Doja Cat Talks Tequila, Messing Around With Album Titles, And What Can Break A Party
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After Doja Cat‘s recent string of Twitter posts, we had to ask ourselves — would she be dropping new music soon? Was she actually quitting music? Would she be ditching her self-proclaimed “mid and corny” raps for good?
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But Doja’s too busy doing her own thing to be beholden to anyone’s assumptions, throwing around album titles and sipping on tonic with limes amidst her new Patrón partnership this summer. Not only is she spending a lot of time in the studio, but she recently took over the Boom Boom Room in NYC to throw a banger of a performance, where she had fans singing along to hits like “Kiss Me More”, “Tia Tamera”, and “Need to Know” as she danced across the bar. This was all in celebration of the launch of Patrón El Cielo, where celebs and models alike rolled out in their best “heavenly” white and gold looks matching the tequila brand’s latest expression. Doja herself wore a custom look from PRISCAVera, which was inspired by a look from their Fall 23 collection and integrated the iconic Patrón bee emblem.
Launching in the U.S., the collaboration saw the release of Patrón El Cielo, the first four times distilled prestige tequila in the world, made with 100% Weber Blue Agave and crafted with the smallest copper pot still at Hacienda Patrón. Made available for $129, it’s aiming to be the next summer party starter, and it makes sense that Doja has come onboard amidst what’s looking to be an eventful summer herself.
Patrón El Cielo
The singer has been booked and busy for someone whose last few tweets and online interactions have been vague about where she’s at in the album process. But in the past year alone, Doja Cat has won a Grammy Award for the SZA collab “Kiss Me More”, and featured with the R&B singer on the chart-topping “Kill Bill” remix. She also did a reworked version of Big Mama Thornton’s classic “Hound Dog” for the Elvis soundtrack’s “Vegas”, and delivered a headliner-worthy performance at Coachella.
While fans eagerly await new music, Doja told Rolling Stone she’s already changed the initial proposed name for her next album she’d announced on Twitter, “First of All“. In the meantime, she’s been taking time to reconnect with the music that she was raised on, like Nineties hip-hop and John Coltrane. Recently, she spoke to Variety and teased that she was “going in a more masculine direction” with the new record and stepping away from her “pop and glittery sounds” of the past.
If there’s anything for certain, it’s that nothing is certain with Doja Cat — there’s no secret sauce to her performances, she says, and she just tries to be her most authentic self. We sat down with the artist to talk her collaboration with Patrón El Cielo, why now was the right time to change her sound, and what she can’t go out for the night without.
So obviously you’re excited to be working with Patrón El Cielo, as tequila is well known to be a ‘keep the party going’-type spirit — what can make or break a party for you?
The people. If the people are not interesting, the party won’t be either.
Your looks are known to be conversation pieces, like with your bedazzled cat-inspired Met Gala look. What was the inspiration behind your look for the launch of Patrón El Cielo?
I worked with my creative director and stylist, Brett Nelson, to pull together a look that really represented Patrón El Cielo. If you didn’t know, “El Cielo” translated into English means “heaven,” so we wanted to pull something together that was simple yet radiant, just like the event theme of white and gold. Brett and I loved one of the looks from PRISCAVera’s Fall 2023 collection so we worked closely with their team to customize the fit and incorporate the iconic Patrón bee on the back of my jacket.
What do you like to carry in your bag with you when you go out for the night? Any makeup, or anything unexpected, etc?
What do you think are the secret ingredients for a show-stopping performance?
I don’t think there is a secret necessarily. You just have to connect with the audience and give it everything you’ve got.
You recently tweeted that the title of your upcoming album is ‘First of All‘ — tell us a little about the inspiration behind the new music you’re premiering soon and why you felt now was the right time to shift towards a more traditional rap sound?
It’s no longer called First of All. I’ve been messing around with name ideas for the album and have like 8 of them that I’m deciding between. I’ll be announcing the real title soon. I’ve been reconnecting with the music that I was raised listening to; Erykah Badu, John Coltrane, Nineties hip hop…the music that influenced me as a kid. I think my new music will bring some of that inspiration forward.
What are you most looking forward to for summer 2023?
Getting a tan…and releasing my new music.
If you were a cocktail, what kind would you be? And what’s on your party playlist, what have you been listening to recently?
Patrón El Cielo tonic with lime. As for my party playlist, recently I’ve been listening to a lot of Enigma and ATB, kind of old techno dance, and EDM stuff from the 90s.
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