Music Review: On ‘Scarlet,’ Doja Cat’s demons demand attention — as if it was possible to look away

By MARIA SHERMAN
AP Music Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Before Doja Cat released her stellar fourth full-length album, the take-no-prisoners “Scarlet,” she bit the hand that feeds. Sort of. On social media, she told her fans to “get a job.” Some left her side. It inspired conversation about celebrity and the fans that make them that way. Did she owe them anything? Were they wrong to assume she did? “Scarlet,” out Friday, is the answer to those parasocial questions, as well as a detour from her glossy pop past into hard-hitting rap territory. On the album, she goes beyond her “Scarlet Letter” — and wears the color as a point of pride, argues Associated Press Music Writer Maria Sherman.