Doja Cat has released some of the biggest and some of the most controversial singles of 2023 so far. First in terms of the biggest, her song “Paint The Town Red” is expected to challenge for the number one spot on the Hot 100 this week. It would mark her second number-one hit following “Say So” with Nicki Minaj and her first as a solo artist. It also has another connection to Nicki. If it hits number one it will be the first rap song to top the charts since Minaj’s song “Super Freaky Girl.” That track debuted at the number one spot over a year ago.
Doja has also faced more than her fair share of controversies. That started subtly with her embrace of some imagery that fans deemed demonic or even satanic. Clearly, that rubbed her the wrong way and led to her doubling down about what’s really satanic for her fans. Her newest single “Demons” and the very controversial music video attached to it dropped last week causing even more drama for the singer. Unsurprisingly though, the controversy doesn’t seem to bother her much.
Doja Cat’s new album is set to arrive later this month after a number of name changes and speculated release dates came and went. Scarlet drops on September 22 and will have to compete with Drake’s new album For All The Dogs. The pair will likely battle to grab the top spot on the Billboard 200. She’s also taking off on tour later this year and just shared some pics with her opening acts.
The Scarlet Tour is due to kick off on Halloween night and sees Doja hitting the road with breakout superstar Ice Spice and R&B darling Doechii. The trio have clearly been hanging out recently and Doja shared some picture of them all together. Included in the new photo dump is also pictures of her with Central Cee, who she shouts out in the caption. “come see us all on tour and central cee is a great dude also my pepperonis,” the post reads. What do you think of the new pictures Doja Cat shared with Ice Spice, Doechii, and Central Cee? Let us know in the comment section below.
TikTok has revealed its highly anticipated “Songs of the Summer 2023” list, offering a retrospective on the hottest tracks that have dominated the platform throughout the season.
This year’s compilation showcases TikTok’s vibrant and diverse community, highlighting a multitude of talents spanning various genres. From the international hit “Makeba” by France’s Jain to the meteoric ascent of “What It Is” by Doechii, the list captures the dynamic musical landscape that TikTok users have embraced.
The selection is particularly notable for featuring France’s homage to South African civil rights activist and singer, with Jain’s “Makeba” topping the charts in the US. The list underscores TikTok’s influence in transcending borders and genres, driving global music discovery for its enthusiastic community of users and fans.
As the summer winds down, TikTok’s “Songs of the Summer 2023” provides a fitting tribute to the platform’s integral role in shaping the musical landscape and propelling emerging talents to international acclaim.
It doesn’t appear as though the current wave of Jersey club-sampling rap hits is going to go away anytime soon. The latest rapper to ride the wave is TDE’s Doechii, who swipes Jersey club producer Uniiqu3’s 2018 song “Bubble Gum” and transforms it into a strip club-praising anthem, “Booty Drop,” which she previewed at the BET Awards earlier this year. The high-energy song is accompanied by a ’90s-inspired music video, shot with a camcorder aesthetic and even incorporating early video-editing software graphics like A Tribe Called Quest’s video for “Scenario.”
In the video, Doechii and her girl crew take a cruise on a yacht in their skimpiest bikinis, showing off their twerking skills and doing exactly what the sample incessantly commands: Making their booties drop.
Doechii has seen a meteoric rise to fame and popularity and she continues to shine with the lights on her. Doechii began to get a taste of the spotlight, receiving notoriety from fans, critics, and record labels a couple of years ago. What triggered that was the release of her self-funded and released EP, Oh the Places You’ll Go. “Yucky Blucky Fruitcake” was the song that got people buzzing with it spreading like wildfire on TikTok in 2021. The following year, in March 2022 specifically, Doechii inked two deals with Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), along with Capitol Records. This gave Doechii the bragging rights of being the very first female rapper to sign with TDE.
However, the hits kept piling up for the young star. “Persuasive,” a feature on David Guetta’s “Trampoline,” and “What It Is (Block Boy)” picked up steam. Now, she is back with another possible club-ready banger “Booty Drop.” Unfortunately, it is only available on YouTube.
The song is all about getting freaky and wild on the dancefloor. More specifically, she wants her listeners to shake what their momma gave them. It seems to be a YouTube release only for the moment since it runs just under a minute and looks to be a snippet as of now. We will update you if it becomes a full-fleshed track, but for now, we are enjoying it.
How do you feel about this track from Doechii, “Booty Drop?” Is it one of the best booty-shaking anthems of the past few years? What is your favorite song of Doechii’s and is she one of the best female hip-hop/R&B artist right now? We want to hear what you have to say, so be sure to leave all of those thoughts and opinions in the comments section below. Additionally, keep it locked with HNHH for all the hottest song releases and news around the music world.
Quotable Lyrics:
Pull up in a Uber, shawty, what it do, yeah? Swimmin’ in the p***y like a scuba Dive in, deep dive [?] she a cougar Shawty want the liquor, just a little liquor
We can hardly keep up with all the new music coming our way lately, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t excited to see so many of our favourite artists thriving. Those at TDE have caught our attention in particular lately – including REASON, who announced on Tuesday (August 1), that his next LP, PORCHES will arrive on August 11. Along with that news, the 32-year-old also unveiled the full tracklist and roster of guest features, who are seriously impressive, to say the least.
The 17-song-long effort will begin with “Faded Off Poor N Riches,” which includes an appearance from London Money, followed by titles like “Caucasian Estates” and “At It Again.” After that, we hear from SiR and Kiilynn alongside REASON on “A Broken Winter Break” before several more solo tracks come through. Further down on the list, names like Ray Vaughn, Doechii, and Zacari also appear.
As Vibe notes, “At It Again” arrived way back in March as the first teaser of the LP, though fans had no idea what REASON’s been working on for them in recent months. “Appreciate the patience, the love, the struggle, the perspectives, the Porches! Love y’all,” the recording artist wrong on IG this afternoon.
If you’re looking forward to PORCHES, be sure to tap into REASON’s latest single, “You Betta (Jesus Take The Wheel)” at the link below. Further down, you’ll find the upcoming album’s full tracklist. Which guest feature are you most excited to hear? Let us know in the comments, and check back later for more hip-hop/pop culture news updates.
For decades, hip-hop has often taken inspiration from queer sounds and aesthetics. In the ‘90s, Lil Kim was open about the fact the extravagant outfits and makeup she wore were inspired by drag performers and figures of the underground ballroom scene. She was a vocal supporter of the LGBTQ+ community, displaying a sense of allyship that was vital at the time. Despite the fact that Lil Kim had love for the queer and trans communities — a love that was reciprocated — homophobic ideology within hip-hop was rampant. Artists like NWA, DMX, and Ice-T were often praised for their conscious lyrics about racial disparities and economic inequality, however, many listeners reeled over their homophobic lyrics.
Early works by Eminem and the Beastie Boys often depicted violent acts against queer and trans people, which would later be the subject of GLAAD protests. Though the aforementioned artists have since recantedtheselyrics and actions, or have otherwise have shown support for the LGBTQ+ community, many listeners and artists believe bigotry towards queer and trans people is still an issue within the genre. However, in recent years, with LGBTQ+ artists rising through the charts, and at the helm of production of inescapable hits, signs seem to point at a queer revolution within hip-hop.
For the past few years, queerness has had an undeniable presence in hip-hop. Though some women rappers have utilized ballroom lingo and queer aesthetics in their music and visuals, despite not openly identifying as LGBTQ+, many others have made it known from the jump that they are not inhibiting themselves for anybody.
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when and how the recent LGBTQ+ revolution in hip-hop began. Perhaps it was when Lil Nas X earned the longest-running Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 in 2019 with “Old Town Road,” or maybe it was during the pandemic, when fans helped elevate artists like Doechii, Ice Spice, and Lacy through dances and storytelling on TikTok. Ice Spice alluded to her bisexuality in one of her earliest hits, “Bikini Bottom.” She doubled down on this during an interview with Genius, where she explained that fans “need to know – we’re here and we’re queer!”
The eccentric Doechii has also captivated listeners, not only with her witty one-liners and vibrant displays of the characters she invents with her music, but also simply by unapologetically being herself. Before signing to Top Dawg Entertainment, which has housed the likes of Kendrick Lamar and SZA, Doechii went viral with her autobiographical song “Yucky Blucky Fruitcake,” on which, she proclaims, “I think I like girls, but I think I like men.” One of her first major label hits, “Persuasive,” likens the idea of smoking marijuana to giving into the affections of a woman.
In an interview with British GQ last year, Doechii cited the LGBTQ+ community in helping her find confidence in her sound, saying, “I always knew that I was queer, and I was bisexual. But I didn’t really feel comfortable talking about it, because nobody around me was gay. So it’s not like I was hiding it — but I also wasn’t fully embracing it. I just started indulging myself with more friends who were like me. And that’s when I could become more comfortable talking about it, because that’s my normal everyday conversation now with my gay friends.”
Around the same time Doechii began blowing up, her Top Dawg labelmate Isaiah Rashad was the subject of rumors surrounding his sexuality. In February 2022, sex tapes of Rashad engaging in activities with other men surfaced online. Rashad would not address these tapes until his performance at Coachella two months later. During the performance, he thanked fans, who sent messages of support following the leaks, saying, “I see all the messages and all that sh*t, all the positivity,” and noted that his fans kept him “alive these last couple months.” A month later, he came out as sexually fluid during an interview with Joe Budden.
Also that year, Lil Uzi Vert, who had previously identified as a man, started using they/them pronouns. Though they made this announcement simply by updating the pronouns in their Instagram bio, and have not officially labeled themselves as non-binary, Uzi revealed in an interview with 032c that this change came without any sort of hesitation.
“I did take my time to learn as much as I could about this before I was able to proceed,” said Uzi. “Taking the time to figure out who you are is a big part of what it means to be alive.”
They continued, explaining that the LGBTQ+ community has always been an essential component of the hip-hop game.
“I just think a good product [is] a good product,” Uzi said. “Think about fashion. Gay and trans designers are some of the biggest talents out there, and gangster-ass guys wear their stuff without a thought. What you make is what matters, not how you identify.”
And the quality of Uzi’s work has certainly been reflected in their sales and streams. Last month, their long-awaited Pink Tape album reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200, becoming the first hip-hop album of 2023 to do so.
But also, in regards to “a good product,” several queer producers are working behind the scenes to give these hip-hop records a magical touch. Over the course of the past year, openly gay producer Kaytranada has cut tracks for rappers IDK and JID, and even collaborated with rapper Aminé on a full-length collaborative album. Bisexual singer and instrumentalist Steve Lacy has been a go-to collaborator for artists like Kendrick Lamar and J Cole for years.
Last year, Lacy earned the biggest hit of his career with “Bad Habit,” a chart-topping song which tells the painful story of a missed connection. Throughout the song, Lacy doesn’t mention anyone by name, or allude to specific pronouns, which makes the song all the more relatable. “[I]f only you’d known, things would be different,” said Shani Fuller-Tillman, RCA Records VP of Marketing in a 2022 interview with Variety. “There’s no one of any age, race or gender identity that hasn’t experienced this in life.”
While relatability is a key factor in the success of songs like “Bad Habit,” the tune also got a viral push through TikTok. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, TikTok has been crucial to a song’s success — whether it be from the song’s genesis to its official release, or as the platform documents the song’s second — or even third — life.
LGBTQ+ artists, especially, have felt the effects of TikTok on their music, especially Lil Nas X, who began teasing his single, “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” through TikTok months before its official March 2021 release. The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and though Lil Nas X hasn’t released an album since September of 2021, he continues to tease new music through the platform — the snippets often met with fans in the comments, demanding he release the full song immediately.
In 2022, fellow gay rapper Saucy Santana went viral on TikTok with his opulent single, “Material Gworllllllll!,” though the song had been released three years prior. Its viral resurgence prompted Madonna — who has long been deemed a gay icon — to perform the song alongside Santana at New York City Pride that year, and later, release a remix of the song in the form of a mashup with her 1984 hit, “Material Girl.”
But what is the catalyst for hip-hop’s recent embrace of queer and trans artists and producers? Is it online virality? The post-COVID desire to dance and feel liberated? The genre-fluidity in which streaming is pushing hip-hop numbers into similar territory as pop?
Is it even fair that hip-hop gets all the flack for homophobia? At the time of writing, Miley Cyrus is the only openly queer artist in the top 10 of Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart. Meanwhile, Jason Aldean, whose recent small town-romanticizing music video for his song “Try That In A Small Town” has been accused of racist imagery, is within arms length of his first Billboard Hot 100 topper.
Rap and hip-hop are certainly not monolithic, but even as the pop-adjacent rappers and hip-hop artists, like those mentioned above, have been met with support from hip-hop fans — both queer and straight — even conscious rappers, like Rashad, have received an outpour of love from their day-one fans.
Across any artistic platform, there’s always room for improvement in terms of LGBTQ+ acceptance and representation; but it feels safe to say that hip-hop is on the right track.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Doechii has proven to be one of the most promising new musical acts (like with her breakout Coachella performance, for example). Although she incorporates inspiration from several genres, her love for hip-hop always shines through the brightest. The musician’s latest partnership with Google Pixel, Doechii, was able to showcase that admiration on a new single, “Universal Swamp Anthem.”
With the genre’s 50th anniversary among us, the self-proclaimed Swamp Princess was sure to honor one of rap’s most impactful duos, UGK (comprised of Bun B and Pimp C). As a Florida native, Doechii didn’t leave the southern region for inspiration as she reimagined the group’s 2007 “Int’l Players Anthem (I Choose You).” Just like she did on her freestyle to Beyoncé’s “America Has A Problem,” Doechii flexed her lyrical ability. As fans wait for the release of Doechii’s Pix Tape EP, due out next month, the record allows the recording artist to cut loose creatively.
The track is the latest of Google’s Pixel RePresents series of songs with Mass Appeal. Other artists — such as Flo Milli, Bia, and Lola Brooke — have all dropped a remake of their favorite hip-hop songs, including Too Short’s “Blow The Whistle,” Clipse’s “Grindin’,” and Petey Pablo’s “Raise Up.”
Doechii’s2023 BET Awards performance of her songs “Booty Drop” and “What It Is” showed that she was born to be a superstar. Before the Best New Artist nominee hits that road with Doja Cat as her The Scarlet Tour’ssupporting act, the self-proclaimed Swamp Princess had to give rap music fans with a taste of what they’ll experience live.
To open her medley set, Doechii performed her dance-heavy track “Booty Drop.” As she rapped, “Strip club, dance, dance, do it in a handstand
Drop down, get bands, do it no command / I’ll make her drop / She actin’ up, she fuck it up, I make it pop / That booty soft, she lift it up and gets them props / That Chanel purse it’ll cost,” it was hard not to groove along.
Next, she blended into her controversial track “What It Is,” which originally featured Kodak Black. To pay tribute to the act behind the track’s sample, Southern legends Trillville joined Doechii on stage for a medley of their 2004 song “Some Cut.”
Despite the backlash from “What It Is” the song earned Doechii her firstBillboard No. 1 on the Rhythmic Airplay chart. In an attempt to appease her fans, Doechii did upload a version of the track with Kodak Black on her YouTube channel.
