Grammy-winning rapper Doja Cat is laying the groundwork for the next phase of her Scarlet era. She released her fourth studio album Scarlet in September, and she kicked off this year by teasing that a deluxe edition of the album was on its way. The new LP, titled Scarlet 2: Claude, is out now, and comes complete with seven new tracks fit for the Scarlet universe.
Doja shared the story behind the album’s title and how it informed her work in an interview on The Therapy Gecko Podcast. Simply put, she felt that the Claude Frollo character from The Hunchback of Notre Dame made for an apt inspiration for the project. “I feel like it connects to the story of Scarlet in some way,” she said. “And if you look up his personality traits and who he is and his story, you’ll understand the whole connection. There’s a control aspect. He just abuses his power and his control and is dogmatic and a total c**t.”
For the new set, Doja shines solo on “Acknowledge Me,” “Headhigh,” “Piss,” “Disrespectful,” and “OKLoser” while joining forces with A$AP Rocky on “Urrrge” and Teezo Touchdown on “Masc.” All the songs are sonically and thematically at home in the world of Scarlet, now fully complete with 24 tracks total and more than an hourlong runtime.
Scarlet 2: Claude will tide fans over for now, but the “Paint the Town Red” rapper confirmed on social media that more things are coming down the pike. “I can just keep being creative and look forward to the awesome things I have coming up,” the Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree said.
When reflecting on her recent creativity in a December interview with Apple Music, Doja confessed that she’s been more unfettered since releasing the desire to please every single one of her fans. “I’m not gonna make everyone happy, and that’s just that,” she said. “I’m just not, and I know that I’m not, so that’s freed me immensely.”