Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini better known for her stage name “Doja Cat” is a singer and rapper out of California. She is biracial, with a South African father and White Jewish mother. Due to her light complexion and racial ambiguity, Doja Cat is granted privileges brown/dark skin female rappers are not. She can flaunt her sexuality without always being sexualized by the public. She can distance herself from her songs because people know her racy lyrics are not all she has to offer. Her complexion grants her that duality that is so often denied to brown/dark skin female rappers. While at the same time, because she is biracial-she may not fully be able to connect with Black women’s struggles or White womens privileges. Doja cat has a light complexion so she reaps the benefits associated with it, yet she is not light enough to pass as a white woman-so some privileges granted to white women are denied to her. Doja Cat is a woman in a mans world, Rap/Hip-Hop has been a male dominated genre but that began to change in 2018 with the likes of Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion and Doja Cat herself. Although she has gained a lot of popularity, she still has to find a way to differentiate herself from the other female rappers in a genre that likes to sort women into categories and not allow them to expand their artistry.
Hi Yenesis,
This is really interesting, I didn’t know Doja Cat is biracial. I remember watching her on Youtube when she started to become viral, and how she has grown as a person from creating songs. I definitely agree with you on how Hiphop/rap are seen as a male dominated genre and how women are looked down upon it. In my opinion I believe the complex intersection of gender shows so few women in “best of” hip-hop genre which creates the inequality between female and male. Overall, this was well written!
Hi Yenesis, I really enjoyed reading your post. I too didn’t know that Doja Cat is biracial. I agree that that comes with its own struggles especially trying to differentiate yourself from other artists.
This post was truly interesting. Doja is granted privileges that other female artists are not. Megan Thee Stallion has been called trans numerous times and many people believe it is due to the complexion of her skin. Likewise, they bash her as she is open about her sexuality, while Doja Cat is not ridiculed to the same extent. Nonetheless, these artists are extremely talented and their influence on the music industry is only beginning.