by Sam Wolstenholm
On June 25th, 2021, Doja Cat released her third studio album. Planet Her is a popular hip-hop and pop album that has seen a lot of success as a result of TikTok. Don't let that fool you though. The masses have come to appreciate this project outside of the social media app, and the same could be said for many critics. Doja Cat's rise to stardom might surprise some people, but I'd encourage them to give her a try.
1. "Woman"
This is a good track, but it's a great album opener. On an album titled Planet Her, it only makes sense to open it with a track called "Woman." Doja Cat shows off both her singing and rapping voices (which she does well across the entire rest of the album too). I'm actually a fan of her voice. She enunciates well, is loud enough to hear, hits her notes, and performs with the appropriate energy just about every time (that applies to more than just this song). It's not exactly a deep track conceptually, but that's fine. I'm not really asking for that. It's a song about women empowerment. It's pretty simple, but it's effective. At least I imagine it is...I'm not a woman, but even I feel good when I hear lines like "and you would never know a god without the goddesses" and "I could be the CEO, just look at Robyn Fenty" (a reference to Rihanna, of course -peep my review of her Anti album here-). The world needs more shit like this. Not to mention the super upbeat feel of the instrumental. Described as "afropop" on Apple Music, we're treated to a beat that rides the quarter notes and is textured with some lowkey piano and vocal tracks. This song is fun, intoxicating, catchy, danceable, energetic, ...do I need to keep going?
2. "Naked"
Yep, this song is about getting naked. More specifically, you could consider it a track about getting comfortable with someone, enough to feel like you can be naked around them. I'd like to think that also means opening up emotionally, but I'm not seeing that here. It tries to do the same thing as the last track and make it a danceable beat, but it doesn't work as well. That isn't to say it's bad. In fact, it's got its own little swagger to it. The vocals are good and the refrains are catchy. Honestly, not a bad song. I won't be adding it to my personal playlist, but yea it's decent. Why won't I be adding it? Well, it's almost four minutes long and doesn't really keep my attention that long.
Hell yea. Doja Cat comes in hard as hell to begin her performance in the song, and she doesn't let up the entire time. She does a great job creatively switching up her vocal tones and pitches. Oh yea, then Young Thug shows up. He isn't as good as Doja on here, but he does fine. He's got a unique, cartoony voice that fits well on the instrumental too. Speaking of that, I really like the muddy guitar as the main lead. The best part of the song though is when the beat cuts out completely in certain spots to emphasize Doja's vocal delivery. AH it's awesome. Lyrically, it is what it is. There is one line I think is kind of dumb, but that's it. It's when she says "I'm bilingual, talking money conversations." Like woah, I wonder how long it took her to come up with that one.
Nicki Minaj was asked to be a feature on this song, but she turned it down for some reason. It's literally a kind of homage to her and the way she inspired artists like Doja Cat. It's alright though, the track is fine without her. I love it, actually. That whistle-synth lead (or whatever it is) is infectious, and Doja's delivery is energetic once again. Lyrics are negligible because her performance is just so good. She isn't saying anything bad, and that's all I can really ask for when I'm listening for some fun music. This is fun, and it's one of my favorites on the project.
A great time in the album to slow down. We go into a half-time instrumental, and there is instantly a feeling of space. The fluttering reverse hi-hats over the long synth notes just make an interesting atmosphere. Of course, this space leaves room for Doja Cat to give one of her best performances of the album (and that's saying something). She's great at delivering dynamic rap verses (with like ten different voices and passable lyrics) and splitting them up with catchy hooks that I don't think will ever escape my head. She's got a knack for finding the flow of songs and absolutely running with it.
Oh you don't? You either Ariana? Hmmm...well I guess they aren't talking about drugs. They're comparing a guy to a drug. "Had to give in, couldn't give up. I just want you, but I don't do drugs," is a line in the chorus that makes it apparent. This is probably the weakest track up until this point of the album. The rising "ooh-ooh-ooh"s are too simple and aren't even that catchy. Ariana Grande does okay as a feature, but she doesn't seem necessary. This song sounds like a label-mandated kind of a track. It's the first one of the album that uses an extended metaphor (kind of), but I'm just not feeling it. It isn't as bad as a lot of other pop songs, so I'll give it that. It gets points for effort.
This track kicks off with a nice and easy guitar loop. It isn't anything crazy, but it does sound sweet and sets the tone for the rest of the song. The rest of said song is an atmospheric, dreamy (I did that on purpose) vibe. That's solidified with Doja's elongated and sliding notes in the chorus. It sounds pretty good, but it's kind of contrasted with the busy and quick drums. They clash. It sounds like what it looks like when you stretch out a photo of somebody and the whole thing just looks unnaturally wide. You know what I mean, right? The rap verse doesn't really fit either in my opinion. I feel like she should've just stuck with singing on this one because that sounds really good. I'd call this one lackluster, but not bad (better than "I Don't Do Drugs").
Yes ma'am! This is the one. I may be a bit biased because I'm a big Weeknd fan, but I don't even care. He makes a fantastic contribution to the track too. His POV is of the man outside of the relationship that Doja Cat wants, and who better to tell that perspective that him? It's what like half of his songs are about already. Doja Cat very much holds her own though, performing at a high level throughout the track. The chorus is extremely catchy. The instrumental is spacey and bumps at the same time. Love it love it love it.
Here we go, we get an entire track of singing here, and it's beautiful. Not only does she sound good (which should be a given at this point), but she's giving some true emotion with her performance and lyrics. She's essentially singing about a relationship that's falling apart. She really wants to try, and it used to work. But the more she seems to get to know this guy, the less she wants to be involved with him. She seems committed to the commitment, but she's tired of giving this dude chances. "God couldn't forgive like this," is a line that stands out to me. It doesn't require explanation (I hope), but it's actually really fucking good. The bass is airy but it booms and is layered with what is either a string or vocal sample drowned in reverb. There isn't a whole lot going on instrumentally, but it's got me closing my eyes and nodding slowly to the beat. I thought it'd be difficult to pick a dark horse on this album since there are so many hits, but it's easy to overlook this beautiful dandelion in a field of roses (I didn't want to think too hard for a better metaphor, you get the idea). Sike, the dark horse comes later, but that last sentence still stands.
Flute sample. Trap drums. Quick flow (choppy, familiar one too) for the chorus. This kind of just sounds like a fairly generic rap song to me. It's about having, you guessed it, options when it comes to sexual partners. I mean, it's Doja Cat, so duh. J.I.D too, I guess. He does fine with his verse, but it isn't anything profound (unlike his last album though, my review for that here). He sort of just shows up. I like the pairing though and I think these two should work together again. I'll bet they could make a phenomenal track if they decided to put a lot of collaborative effort into it. Until then, we have this. And this just is what it is. Not bad, but not meeting the bar set by most of the tracks on this project.
11. "Ain't Shit"
Oh my god this song is so fun. The quotables are all over the place. "All up in your fridge. Can't pay rent." I think that is hilarious. "Really you ain't shit, need a laxative" AND "I'm not gon' key your car. I'll car your fucking mom!" Those are funny as hell too. Doja Cat is a comedian. There's even more than that too. I haven't even gotten to the music yet, OR her performance, wow! She kills this, changing voices numerous times. My personal favorite is when she gets squeaky high halfway through the second verse. The instrumental is a fun, simple piano lead that actually reminds me a lot of Elton John's "Bennie And The Jets". I promise you that comparison makes sense. I am absolutely putting this on my playlist, and so should you. Seriously though, you can't tell me you don't like this song. I wouldn't believe you if you did.
12. "Imagine"
Ah man, this one isn't it. I can't give it a garbage GIF because there are some elements I like about it. I'll mention those first. The beat features a really cool synth lead that loops throughout the track and gives it a spacey and digital feel. It's colorful. The chorus is catchy too, but that's pretty much it. Even the catchy chorus has flaws. It's catchy, yes, but it gets too repetitive. There's more chorus than there is verse, but that might even be a good thing. The verses aren't good either. "Saucin' with my thousands on an island" is funny, I admit. However, there isn't a good enough performance to make up for the rest of the lyrics. She sounds like she isn't trying very hard. Maybe she isn't because the autotune is turned way up. It sounds...bad. Like, I'm sure there's autotune on every single track, but the other songs sound smooth and somewhat natural. This one just sounds like she was trying to be a 2000s rapper.
13. "Alone"
Doja's rap verse sounds like a feature on her own song. That's just how versatile she is, she sounds like two different people. She goes from singing-singing to rapping-rapping on this track. It's quite impressive. Both are done really well too, especially the rapping. She's got a flow that's nice and consistant. It's slow enough that every word she says is clear. The rhyme schemes are solid. She's both getting personal and dropping some knowledge. It's more than I could've asked for. Oh yea, and the instrumental is awesome. There's a slow strumming guitar loop and some textured drums. The bass finds a pocket and the background vocals add a layer of spirituality. Just wow. The best part (yea, I haven't even mentioned the best part yet) is when Doja Cat says the title in an extremely low pitch. It's bassy and deep in the mix. I absolutely love it. I'd give this a "great!" GIF if it wasn't my dark horse. This isn't a hit, it isn't a dance track, and it isn't TikTok-ready. But I'll be damned if it didn't blow me away.
What can I say about this track that hasn't been said already? All the positives that apply to the best songs on the album apply here as well. It makes me want to dance. It makes me smile. It's catchy. The guitar (?) loop is wavy. Synths sound great. The bass is groovy. SZA kills her feature, as expected (Ctrl review here - SOS review here). In fact, these two sound great together. I want an entire collaboration project between them. It'd be way better and more enjoyable than Drake & 21 Savage's Her Loss (my review for that here). I don't really have a lot to say about this one other than I had a lot of fun listening to it. A great track and a great way to end the album.
Overall
I'm going to be honest. I didn't think I'd like this album. All I've heard of it before this review were clips from commercials and TikTok videos and stuff like that. I never thought it sounded bad or anything, but I think I went into this review not taking her seriously simply because of the platforms I hear her on and her percieved fan base (teenage girls, TikTok dancers, internet trolls, etc.). Damn was I wrong though. I thoroughly enjoyed this project from front to back. Not even as just a collection of singles (though I could argue it's even better that way). There's cohesion, quality and a diverse collection of sounds and styles. The production is high-quality, even if it can get a bit generic sometimes. Doja Cat herself more than makes up for that though with her high-energy and out-of-the-box performances. She switches between loud and quiet, fast and slow, clear and mumbled, and more with ease and usually does it in very interesting places in the songs.
If I had to sum up the experience of Planet Her, I'd call it an absolute blast. It isn't made to make you think too hard. It's not trying to make you cry or anything. It is, however, bringing to the table a lot of energy and a lot of fun. It definitely succeeds at that. Quality album, and I'm looking forward to hearing more from Doja Cat in the future.
8.6/10
If you've read my review, I assume you have already heard Planet Her, so I want to hear what you think. What'd I miss? Did I tear apart your favorite song? Or give too much credit to one that doesn't deserve it? Any questions or comments? I'd love to respond. Feel free to drop review requests too! I will strongly consider them (this one was a request).
Peace and love.
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