LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 08: Doja Cat attends Celine at The Wiltern on December 08, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for CELINE)
<p><strong>Doja Cat</strong> isn&#8217;t tussling with hip-hop heads about her rapper title. She&#8217;s owning it. But, the 16-time <a href="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/grammys-2023-beyonce-kendrick-lamar-dominate-glorilla-lands-first-nomination-nicki-minaj-not-listed-and-more/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Grammy nominee</a> recently told <em>Variety</em> she understands their confusion.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;I just got an award for a billion spins on the radio,&#8221; Doja said, referencing the Titanium iHeart Radio <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/2022-iheartradio-titanium-awards-doja-cat-sza-1235056850/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">award she won</a> last year. Doja added, &#8220;So with that alone, I&#8217;m constantly being shoved down&#8217;s people&#8217;s throats. I would be upset if I saw somebody who has kind of been fed to me as this pop-star girl with a fat a** making it to this level of rap icon after I&#8217;ve only been watching them do disco sh*t and pop sh*t all the time.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
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<p>Nonetheless, Doja is planning for <a href="https://variety.com/2023/music/features/doja-cat-new-era-rapping-fashion-1235506581/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a 2023 album</a> loaded with her rap and R&;B skills. She hopes to put distance between her pop and disco sounds of <em>Say So</em>, <em>Kiss Me More,</em> and <em>Woman </em>and her next &#8216;masculine&#8217; era.</p>
<p>She said:</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;I know that I&#8217;ve done a lot of pink and soft things, a lot of pop and glittery sounds, but for this next era, I&#8217;m going in a more masculine direction.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
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<p>In the interview, Doja, given name <strong>Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini</strong>, did express pride in a song she says is definitely rap&#8211;the <em>Elvis </em>movie track, <em>Vegas. </em>The song samples the classic Elvis Presley song <em>Hound Dog. </em></p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;That was one of the greatest experiences because everyone knows <em>Hound Dog </em>, but I was able to give it my own spin. I went in and I was like, &#8216;Finally I get to rap again. A lot of people discredit me, so it&#8217;s nice to put another one in the f**king bucket for a great rap song.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>And Amala isn&#8217;t the only one signaling <em>Vegas </em>as <em>&#8220;a great rap song.&#8221;</em> In addition to being nominated for <em>Best Rap Performance </em>at the <a href="https://www.grammy.com/artists/doja-cat/287205" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2023 Grammys</a>, the filmmaker behind <em>Elvis </em>Baz Luhrmann agrees Doja is rapper&#8211;one that&#8217;s hard to compete with.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;She&#8217;s an extraordinary rapper, and we have to celebrate her for how brilliantly she rhymes. I wouldn&#8217;t like to be in a rap battle with Doja,&#8221; Luhrmann told <em>Variety. </em></p></blockquote>
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<h3 style="text-align: center;"><strong>Doja Cat Nominated For Five 2023 Grammys, But Winning Isn&#8217;t Her Priority </strong></h3>
<p>Fans will learn this Sunday, Feb. 5, whether Doja added a second (or more) Grammys to her portfolio of wins. Though rapping more is part of her next era, in this era, Doja is still landing nods for her pop-y sounds, including the hit song <em>Woman. </em></p>
<p>The track competes in three categories: Record Of The Year, Best Pop Solo Performance, and Best Music Video. Doja is also competing in the Best Pop Duo/ Group Performance category for her feature on Post Malone&#8217;s <em>I Like You (A Happier Song). </em></p>
<p>But getting Grammy nods and even winning isn&#8217;t in Doja&#8217;s front view. For her, it&#8217;s all about the music.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;I think it can become very toxic to focus on stuff like that. And the last thing I want is to forget about the music&#8211;forget about why I&#8217;m here. So to focus on winning, it&#8217;s not going to make my music sound better.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
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<p>While Doja hammers out her next project, with no release date yet on the horizon, she hopes to dabble in a different sound: punk. But she&#8217;s not talking punk-pop&#8211;there&#8217;s enough of those artists, she says.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;I feel like we have enough pop-punk artists right now. And if there needs to be more, then let there be more, but I don&#8217;t think I&#8217;m the one to do it. I want to explore more of a raw, unfiltered, hardcore punk sort of thing. It&#8217;s just something that I&#8217;m doing for my own personal fun&#8211;getting some drummers and guitarists together. And I don&#8217;t even know if that&#8217;s gonna make it out there.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>Still, the sounds fans can expect with her next project is rap and what <em>Variety</em> writer Chris Willman calls, Rap&#8217;s <em>&#8220;most natural cousin,&#8221;</em> R&;B.</p>
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