Doja Cat is a self-proclaimed rapper who makes pop music, and nothing better captures that sensationality than her latest album, Vie.
Released just over last weekend on September 26, the fifteen-track album is an upbeat exploration of ’80s nostalgia, filled with synth pop textures and lush production. In her mission to fully explore her pop sound in a full-length album, Doja brought out the big guns – Jack Antonoff’s creative involvement as her executive producer. Translating to the word “life,” the album’s title was inspired by the space of its inception, as it was produced in Correns, France.
This would mark the femcee’s fifth studio album, and sticks out as one of her most dramatic reinventions yet. Amala marked the beginnings of her career with a distinct rap tone with pop production, Hot Pink defined her as a pop artist, Planet Her placed her into the territory of club pop, and in Scarlet, she rejected the idea of being a pop artist entirely. Rest assured, while Doja Cat has reinvented herself once more as a princess of pop (this time, ’80s-styled), Vie remains memorable, singable, and effortlessly danceable.
Even in her visual teasers leading up to the full album release, any excited listener could tell the piece was going to be an homage to the pop icons of the ’80s as she posted photos in full Grace Jones-esque power suits and bold makeup. Taking on this new persona in full force, what we’re left with, sonically, is a synth-charged, saxophone-heavy, modern interpretation of the ’80s. While this sonic theme remains consistent throughout all 15 tracks of the album, songs like “Jealous Type,” “Cards,” and “Take Me Dancing (feat. SZA)” lean into this kind of sound heavily.
Nevertheless, Doja’s own textures and rhythm remain very distinct throughout the record, taking breaks from singing verses to rapping bars on a bouncing beat. Combining the smooth tempos of a city pop-reminiscent beat with her hard-hitting verses, the album takes a seemingly erratic pace that eventually blends into a fully fleshed body of work that fluidly transitions from track to track. Leaning into her own power with tracks like “Lipstain,” “Silly! Fun!,” and “Acts of Service,” she showcases how even the “lover girls” can own their space with lyricism that’s both sassy and sensual.
One of the major standout features of this album, surprisingly, winds back into the full-length feature’s songwriting. While Doja Cat has always been witty with the pen, her charmingly humorous songwriting takes the cake on this record. Here, she plays into the sappy ’80s love songwriting, fully aware of the irony of it all in the lens of modern dating. In the album’s second track, “AAAHH MEN!” she explores the horrors of modern dating, taking the listeners on an internal back-and-forth, “And I have too much tolerance / You ugly and fine as shit / And if I had more common sense / Then I would grab my ride and dip.”
Ultimately, Vie is a testament to Doja Cat’s refusal to be boxed in. It’s a deliberate embrace of the pop star label she once rejected, but done on her own terms, and with her trademark wit intact. For all its playful dramatics and glossy production, the album never loses sight of what makes her artistry distinct: her ability to merge rap and pop in a way that feels both cheeky and intentional.
Listen to Doja Cat’s Vie here: