It has been exactly one week since Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini, better known as Doja Cat, released her highly anticipated third studio album, ‘Planet Her,’ and a little less than that since the Deluxe edition was released to streaming services. The fact that she has released three studio albums in three years… we’ll get to the Rihanna comparisons later. One might think that was a quick rise to fame but in actuality Doja has been around since 2014 when she released her debut project, an EP titled ‘Purrr!’

She then released her debut album, ‘Amala,’ in 2018 which did pretty well thanks to the Tik Tok audience. It was the surprise viral hit “Mooo!” which garnered her enough attention to make her record label go full steam ahead. “Hot Pink,” her sophomore LP was released in late 2019 which spawned many hits for the biracial chameleon. “Say So” shot straight to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart thanks to a remix with the one and only Nicki Minaj. That was 2020 and Doja’s star has been steadily rising ever since. Which brings us to the current situation, the much hyped ‘Planet Her.’ So is the album worth the hype? In short, yes.

If ‘Hot Pink’ was Doja’s breakthrough then ‘Planet Her’ is her statement of arrival. Not since 2020’s The Weeknd’s ‘After Hours’ have we experienced an album that is intended for mainstream success and will most likely fulfill that goal. The concept of this galactic era is so consistent from the visuals to the sounds. While “Kiss Me More” with SZA, “Need to Know” and “You Right” with The Weeknd are all unique in their aesthetic, they still share an alien theme. Now the visuals are important but it is the actual music that makes the album.

Now that we’ve given the album a few full listens we definitely have our favorites but still, there is not one song that can be skipped. The album opens up with the Afrobeat “Woman” which is a lyrical hybrid of wanting to be desired by a man and a woman empowerment anthem. The Afrobeat sound is lightened on track two for the “Take off all our clothes” bop “Naked.” On “Payday,” featuring Young Thug, Doja rides the bass-heavy instrumental complementing the vocal styling of Young Thug. This song makes me want to do The Woah and The Kangsta Wok. On the minimalist “Get Into It (Yuh)” Doja pays homage to Nicki Minaj’s “Massive Attack” to by giving gratitude to the “Big Rocket Laun-chuhr” rapper. The next song is the bass bumping and melodic second single, “Need to Know” which has immensely grown on us since its release. A song we highly anticipated since seeing the official tracklist, “I Don’t Do Drugs” with Ariana Grande, did not let us down and is our favorite track on the album. The way the two ladies’ harmonies complement each other is quite angelic. The heavenly voice is continued in track seven with “Love to Dream.”

Doja has spoken about how she wants to get to a place where she can release a featureless album but until then she is bringing the great collaborations. Track eight with The Weeknd, “You Right,” is a song where Doja admits to fantasizing about another person that isn’t her current love interest. Although we stated there are no skips on this album, “Been Like This,” is one of the vibey songs that we have to be in the mood to listen to. Now on track nine, “Options,” JID delivers the best feature. The Weeknd, SZA, and Ariana’s songs are more duets but out of the simple features, JID did his thing.

On the chuckle-inducing “Ain’t Shit” Doja states “Ni&&as ain’t shit” which was originally supposed to be titled “N.A.S.” One could imagine the insult that would’ve caused. “Imagine” is a solid offering for track 12. The general consensus is, this is one of the album fillers but contrary to popular opinion this is one of the better songs on the album. When we say better we mean the catchiest song with replay value. In “Alone” Doja is self reflective and expresses a failed relationship after realizing her worth as she attains more success. Track 14 closes out the standard edition of ‘Planet Her’ with the album’s lead single, “Kiss Me More,” with SZA. When we first heard the song it was clear she was continuing the sound that earned her much success with “Say So.”

The deluxe edition of the album adds an additional five tracks, one of which is an extended version of her duet with The Weeknd. “Up and Down” is a head nodding tune which fits as a bonus track. On track 17 Doja does something that most of these rap girls have not done and that is collaborate with Eve. The instrumental is Latin infused, think late 90’s, early noughties a la Angie Martinez. The one-two clap beat of “Ride” is another song which fits better as a supplement than on the main album. The album closes out with track 19, “Why Why” featuring Gunna, which is our personal favorite of all the five additional songs. It must be the synths and the Rihanna~esque vocal styling on the chorus.

Speaking of Rihanna, Doja Cat has been likened to Bajan media mogul. Many questioned the comparison(s) but we understand them. Doja released her first three albums in three years; Rihanna released her first three albums in two and half years. Besides this, Rihanna has a skill, a natural talent to hop on any genre of song and adapt to that sound. Much like Rihanna, Doja has this effortless ability to be a chameleon, hence the title of this post and Doja Cat’s overall form on ‘Planet Her.’

Yes, a chameleon is what Doja Cat is. No, nothing on ‘Planet Her’ is revolutionary in sound, we’ve heard it all before, done by other artists. However, what makes this album so great is Doja is a student who learned many signature styles of other artists while making it her own. Doja Cat is signature and stands out amongst her peers but the influence is also obvious. She doesn’t shy away from it either in her interviews even agreeing “Kiss Me More” is sonically similar to Olivia Newton-John’s 1981 classic “Physical.”

‘Planet Her’ is already a contender for Album of the Year. Doja Cat and her team understand the assignment and have a laser sharp vision for where they want to go. This album continues to get better with each listen and is her best effort thus far. Long live Doja Cat!

We truly love this album as a whole but if we have to choose our top five tracks, listen below:

Review: Chameleon Is The Main Species On Doja Cat's 'Planet Her'

Our Top 5 Songs

5. “Options” featuring JID

4. “Ain’t Shit”

3. “You Right” featuring The Weeknd

2. “Payday” featuring Young Thug

“I Don’t Do Drugs” featuring Ariana Grande