Doja Cat

Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini, known professionally as Doja Cat, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter born on October 21, 1995. Regarded as the "Queen of Pop-Rap," she is recognized for her musical versatility, live performing skills, and humorous internet presence. Billboard named her one of the defining pop stars of her era, and Time included her on its list of the world's most influential people in 2023. She has established herself as one of the best-selling female rappers of all time, having sold over 34 million records between 2018 and 2022.

Born in the Tarzana neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, Dlamini was raised by her mother, an American graphic designer of Jewish heritage. Her father is a South African performer of Zulu descent. After living in Rye, New York, for five years, she returned to California at age eight to live at the Sai Anantam Ashram commune in Agoura Hills, practicing Hinduism for four years. She later moved to Oak Park, California, where she took dance lessons, joined a professional poplocking troupe, and competed in dance battles. Struggles with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder led her to drop out of high school at age 16.

After leaving school, Doja Cat taught herself to sing, rap, and produce music using GarageBand. She uploaded her first permanent song, "So High," to SoundCloud in late 2012 while participating in the Los Angeles underground hip-hop scene. At age 17, she signed with Kemosabe Records and RCA Records, releasing her debut extended play, Purrr!, in 2014, followed by her debut studio album, Amala, in 2018. In August 2018, her self-published novelty music video for "Mooo!" became a viral internet meme, leading to a deluxe re-release of Amala featuring tracks such as "Tia Tamera."

Doja Cat achieved her commercial breakthrough with her second studio album, Hot Pink (2019). The album produced the sleeper hit "Candy" and the single remix of "Juicy" featuring Tyga, which became her first entry on the US Billboard Hot 100. Its fourth single, "Say So," achieved widespread popularity on TikTok and later topped the Billboard Hot 100 following a remix featuring Nicki Minaj, making history as the first female rap collaboration to reach number one on the chart. During this period, she also recorded "Boss Bitch" for the Birds of Prey soundtrack and collaborated with artists such as Ariana Grande, Bebe Rexha, and The Weeknd.

Her third studio album, Planet Her (2021), yielded top-ten hits including "Kiss Me More," "Need to Know," and "Woman," and earned her a Grammy Award. Her fourth studio album, Scarlet (2023), adopted a hip-hop-oriented sound and produced her second US number-one single, "Paint the Town Red." In 2025, she released her fifth album, Vie, marking a return to her pop roots. Across her career, Doja Cat has won a Grammy Award from 19 nominations, six Billboard Music Awards, five American Music Awards, six MTV Video Music Awards, and eight iHeartRadio Music Awards.