''Amala'' is the debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American singer and rapper

Doja Cat Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini (born October 21, 1995), known professionally as Doja Cat ( ), is an American rapper and singer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, she began making and releasing music on SoundCloud as a teenager. Her song ...

. It was released on March 30, 2018, by

Kemosabe Records Kemosabe Records is an American record label founded by American record producer and songwriter Dr. Luke and owned by Sony Music Entertainment. The label is based in Los Angeles, California. History In November 2011, Sony Music Entertainment an ...

and

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

. The album's deluxe version was released on March 1, 2019, and featured her breakthrough singles " Juicy", "

Tia Tamera "Tia Tamera" is a song by American rapper Doja Cat featuring guest vocals from fellow American rapper Rico Nasty. It was written by Doja Cat, Kurtis McKenzie, David Sprecher, Lydia Asrat, and Rico Nasty, while being produced by the former two. ...

", and "

Mooo! "Mooo!" (often stylized in all caps as "MOOO!") is a song by American rapper and singer Doja Cat. After originally being self-published exclusively as a music video on August 10, 2018, it became a viral internet meme and amassed over 578 million ...

". Her first commercial release in four years, Doja Cat has expressed strong disdain toward the record for a number of reasons. Upon its release, ''Amala'' was initially a critical and commercial failure and was largely ignored by critics. In August 2018, the album and Doja Cat gained attention when her novelty song "

" became an

internet meme An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...

. As a result, songs "

Candy Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies (Australian English Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language an ...

" and " Juicy" became

sleeper hit In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit is a film, television series, music release, video game, or some other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release but became a success later on. A sleeper hit may have little promo ...

s, and the album debuted on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart in August 2019. ''Amala'' would eventually peak at number 138 on the chart in November 2019, coinciding with the release of her second studio album, ''

Hot Pink Pink colors are usually light or desaturated shades of reds, roses, and magentas which are created on computer and television screens using the RGB color model and in printing with the CMYK color model. As such, it is an arbitrary classificati ...

''.

Background and release

On March 27, 2018, Doja Cat's label announced the album via

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

. In addition to announcing the release date of the album, they also revealed the title of the project and its cover. When "Roll With Us" was released in February 2018 as the first promotional single, the album was originally titled ''Baby''. ''Amala'' was later repackaged with a deluxe version on March 1, 2019, which added three new songs: " Juicy", "

", and "

". Doja Cat herself has expressed strong disdain toward the record, claiming that it does not entirely represent her as an artist. She has also stated that she believes it is not a "finished album", partially due to her constantly partying and being high on

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

during its recording. Her first commercial release in four years, she revealed that it was also rushed in order to meet deadlines, and that it was made in a "difficult time" as she received "almost no support" before its release.

Singles

"Roll With Us" was released as the album's sole promotional single on February 1, 2018, and entered the

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

's Global Viral 50 chart upon release. The album's lead single, titled "Go To Town", was released on March 9, 2018, along with a music video. Doja Cat further went on to promote the single by appearing on

Genius Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for future works, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabiliti ...

' show "Verified". In an interview with ''

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

'' in May 2022, she stated she regretted putting the song out, stating that her not being vocally and lyrically evolved makes the song "really difficult to listen to" for her. A week before the album's release, "

", was released as the album's second single on March 23, 2018. Only a year later would the track become a

after a dance challenge on the app

TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version ...

went viral in late 2019. Consequently, the single charted in countries such as Australia, Canada and the United States, the latter having the song peak at 86 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 becoming her first solo entry on the chart. The song "

" was originally released on August 10, 2018, exclusively to

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

as a music video. The track would be the first of Doja's to become a

viral phenomenon Viral phenomena or viral sensation are objects or patterns that are able to replicate themselves or convert other objects into copies of themselves when these objects are exposed to them. Analogous to the way in which viruses propagate, the ter ...

, and would eventually surpass over eighty million views on

. The track was subsequently released commercially on streaming services, and would later serve as the first single off the deluxe edition of the album. The second single from the deluxe edition (fourth overall), titled "

", featuring American rapper Rico Nasty, was released on February 20, 2019. A music video was released on the next day.

Critical reception

Ranking it among their favorite albums of the first half of 2018, ''

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

'' described ''Amala'' as a "13-track collection of

bubbly "Bubbly" is the debut single of American singer Colbie Caillat from her first album, '' Coco'' (2007). Written by Caillat and Jason Reeves and produced by Mikal Blue, the song was released as the album's lead single on May 15, 2007. "Bubbly" i ...

, hip-hop-influenced

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

" and "manifesto of a young woman striving to take ownership of her craft, her image and her

sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...

, mixing genres like

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

trap A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research. Trap or TRAP may also refer to: Art and entertainment Films and television * ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

and R&B with a healthy dose of sass and humor."

Track listing

Credits adapted from

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

. Notes * signifies a co-producer * signifies an additional producer * "Mooo!" contains portions of " Milkshake", as performed by

Kelis Kelis Rogers-Mora (; born August 21, 1979), known mononymously as Kelis, is an American singer, songwriter and a professionally trained chef. At age 14, she was admitted to New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Perform ...

from her 2003 album '' Tasty'' and "

Move Bitch "Move Bitch" (marketed as "Move B***h" or simply "Move") is the fourth official single from American rapper Ludacris' album ''Word of Mouf''. The single features American rappers Mystikal and I-20. The single reached number 10 on the ''Billboard ...

", as performed by

Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, homophonous with 'ludicrous' in American English), is an American rapper, actor, record producer and record executive. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludac ...

from his 2001 album ''

Word of Mouf ''Word of Mouf'' is the second studio album by American rapper Ludacris; it was released on November 27, 2001, by Disturbing tha Peace and Def Jam South. It contains the singles, "Rollout (My Business)", "Area Codes", "Move Bitch", and "Saturday ( ...

Charts

Certifications

Notes

References

{{Authority control 2018 debut albums Doja Cat albums Kemosabe Records albums Albums produced by Rogét Chahayed Albums produced by Kurtis McKenzie Albums produced by Dr. Luke Indie pop albums by American artists