Maps of Music

Scarlet (2023)

Where the lyrics of Scarlet take you, and where it was really made.

Most of this album was recorded in Malibu within ten days, after its lead songs had already been written.

Key places

Where the rest of Scarlet was recorded (2023)

Recording site Bob Dylan's garage studio (Malibu) — Doja Cat recorded the rest of Scarlet in Malibu, California within the space of ten days. The studio is listed as Harbor Studios in Malibu. The point is set at city-center precision, so the exact building is not confirmed. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Scarlet is the fourth studio album by American rapper and singer Doja Cat
• Released 22 September 2023 through Kemosabe and RCA Records
• Follows Planet Her (2021), which leaned toward pop
• Predominantly centered around rapping, and the first project since Purrr! (2014) with no features

Background

• Doja Cat felt disillusioned with pop music and dissatisfied with critics who questioned her status as a rapper
• Aimed to make a "masculine" follow-up to Planet Her
• Reissue Scarlet 2 Claude released 5 April 2024, adding features from Teezo Touchdown and ASAP Rocky

Recording

• Attention, Paint the Town Red and Demons were written before the rest of the album was recorded
• The rest of Scarlet was recorded in Malibu, California within ten days
• Songs recorded in the second period are very different in nature from the first

Cover

• Scarlet is the first Doja Cat album where she does not appear on the cover
• Both the original and updated covers were designed by American artist Dusty Ray
• The original cover was the album's alternate art for its CD packaging

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Born Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini on October 21, 1995, in Tarzana, Los Angeles, California.
• Her mother is an American graphic designer; her father is a South African performer of Zulu descent known for Sarafina!.
• Raised partly at the Sai Anantam Ashram in Agoura Hills, then in Oak Park, California.
• Dropped out of high school at 16 and began making music on her own, uploading to SoundCloud.

Career

• Signed to Kemosabe Records (RCA) at 17; debut EP Purrr! released in 2014.
• Debut album Amala (2018) was ignored by critics; the viral single "Mooo!" later brought her wider attention.
• Hot Pink (2019) broke through with "Say So", her first Billboard Hot 100 number one with Nicki Minaj.
• Planet Her (2021) produced several top-ten hits including "Kiss Me More" with SZA, which won a Grammy.
• Scarlet (2023) shifted toward hip-hop, led by the US number-one "Paint the Town Red".
• Vie (2025) marked a return to her pop roots.
• Named one of Time's 100 most influential people in 2023.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Variety's Jem Aswad dubbed Scarlet as Doja Cat's best album, giving heavy praise towards her songwriting and the album's production.
• Aswad found some sags in a couple of spots but wrote that the album sets a new bar on multiple levels, and not just for female rappers.
• The Line of Best Fit's PJ Somerville predicted the album would be a divisive listen but praised her ability to paint a vivid picture and create a hit.
• NME's Nick Levine called it an overlong, slightly repetitive but ultimately compelling album of two halves.
• The Guardian's Alexis Petridis disliked the album's weird structure and distorted approach to its love songs.
• Clash's Madeline Smith described it as an interesting exploration into ego trips, the trappings of fame, escapism and novelty, with a heightened sense of maturity and finesse.
• Metacritic gave it a weighted average of 70 out of 100 from 13 critic scores, which means generally favorable reviews.

Records

• Billboard 200 debut at number four, dated October 7, 2023
• 72,000 album-equivalent units in its opening week, of which 6,000 were pure album sales
• Third top-ten album for Doja Cat in the United States
• Number two on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top Rap Albums, her first entry on the latter
• UK Albums Chart debut at number five
• Top ten in New Zealand, Canada, Australia, Norway, Slovakia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic
• Lead single Paint the Town Red topped the Billboard Global 200, the Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Several wax figures of the Scarlet character appeared in public places across the United States, including a New York subway station and Chicago's Wrigley Field.
• The Scarlet alter ego debuted in the music video for Attention, after a June 16 tweet reading Scarlet is here.
• Jason King of All Things Considered wrote that on Scarlet, Doja Cat delights in playing the demon her haters and fans accuse her of being.
• The working title Hellmouth was shared in March 2023, and the album name changed several times before Scarlet was chosen.
• Scarlet 2 Claude is named after Claude Frollo, the antagonist of Victor Hugo's novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact