Doja that read, “ ‘Hey girl, I just showed this pic to my little cousin, and I told him that we’re together. Don’t make me look like a liar now. He looks up to me.’ ” His methods worked, and the two started dating.

However, their relationship did not last long. The pair reportedly broke up in February 2020. Doja addressed the break-up during an Instagram live session.

Doja Cat Career

Doja Cat released her first-ever single ‘So High’ in the year 2013. The following year, she came to prominence after signing to RCA Records and releasing her debut EP, ‘Purrr!’ After this, she released the single ‘No Police.’ She then began launching her music on YouTube and Soundcloud. Doja also started collaborating with other artists, including Hellboy, Elliphant, Pregnant Boy and Skoolie Escobar.

On July 13, 2017, she got featured on L8LOOMER's track ‘Right Side.’ On February 1, 2018, the singer came up with her single "Roll with Us". The following month, she released the second track from her upcoming album called ‘Go to Town’ along with its music video. Doja released her full-length debut album ‘Amala’ on March 30, 2018.

On August 10, 2018, she released the song ‘Mooo!’ on her YouTube channel. The track quickly went viral. Its music video went on to garner attention from several well-known artistes, including Chris Brown and Chance the Rapper. The video has received millions of views till date. On August 31, 2018, Doja Cat came up with a single version of the viral video "Mooo!” The singer has a massive fan following on social media. She has around 800k followers on Instagram and almost half a million subscribers on YouTube.

Doja Cat Musical style and themes

Doja Cat has been noted for her musical versatility, including genre fluidity for "crossover-ready pop songs" and her ability to sing, rap and produce. When asked about her legacy, she revealed that in the future she would like to be remembered for her versatility in not only music but also visual art and dance. Her second full-length studio album, Hot Pink, is built with her own beats as well as a series of videos written and conceived by herself. Doja called Hot Pink a firm restart for her career and the most "refined, chiseled" representation of herself. Her escapist fantasy worldview is reflected in the music by its upbeat production style. The record was inspired by some drastic lifestyle changes.

Doja Cat has said, "There are people who rap in a certain way, because they want to do something so elaborate and so smart that makes you go, 'Oh my God, I would've never thought of that. But I'd rather be the other end of that, which is being ignorant and stupid and saying whatever I want." She has also stated, "I try not to be political... I'm more like, 'I don't give a fuck, I never think about what I write. I just write whatever the first thing that comes to my mind is." Doja Cat maintains that an artist's intention is just as relevant as any external interpretation, saying, "Like, I just love romance and sex ... because there's nothing '-ist' about what I do."

Doja Cat Change her Twitter Name to ‘I Quit’: What Happened?

Photo: thetealmango

Paraguay is a South American country located in the continent’s southern central area. Paraguay, officially known as the Republic of Paraguay, is surrounded on all sides by land.

Doja had a concert scheduled there that she had worked so hard for, but it was canceled due to a storm. The singer was actually pissed and she did make a statement on social media.

Doja cat said in a tweet, which she has apparently deleted: “There was a storm in Paraguay, the show got canceled. When I left the next morning, there wasn’t one person outside the hotel waiting for me. Let that sink in.”

“I regret spending all the time I did getting ready that day for the show I’ve been busting my a** every day to put on for you but god bless,” she confessed her feelings in another tweet.

“This s**t ain’t for me so I’m out. Y’all take care.”

At the very same time, she changed her handle on Twitter to “I quit.”

She tweeted ‘Brazil’ with multiple emojis of Brazil’s flags before changing her username to ‘I Quit.’

Doja Cat Was Little Angry While Responding To Critics

We were mistaken, the situation was anything but over. As one critic remarked, asking “where her humility has gone.”

The rapper replied with: “It’s gone and I don’t give a f**k anymore.”

She also added: “I f****n quit, I can’t wait to f****n disappear and I don’t need you to believe in me anymore. Everything is dead to me, music is dead, and I’m a f****n fool for ever thinking I was made for this is a f****n nightmare. Unfollow me.”

Some Users Defending While Other’s Targeting Doja Cat

It appears that a controversy has erupted on this matter since her tweets’ comments area is brimming with people arguing the issue.

Here’s what some users had to say:

“You really think y’all could cancel Doja cat (skull emoji) she’s a superstar the main rap girl she ain’t going no where”, a supporter of Doja Cat stated.

A critic tweeted: “the weather forecast said that there was 70% of rain the next day, that’s why no one wanted to go again, you thought that people had to place their lives at risk AGAIN, by going to wait under the storm to see if you would like to leave your comfortable suite to at least say a hi”

Some fans are tweeting for her to come back.

Well, looks like a lot of them are.

While, a user tweeted the video of the storm and stated: “I love you, queen, its feels so sad, there’s my video when I waited for u even in the storm in front ur hotel 2 whole days, I just wanted to see u, I’m very sad cuz I did not have the chance but still love u. ”

It also seems like some users are making memes out of this:

One user tweeted: “Doja cat leaving the hotel in Paraguay and she next day and saying that there was no one waiting for her (joker emoji) and tweeted this along with a picture.”

Doja Cat Controversy

Photo: infobae

After achieving mainstream recognition in 2018 with "Mooo!", Doja Cat sparked controversy on social media when her Twitter account history revealed the usage of homophobic slurs. In a tweet dating back to 2015, Doja Cat used a homophobic slur to describe hip hop artists Tyler, the Creator, and Earl Sweatshirt, members of the musical collective Odd Future. Doja Cat initially defended her past remarks. She stated, "I called a couple of people f*****s when I was in high school in 2015 does this mean I don't deserve support? I've said f***** roughly like 15 thousand times in my life. Does saying f***** mean you hate gay people? I don't think I hate gay people. Gay is ok." Her response was met by even more backlash, including a critical tweet from Will and Grace actress Debra Messing. In her statement, Messing expressed disappointment with Doja for defending past ignorance and implored her to use her fame and platform for good. 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 historic misconduct.^[

In May 2020, a 2015 song by Doja Cat titled "Dindu Nuffin" resurfaced. "Dindu Nuffin" is an alt-right term used to ridicule African-American victims of police brutality that claim that they are innocent. Doja Cat apologized by claiming that, though the song was meant to flip the meaning of the term, it was a "bad decision". She denied that the song was a response to police brutality or the death of Sandra Bland, calling the allegation "one of the most awful rumors that I've ever encountered". Doja Cat stated that, though she has previously criticized her own hair type, she does not have self-hatred or internalized racism. Doja Cat denied a raceplay rumor that originated from a viral video of her using the N-word in a chat room. She also denied engaging in online racist conversations during her participation in chat rooms, stating that "the narrative that it's a white supremacist chat is absolutely 100% incorrect." Users of various platforms use the term "we didn't forget" as a way of bringing up the controversy, once people started to call Doja Cat "ugly" she took it to an Instagram livestream to address it again, she said, "...if somebody hated themselves, one, for being black. Which is an awful thing to be. To hate yourself for being black is an awful thing. It's horrible."

Doja Cat Net-worth

Doja Cat’s net worth is about $1 million. This makes her one of the few female rappers to have a net worth over a million dollars at such a young age.

Furthermore, she is also incredibly successful at such a young age, having been nominated for various awards and even touring with Wiz Khalifa as one of his opening acts.

Doja Cat will be joining Wiz Khalifa on his upcoming summer tour in 2018 to promote her album “Amala”.

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