Escape to Planet Her this summer – Doja Cat’s third album secures her place among the stars.
A recent top-40 regular, Doja Cat seems to have been working constantly during the pandemic – not only collaborating on numerous tracks but also releasing a much anticipated third album. Planet Her perfectly combines Doja’s fearless femininity and her impeccable vocal range. This album takes us on a journey to a planet living peacefully. We get a sneak peek into pockets of this harmonious world through each track and Doja is our tour guide.
The opening track – ‘Woman’ combines strong afro-beats with a confident exploration of what it means to be feminine and the product will not only get you on the (COVID-safe) dancefloor but also makes you feel indestructible.
Collaborations plenty on this tracklist, with artists including Ariana Grande, The Weeknd and my personal favourite, ‘Payday’ featuring Young Thug. This enticing journey through a colourful dreamscape of sound is the perfect amalgamation of the ‘Thugger’ sounds but warped into Doja’s perfect world. This humble brag of how they’ve finally got to the place they wanted to be is more motivational than boastful.
Following through with the daydreaming theme, ‘Love To Dream’ greets us with a similar soundscape. This song entertains with the common bittersweet joy of getting lost in our dreams and ignoring what is in front of us. Like many tracks on this album, this was originally teased online with fans immediately understanding the fantasy aspect and hailing it a beautiful composition.
Later, Doja returns to her rap roots with ‘Ain’t Shit’ – reminiscent of her earlier works, in this track we hear her skills in both song and rap. The hard rap verses are paired with an innocent-sounding but equally hard chorus – showing how Doja has grown and evolved in terms of her ability to keep mixing it up and making ‘dis-tracks’ into chart-toppers.
If you can find a copy, give the Deluxe copy a listen – you will not be disappointed. With 4 new tracks and an extended copy of ‘You Right’, we are further transported into this world. ‘Up and Down’ is an honest account of the effect of fans and haters on her psyche, whereas ‘Tonight’ featuring rap royalty, Eve is a magnificent mix of two musical heavyweights combining their personal styles.
Every song on this album could work as stand-alone singles and Doja has crafted and curated these in a way that always keeps you on your toes. Get comfortable with one part of the world, and soon you are whisked away to a completely different realm – with unique and quite fantastic sounds to greet you.
