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Doja Cat has surged in popularity in recent years, with big singles like “Say So” and “Kiss Me More” and three studio albums to her credit. She still believes, though, that she has to improve her poetic talents.
Missy Elliott, a pioneer before her, revealed how the brilliance of her peers motivates her to develop as a rapper during an interview with Interview Magazine.
“When it comes to rap, I could be better,” Doja Cat admitted. “I think everybody feels that way with their own art, in all kinds of ways. But I see all these incredibly talented rappers around me, and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’m doing pop, but I should focus on my pen now more than ever.’ I’m good, and I can be funny and charming, and I can do little punchlines here and there, but I need to talk about my life more, and about what’s going on.”
She continued, “There’s personal stuff that happens in my life that I don’t talk about in my music. I also kind of don’t care. I always felt like you cared about dancers, and you cared about sounds, and you’re not boring people to death with your personal life, or whatever is going on in your mind. Sometimes rappers can do that. They rap about how they’re sick and tired, and how they’re this and that. It gets boring after a while.”
Missy Elliott replied, “Sometimes you gotta take a chance. I never felt like I fit in, period. I don’t think there was a lane for the music that we did. The only reason they found a lane is because I was rapping over the tracks. But at first, I don’t think people understood the music. You’re starting to create your own lane. It probably won’t ever fit, but people will love it.”
Doja Cat also said that rapping is more difficult for her than singing since she doesn’t want to use stupid phrases.
“It’s harder for me to rap,” she said. “Sometimes I get writer’s block, because I don’t want to write something stupid. Sometimes I’ll write something and be like, ‘Why would I say that?’ Then I’ll restart, and eventually just give up. But when I do it right, I’m really, really happy about it.”
