Doja Cat is embracing her demons for the third pre-release track from her fourth studio album, Scarlet. The song comes on the heels of “Attention,” which ushered in the L.A. rapper and singer’s new era back in June, and “Paint the Town Red,” which recently made history as the first solo female rap song to top Spotify’s U.S. chart.
The three-minute “Demons” kicks off with a heavy, distorted beat and menacingly looped string sample, further fulfilling Doja Cat’s promise that her latest album will eschew pop for a harder-edged hip-hop sound: “How my demons look/Now that my pockets full?” Later, she sarcastically quips in painstaking enunciation so there’s no confusion, “Lots of people that were sleeping say I rap now.”
Co-directed by Christian Breslauer and Doja Cat, the video for “Demons” co-stars Christina Ricci and reprises the dark visual themes of the clips for “Attention” and “Paint the Town Red.” No stranger to demonic subject matter, the Yellowjackets star plays a young woman who’s haunted by a bejeweled—you guessed it—demon played by Doja Cat. Nods to horror classics like Poltergeist and The Shining abound.
Watch “Demons” below:
Scarlet is scheduled for release on September 22 via RCA Records.
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