Doja Cat is a rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer from the United States. As a teenager, she began creating and releasing music on SoundCloud.
The rapper’s real name is Amala Zandile Dlamini. The name Doja Cat came from her love of cats, and second from her love of weed.
The rapper revealed in an interview with Dazed that she “was heavily addicted to weed and weed culture,” adding, “so when I began rapping I thought of the word ‘doja’ and how it sounds like a girl’s name.”
Doja Cat became an internet meme with her 2018 single “Mooo!”, a novelty song in which she makes satirical claims about being a cow. In order to capitalise on her growing popularity, she released her second studio album, Hot Pink, the following year.
It charted in the top ten of the US Billboard 200 and spawned the single “Say So,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100 following the release of a remix featuring Nicki Minaj.
Doja Cat has received numerous accolades throughout her career, including one Grammy Award from sixteen nominations, five Billboard Music Awards, five American Music Awards, and three MTV Video Music Awards.