XANADU (album)

**"XANADU"** is the 4th major-label record and fourth studio album by Doja Cat. The album hit #1 on the Billboard Charts and was named The Best Rap Album Of The Year. The album was released on September 24, 2023.

## XANADU

* Standard
* Deluxe

## Background

Doja Cat began her career as a rapper heavily involved with the underground scene in her hometown of Los Angeles. She rose to prominence in August 2018 as an internet meme, following the viral success of her novelty song "Mooo!". She continued to gain mainstream attention with her pop and R&B-infused second studio album, *Hot Pink* (2019). The remix to its standout single "Say So", which featured Nicki Minaj, became the first song by a female rap duo to reach number one on the US *Billboard* Hot 100 chart. Doja Cat's third studio album, *Planet Her* (2021), continued the pop-R&B blend and was met with critical and commercial success. It became the most-streamed album by a female rapper on Spotify, and its lead single, "Kiss Me More" featuring SZA, won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

After being nominated for the BET Award for Best Female Hip Hop Artist in May 2021, Doja Cat was criticized by social media users who felt she was "too pop" to be considered as a rapper. She responded to the criticism on Twitter, by writing, "Don't ever fuckin [*sic*] disrespect me as a rapper. After the last song I dropped, you will respect my pen and that's fuckin [*sic*] that." She weighed in further on the debate during a cover story with *Rolling Stone* in December, saying, "Anyone who says that I'm not a rapper is in denial. They don't know what they're talking about." A few days after the profile piece was published, Doja Cat revealed on an Instagram livestream that she was interested in creating a double album; with one side focused on her pop rap sounds, and the other side containing 12 hip hop songs produced by 9th Wonder and Jay Versace.

In an interview with *Elle* in May 2022, Doja Cat addressed claims that she was not a rapper in the "traditional sense" by stating that she has "rapped since the beginning, and I really couldn't even sing that well to begin with—I got a lot better. I use my voice as a tool to create these worlds, and it's fine if people think that I can't rap." She also confirmed that her upcoming fourth studio album will be "predominantly rap". She doubled down on the album's main genre in April 2023 by stating "no more pop", and that she agrees with "everyone who said the majority of my rap verses are mid and corny. I know they are. I wasn't trying to prove anything, I just enjoy making music. But I'm getting tired of hearing y'all say that I can't, so I will." Doja Cat also denounced her previous two albums as "cash grabs" and "digestible pop hits". On April 26, radio personality Ebro Darden shared that he had the opportunity to listen to approximately eight songs from the album while it was in its "early stages", stating "I heard straight rap records". After being asked about potential producers, he responded "I don't even think it's producers that we know. I think she's got her own batch of producers." On August 27, she announced that the album was finished.