The one song that makes Doja Cat feel powerful: “She changed my life”
Rapper and singer Doja Cat is a fan of many artists and, over the years, she has collaborated with some of her favourites. From Nicki Minaj to SZA and The Weeknd, the vocalist has produced various hits. That said, one musician she truly loves made a song that now makes her feel “powerful.”
During an interview with Billboard magazine, Doja Cat named some artists that have inspired her sound over the years. Speaking about some of her favourite female musicians, Doja began, “It’s pretty obvious that I’m in love with everything Nicki Minaj has put out into the world. You have your Janets and your Beyoncés. I look at [other artists’] projects and performances and go, ‘Wow, I hope one day I get to that point.’”
Doja Cat has worked with Nicki Minaj for the remix of her chart-topping hit ‘Say So’. While speaking about her collaborations, Doja explained, “I only want to work with people I believe in and who inspire me and make me feel good.”
However, there are some people she still wishes to work with. Naming the musicians, she listed, “I really want to meet Tracee Ellis Ross — and at the same time, I’m terrified because, to me, she’s the boss at the end of the game of life that I’m living. Her and Maya Rudolph.”
Doja Cat has previously spoken with Rolling Stone about her idols and favourite tracks, naming Ms Sancha and ‘Le Jazz et La Java’ by Yves Montand as some of her favourite songs. However, the track that makes her feel powerful is a hit from the late avant-pop artist and producer SOPHIE.
According to the ‘Say So’ vocalist, ‘Ponyboy’ by SOPHIE makes her feel powerful. SOPHIE was an enigmatic artist who had written and produced for artists such as Charli XCX and Madonna, but ‘Ponyboy’ appeared on her only official release, her 2018 debut album, Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides, which also featured ‘Faceshopping’ and ‘Immaterial’.
In 2021, the artist died of a “sudden accident”, but a statement released by her family and team described the British musician as “a pioneer of a new sound, one of the most influential artists in the last decade. Not only for ingenious production and creativity but also for the message and visibility that was achieved. An icon of liberation.”
One of her frequent collaborators, Charli XCX, later described SOPHIE’S effect on other female artists, insisting, “She changed my life, you know? And she changed all of our lives. Not just because of her music which, obviously, is so incredible but because of the person that she was as a person like she championed us.”
‘Ponyboy’ was the second single of SOPHIE’s debut album Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Inside and has accrued over 8 million streams on Spotify.