Doja Cat Net Worth: The Teenage Rapper From Soundcloud Who Went Viral

Be whatever you want to be  – Doja Cat

Doja Cat is one of the biggest celebrities in the social media, meme, and music space. She started off as a teenager rapping on SoundCloud and shot to fame off the back of a viral TikTok trend, cementing her entertainer status in the industry. The star rose to fame after the release of her hit single, ‘Mooo!’ in 2018.

The superstar has a net worth of $10 million, earning over $500,000 annually in endorsement revenue, album earnings, and her YouTube channel. The artist has amazing vocal skills, and she’s collaborated with some of the biggest industry names like The Weeknd and Ariana Grande.

Doja Cat: The Facts

Doja Cat hosted the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards, and the Wall Street Journal characterizes her as a skilled and technical rapper with a bold visual presence and strong melodic sense. The artist has a reputation for producing videos and songs that go viral on social media platforms like TikTok.

She has a humorous personality and an impressive online presence. Despite her short music career, the artist amassed many awards to her name. Some of her accolades include five American Music Awards, a Grammy Award, three MTV Video Music Awards, and a Billboard Music Award. She also earned a spot on Forbes in their “30 under 30” list in 2021.

Doja Cat – The Early Years

Born on October 21, 1995, Amala Dlamini is the daughter of Dumisani Dlamini and Deborah Elizabeth Sawyer. She grew up in the Tarzana neighborhood of LA, and her parents were naturally artistic. Her Zulu father is of South African descent and a well-known performer in his home country. He appeared as the ‘crocodile’ in the Broadway musical Sarafina! And its 1992 film adaptation.

Her Caucasian mother, Deborah Sawyer, has Jewish roots and has a career as a graphic designer. The artist also has a brother, Raman Dlamini. Doja Cat claims she never developed a relationship with her father, The South African returned to his home country shortly after her birth.

In an interview with Dumisani, the South African claims his daughter is lying about his involvement in her life. He states he spent many years with the family when the singer was a child. He says Amala’s management prevents him from contacting her, with her managers citing that the South African is only interested in her financially.

After her birth, Doja Cat moved to Rye, New York, with her mother. Her mom found work as a painter and architect, and the family stayed in NYC for the next five years. The family returned to the west coast, staying in the Sai Anantam Ashram commune founded by the late Alice Coltrane. The community sits in the Santa Monica mountains and is the Jazz musician’s legacy.

During their time in the commune, the family became practicing Hindus, following the key principles of the religion. During her time in Santa Monica, Amala would sing the ‘bhajans.’ She also started covering her head with Hindu women’s traditional headdress scarves.

After a few years, the family moved to Oak Park, California. During her youth, Doja Cat attended dance lessons and enjoyed activities like skateboarding and surfing. The artist enjoyed her time as a youth growing up in California, spending large portions of her time at the beach and on the walkways up and down the area.

The artist states she always had an interest in dance. During her stay at the ashram, she learned the moves in the classical Indian dance, the ‘Bharatanatyam.’ The artist states that this foundation led her into an interest in breakdancing.

She took classes to learn the moves and earned a spot in a professional pop-locking group. During her teens, she competed in many dance-offs in clubs and venues across Los Angeles. She enjoyed breakdancing while attending high school but didn’t develop her vocal talents until a few years later.

Amala’s aunt was a talented vocal coach, teaching her niece singing lessons to develop her vocal skills. She assisted the artist with preparing for her audition for ‘Central Los Angeles Area New High School #9.’ The performing arts school in LA accepted her, but her lack of interest in education saw the artist dropping out at 16. Amla claims her ADHD meant she had a hard time concentrating in class.

After dropping out of high school, the artist scoured the internet for beats to use in her songs. She started releasing music on sound cloud, releasing the single ‘So High,’ which caught the attention of the execs at RCA Records and Kemosabe.

Amala was signed under her stage name, ‘Doja Cat,’ in a joint record deal between the labels. At the time, the artist was 17 years old and set to dominate pop culture with her talent. She released her debut studio album, ‘Purrr!’, in 2014.

Doja Cat – Meme Fame with Amala

In early 2018, the artist released the hit singles, ‘Roll with Us,’ ‘Candy,’ and ‘Go to Town.’ She included these tracks on her debut album, ‘Amala.’ The album experienced minor success, with most critics choosing to ignore the artist and her talent. It failed to enter the charts at the time, discouraging Doja Cat with its performance.

However, the artist got her big break in music that summer with the release of her music video ‘Mooo!’ Doja Cat decided to release the track on her YouTube channel. The video shows the artist having dreams of being a cow. It was an instant viral success, creating a popular internet meme at the time.

After experiencing a taste of success in her career, the artist released her follow-up singles, ‘Juicy’ and Tia Tamera’ in early 2019. She remixed ‘Juicy,’ and it was her first track to enter the Billboard Hot 100.

Doja Cat – Career Breakthrough

The artist started gaining momentum in her career. Her first commercial success with her music came from her second studio album, ‘Hot Pink,’ released in 2019. The album peaked at number nine on the Billboard 200, featuring the hit singles ‘Rules,’ ‘Bottom Bitch,’ and ‘Say So.’

Say so was her first commercial success, becoming her first top-10 single, making it to number five on the Billboard Hot 100. A2020 remix of the track featured Nicki Minaj, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

The success of ‘Hot Pink’ led her to be one of the biggest breakout stars of 2020. Billboard ranked Doja Cat as number five on the list of ‘Top New Artists of 2020.’ Rolling Stone magazine placed the artist at number one on its list of breakthrough artists for the year.

Doja Cat received three Grammy Award nominations at the Grammy’s that year, including a nomination for her hit single, ‘Say So.’

Doja Cat – MTV Video Music Awards

Doja Cat teased the release of her upcoming album with the single ‘Kiss Me More’ in April 2021. The track saw the artist collaborate with SZA. On its release, ‘Kiss Me More’ reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100, spending a total of 19 weeks in the top ten and peaking at number three.

A few months later, the artist released her hit singles ‘You Right,’ and ‘Need to Know’ before releasing her studio album, ‘Planet Her.’ The album was another commercial success for the pop star, debuting at number two on the Billboard 200. The track reached number three in the UK, Canada, and Australia.

Following the resounding success of ‘Planet Her,’ the singer hosted the MTV Video Music Awards in 2021. During the award ceremony, Doja Cat earned a nomination for ‘Video of the Year,’ ‘Best Visual Effects,’ and ‘Artist of the Year.’

Doja Cat won ‘Best Collaboration’ for her work with SZA on ‘Kiss Me More.’ She also earned the award ‘Best Art Direction’ for her collaboration with Saweetie on the video ‘Best Friend.’

Doja Cat – Collaborations

Doja Cat had several successful collaborations with leading artists during her early career. She’s appeared on tracks alongside industry heavyweights like Lil Wayne, The Weeknd, City Girls, Bebe Rexha, Ozuna, and Ariana Grande. She also featured on the hit track ‘Scoop’ with Lil Nas X in September 2021, bringing more depth to his debut studio album, ‘Montero.’

Doja Cat – Controversies

The artist also made it into the media for her controversial comments online. In 2018, she experienced pushback for using the word ‘faggot’ on her social media. She deleted the tweet and apologized for her actions.

However, she experienced huge community backlash online after posting a tweet saying COVID-19 was just a rendition of the flu. She also attended and hosted events during the pandemic.

Doja Cat – Personal Life

There is little known about Doja Cats’ personal life. The artist prefers to stay out of the limelight and doesn’t discuss her relationships in public.

She’s dropped hints that she lives a ‘queer’ lifestyle, and there’s speculation that she’s been involved in relationships with other artists like Bree Runway and Jawny.

Doja Cat – Social Media and Philanthropy

After achieving superstardom, the artist decided to pull back on her social media posting. She actively advocates for global leaders to take responsibility for the hunger crisis in Africa. She prefers to use her Twitter account to comment on geopolitical events.

Doja Cat has a sponsorship deal with the fast-fashion website ‘Poshmark.’ The artist listed 13 items on the site, with the proceeds from the sales going towards the nonprofit ‘Musicians On Call.’ She also appeared as a character on the ‘House Party’ video game, donating a portion of the proceeds to the South African nonprofit ‘ACFS.’

The artist also decided to act on the murder of Breonna Taylor by police in 2020. She donated $100,000 to a fund to honor the life of the technician shot and killed by police in March 2020.

Doja Cat – Endorsements

Doja Cat has several endorsement deals with top brands. She’s a global brand ambassador for Pepsi and has an agreement with JBL. The artist has more than 26 million followers on her TikTok account and more than 11 million subscribers to her YouTube account.

Some of her other endorsement deals include partnerships with fast fashion brands like PrettyLittleThing, Fashion Nova, Wifey Cosmetics, and others.

Doja Cat – Real Estate and Cars

The singer spent $2.2 million on a three-bedroom home in the mountains above Beverly Hills. The artist owns several luxury cars, including a Chevrolet Camaro GT, a Range Rover, and a Mercedes.

Doja Cat Quotes

I’m a bit of a tomboy, but then a girly girl. And I feel like you can be both.

I just like to do the fun stuff. If I’m not having fun with it, I’m not going to do it for the rest of my life.

I am whatever you want me to be and I can’t control that. My experience is my experience, but I can’t really claim anything. I know when I take my wig off at night and I have to twist my hair up, I’m black. But I don’t get too personal most of the time.

We moved from the suburbs to L.A. and I picked up break dancing when I was 10. I joined a dance crew in high school and I was battling. I also took ballet most of my life until high school.

I just started singing ’cause I had dropped out of school.

I tried writing a song and it wasn’t very good. I sung it to my mom and she told me it was bad – but I was eight, so it’s okay.

We need people who are open to doing something with theme, something with a cartoonish twist.

I appreciate people who make hip-hop… the way A Tribe Called Quest and Lauryn Hill and KRS-One did it.

When I was 12 I was obsessed with green and had my mom get me a bunch of green bedding for my room.

If your only intent is to be seen, you’ll never be seen. If your intent is to be happy, comfortable, genuine, and true in craft, you’re destined to be noticed.