Brett Callwood
Doja Cat Stuns with Hometown Show: Having kicked off her first ever headline arena tour, The Scarlet Tour, in San Francisco on Tuesday, Doja Cat‘s second date was a hometown show in Los Angeles at the Crypto.com Arena on Thursday.
The reports from that first show were promising, but ultimately the proof is in the pudding. Is Doja Cat ready to cement her place as one of the very best hip-hop artists in the game right now? Beyond genres, is she ready to grab this chance to hammer home the fact that she deserves to headline the biggest venues? Is Doja Cat premier league?
You’d better fucking believe it!
From the opening bars of “WYM Freestyle” (from the deluxe edition of new album Scarlet), Doja strode out looking like she belongs on this stage. There was no surprise, no vibes of “oh shit, look at this.” And for good reason — this is no less than she deserves. Her four albums have seen impressive growth in every respect, and 2018’s Amala debut was already pretty damned great. But Scarlet is next level awesome. Her rapping, her singing, the experimentation with genres and styles, the curveballs she throws, the fun that she appears to be having — it really is a beast of an album.
We heard a lot from it at the Crypto. The set was split into five acts, with an impressive 24 songs performed throughout. “WYM Freestyle” was followed by recent single “Demons,” arguably the most intense songs she’s ever created (certainly the most intense video). On stage, we saw a creepy-as-fuck spidery demon creature drop from the ceiling. And the crowd sang every word.
That was a theme throughout. This crowd was ready to party from the start — screaming at Doja’s every swing of the hips, singing full-voiced, dancing like we were at a massive club, and dressed to the nines.
Meanwhile, Doja was wearing a body suit that made it appear like she’d been flayed. It was an interesting choice, perfect for the Halloween season, and further proof that Doja is looking to take artistic chances. A walking giant eyeball seemed perfectly natural in this setting, even with the bloody trail behind it. Frankly, she can do no wrong right now.
Her live band was magnificent, the dancers dazzling, and the setlist was perfect. “Streets” from Hot Pink was simply gorgeous. But the tunes from Scarlet sounded immense. “Attention” and “Paint the Town Red” and “Fuck the Girls” and the closing “Wet Vagina” — all cement her standing as a genuine, bonafide star.
Earlier, Florida rapper Doechii did a superb job of not only warming up the Crypto crowd, but serving up a killer set. She clearly already had plenty of fans in the crowd and, having seen her put on a magnificent main stage show at Coachella earlier in the year, it wasn’t surprising to see the self-proclaimed Swamp Princess rise to the occasion again.
“Yucky Blucky Fruitcake” and “Booty Drop” were highlights of a short and sweet set.
Go to dojacat.com and iamdoechii.com for more info.
Doechii in San Francisco (Dana Jacobs/Getty Images)
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