Doja Cat

Background

Doja Cat was born on October 21, 1995, in Los Angeles, California, as Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini. Her father is a multi-talented artist with a wide range of skills. Her mother is a painter. Her origins are of South African, Jewish, and American descent. Her mother moved to New York City when she was a few months old, and she spent the next five years of her life there. Her aunt assisted her in securing a spot in a performing arts school when she grew older. When she was 11, she returned to Los Angeles with her family, who had relocated to Sherman Oaks, a suburban community. Her family followed Hinduism for the next four years. She completed her elementary school education in New York City and went on to Los Angeles to attend middle school. However, when she was 16, she dropped out of high school because she had lost interest in formal schooling and chose to pursue an artistic career instead.

Doja Cat turned to music feeling anxious about her future. She trained herself to sing and rap, and she used YouTube instrumentals to make her songs. She frequently uploaded her tracks to SoundCloud after recording them. Her song ‘So High’ drew the attention of Kemosabe and RCA Records. At the age of 17, she signed a joint record deal with the management of ROC Nation, and released her debut EP, “Purrr!” in 2014. After taking a break from music, she returned with her debut studio album “Amala” (2018), and later earned viral success as an internet meme with the single ‘Mooo!’ Her second studio album, “Hot Pink” (2019), debuted in the top 10 on the Billboard 200 and spawned the multi-platinum single ‘Say So,’ which topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart after a remix featuring Nicki Minaj was released. She teamed up with Ariana Grande on their single ‘Motive’ in 2020 and subsequently appeared alongside Megan Thee Stallion on the remix of Ariana’s song ’34+35,’ which became her second song to enter the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. ‘Kiss Me More’ (featuring SZA), Doja Cat’s third song to attain this milestone, was released as the lead single from her third studio album “Planet Her,” in 2021.

She began to show signs of exhaustion in November 2021. She used Instagram Live to express her dislike for “unnecessary obligations,” as she revealed that she is no longer enjoying her music career. Her dissatisfaction persisted throughout a March 2022 South American festival tour. This was followed by an altercation involving Paraguayan fans and a storm that forced her show to be canceled.

She is relatively quiet about her personal life, noting in September 2021 that the general public should not expect any information regarding her dating life unless it involves marriage. She has not yet formally come out or made a definitive statement about her sexual orientation, but she has claimed to like men and women. She has also alluded to her queer sexuality in the song ‘Naked.’ In August 2019, she began dating indie-pop musician Jawny, although the pair split up in February 2020.