On Thursday, Sept. 25, American rapper, singer, and songwriter Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamin, known by her stage name Doja Cat, released her sixth studio album, Vie. With 15 individually punchy tracks, Vie doesn’t overstay its welcome and takes a softer approach to her eccentric signature style.
Doja Cat rose to fame around 2019, after the release of her second album Hot Pink, whose tracklist contained the Billboard Hot 100 hit “Say So.” The singer released “Boss B*tch” for the 2020 movie “Birds of Prey” around the same time that she collaborated with artists Nicki Minaj, The Weeknd, Ariana Grande, and Lil Wayne. The singer amassed awards in recognition of this rise to popularity: a spot on Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list, The American Music Award for New Artist of the Year and Favourite Soul/R&B Female Artist in 2020, and Push Best New Artist at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards.
2021’s Planet Her only fed the flames of Doja Cat’s popularity, with “Kiss Me More (feat. SZA),” “Get Into It (Yuh),” “Need to Know,” and “Woman.” After winning the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo Performance for “Kiss Me More,” the singer’s burnout prompted a year-long hiatus from music, which she returned from with Scarlet, which centered around the genre of rap more than her previous pop albums.
Vie doesn’t stray too far from its predecessors, with raunchy lyrics, strong beats, and nasally vocals that, while often well-balanced, can occasionally come across as abrasive.
The album’s second track and lead single, “Jealous Type,” came out Aug. 21, 2025, teasing the rest of the tracklist with a pop-beat reminiscent of “Say So,” and a vintage synth influence. The vocals here are perfectly in line with what people have come to expect from Doja Cat, against a fun backtrack, as she sings “Boy, let me know if this is careless, I could be torn between two roads that I just can’t decide.”
Track nine, “Take Me Dancing (feat. SZA)” leans into a smoother R&B sound. The two singers’ years of collaboration pay off in the seamless integration of their voices. In a catchy rhythm, the artists sing “Baby, take me dancing tonight.”
“Happy,” track 14, keeps Vie’s sound as upbeat as the title suggests, yet is among the album’s mellower tracks, but pulls it off with finesse. Here, Doja Cat sings a few verses in French: “Brise mon coeur encore ce soir” – “Break my heart again tonight,” and a reference to the album title “J’ai vecu ma vie” or “I lived my life.” Her tone in these lyrics is much more melodic, an elegant near-exit.
In certain places, Vie’s experimentation falls flat and creates too bland a song to stand out. Songs like “Lipstain” and “Acts of Service” fail to serve the album very much, leaving the 51-minute tracklist packing much less of a punch than it could have.
Altogether, Vie is a spirited album that remains authentic to Doja Cat’s rap background, while exploring a fresh sound for her. However, where this album doesn’t disappoint, it also fails to impress; the tracklist is unable to stack up to earlier albums. Vie is shockingly mild when compared to Doja Cat’s past projects, a production choice that leaves the album lacking flair, and with three out of five feathers.
