July 21, a mysterious change shocked Doja Cat fans: a red filter transformed the covers of every Doja Cat LP on streaming services. While the sudden change shocked fans, they recognized that the change likely referenced the release of Doja’s new single, “Paint the Town Red.” 

“I remember when I first saw the red albums. I thought it was a glitch or something at first, maybe someone had made a mistake; then I remembered [Doja Cat] was releasing a new song soon. The name fit perfectly and it all made sense. I thought it was genius,” NC Alumna Claire Kinsinger said.

Doja released “Paint the Town Red” for her upcoming album “Scarlet,” after the early single “Attention.” Fans did not know much about the upcoming album, and neither did the artist herself. Doja wrote multiple tweets stating the album’s title as both “Hellmouth” and “First of All,” which she later changed. After releasing two more singles, “Demons” and “Balut,” the rap-centric nature of the album stood out. 

“Scarlet” shies away from Doja Cat’s other albums, “Amala,” “Hot Pink” and “Planet Her,” as it takes on a more intense, “masculine” tone. Doja starts off the album with the Tiktok viral “Paint the Town Red,” luring the listener into a false sense of security, as the song shows similarity to previous Doja Cat hits. “Demons” immediately follows, a much darker, more intense track. This song represents the album as a whole, a rap album the likes of which Doja never explored before. Frequent listeners of Doja Cat expected another pop album from her, which caused initial backlash in the community. 

“I knew and liked Doja Cat’s other albums, which is why I was so excited for the new one. I expected another pop banger, but what I got was an intense rap one instead. I am not mad about the change, but I know a lot of other people who are. Doja has shown her rapping skills for a long time now, and she really tried something new with this album,” NC Alum Michael Fusaro said. 

Doja Cat used “Scarlet” as an outlet for her pent-up feelings and anger, which listeners can hear in the booming beats of the album. She also uses a variety of “evil” imagery, with ties to satanism and the Illuminati. While Doja took a completely new direction, the album still shows creativity and purpose. 

“Scarlet” does not consist entirely of viral hits, to the extent that Doja Cat’s last albums did. The album consists entirely of good songs, but Doja’s previous discography featured much better and more notable songs. While the songs “Paint the Town Red” and “Agora Hills” hit the top of Doja’s Spotify, no other song hit quite as heavy as Doja’s older viral hits. This album compares well to other rap albums, but compared to Doja’s own albums, it does not quite hold up as well. 

The Chant’s score: B