"Hot Pink" could be Doja Cat's springboard into the top tier of Hip-Hop
Since bursting onto the scene with her hit, “MOOO!” in August of 2018, Doja Cat, who hails from Los Angeles has been on a mission to establish her spot in today’s Hip-Hop landscape. In February of this year, Doja’s case for her spot in Hip-Hop became stronger with the release of her next hit “Tia Tamera” featuring Rico Nasty. Despite both songs being added to the deluxe version of her first project “Amala,” both songs were just the start of Doja Cat’s consistent output of quality singles. “Juicy” in collaboration with Tyga, “Bottom Bitch” and “Rules” are singles that continued the run of quality music from Doja Cat, all also appearing on her newest offering “Hot Pink.” Smino, Gucci Mane and Tyga all appear on the project, standing at twelve songs and a little under 40 minutes long. Is “Hot Pink” as hot as the color musically? Without further ado, let’s get to the review!
Categories
The songs on this album divided into lanes that are prevalent throughout the project and scored on a 1.5 scale. (0 = trash, .5 = not for me, 1 = good, 1.5 = a standout)
Doja Versatility
Doja Cat presents her ability to create an intimate vibe on a song, showing her versatility singing and rapping.
• “Cyber Sex” (1)
• “Say So” (1)
• “Like That” ft. Gucci Mane” (1)
• “Streets” (.5)
• “Shine” (.5)
• “Better Than Me” (1)
• “Juicy” With Tyga (1.5)
Doja Rap
Doja shows her ability to create a song built on the quality of her flows and cadence switches.
• “Won’t Bite” ft. Smino (.5)
• “Rules” (1)
• “Bottom Bitch” (1)
• “Talk Dirty” (1.5)
• “Addiction” (1)
Must Listen Songs
The concept of Must Listen songs are the songs that would give the best overview of the album as a whole. Songs that stand out for reasons to be described in the pending descriptions of the songs.
“Say So”
Produced by Dr. Luke, track five on Doja Cat’s “Hot Pink” is a guitar melody with a subtle bass and clap that helps to keep the tempo of the song. The beat establishes a coastal summer vibe that Doja carries out with her singing through the first verse and chorus. In the second verse, we get a taste of Doja Cat’s versatility with a rap verse where she changes her flow and cadence throughout.
“Talk Dirty”
Track seven on “Hot Pink” is by far the hit on this project aside from the singles. Produced by F a l l e n, and Kurtis McKenzie, the soft bass-driven beat, has a background guitar and drum pattern that allows the beat to play a major role in the song while taking a backseat to Doja’s lyrics. The song displays Doja Cat’s versatility, starting with the hook where she raps with a filter over her voice allowing her background singing during the hook to stay at the forefront. The first verse is a catchy rap verse that can get a bit repetitive towards the end, fitting seamlessly into the hook. On the second verse, Doja Cat starts off rapping before seamlessly transitioning into singing, then rapping again as the flow of the verse changes before the verse ends with Doja’s singing.
Final Review
“Hot Pink” shows Doja Cat’s talent and star potential, proving she’s here to stay in the Hip-Hop space. Doja Cat’s Nicki Minaj influence is clear throughout the album, from the pink album art to the R&B and Hip-Hop genre-bending songs like “Cyber Sex.” Doja Cat has also shown her ability to play the feature role within her music. Let me explain what I mean, on many R&B songs, a rapper would come in as feature to give the song a different flavor to the song. On songs such as “Say So” and “Streets” Doja is able to be that R&B singer on the first verse while giving you a hint of the rapper flavor on the second verse. The production on this project, mostly executed by Dr. Luke and Yeti Beats was exceptional, curating the same vibe for the most part with changes to tempo from song to song. The content on the album doesn’t do much to separate Doja Cat from rappers like Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B. This isn’t a huge problem, after all, sex sells, but this could push her to more emphasis on experimenting with different sounds in the projects to come. I’m also not a fan of Doja Cat using autotune on songs like “Bottom Bitch” and “Shine” simply because the use of it felt like a forced search for a third sound to add to her project that would have been fine without the third sound. “Hot Pink” could be Doja Cat’s springboard into the top tier of Hip-Hop, however, the exposure this project gets could be the primary determining factor.
Scoring
Raw Score: The number of good songs on a project versus the overall amount. Songs must have a 1 or above to be counted.
Quality Score: The total amount of points accumulated over the total amount of songs.
Playback value: The resonance an album is perceived to have if played again in full. Scale out of 5.
Raw Score: 9/12
Quality Score: 11.5/12
Playback Value: 4/5
Go out and listen to Doja Cat’s “Hot Pink” wherever you listen to your music. Also, don’t forget to check out OldMilk’s Instagram page and Twitter (@Oldmilk_co) for more Hip-Hop Album Reviews, The DJ 500K Playlist, The OldMilk Radar and more! Don’t Know it? OldMilk Does!
