Amala(album)

Amala
Standard edition cover
Studio albumby Doja Cat
Released	March 30, 2018(2018-03-30)
Recorded	2016–2018
Studio	The Himalayas (Los Angeles, California)
Genre	Indie pop hip hop R&B
Length	45:13
Label	Kemosabe RCA
Producer	Doja Cat Tizhimself Rogét Chahayed The Arcade Troy Nöka Cambo Budo Adrian X Alizzz Richie Beats Kurtis McKenzie Tyson Trax Yeti Beats
Doja Catchronology
Purrr! (2014) Amala (2018) Hot Pink (2019)
SinglesfromAmala
"Go to Town" Released: March 9, 2018 "Candy" Released: March 23, 2018

Amalais the debutstudio albumby American rapper and singerDoja Cat.It was released on March 30, 2018, byKemosabe RecordsandRCA Records.The album's deluxe version was released on March 1, 2019, and featured her breakthrough singles "Juicy","Tia Tamera",and"Mooo!".Her first commercial release in four years, Doja Cat has expressed strong disdain towards the record for a number of reasons.

Upon its release,Amalawas initially a commercial failure and was largely ignored by critics.In August 2018, the album and Doja Cat gained attention when her novelty song "Mooo!"became aninternet meme.As a result, songs "Candy"and"Juicy"becamesleeper hits,and the album debuted on theBillboard200chart in August 2019.Amalawould eventually peak at number 138 on the chart in November 2019, coinciding with the release of her second studio album,Hot Pink.

Background and release

On March 27, 2018, Doja Cat's label announced the album viaTwitter.In addition to announcing the release date of the album, they also revealed the title of the project and its cover.When "Roll With Us" was released in February 2018 as the first promotional single, the album was originally titledBaby.Amalawas later repackaged with a deluxe version on March 1, 2019, which added three new songs: "Juicy","Tia Tamera",and"Mooo!".

The album isn't so much of a conceptual piece. It's more of a compilation and I think it shows more of my versatility as an artist. The thing about the album is that I've written so many songs on that album that are from years and years ago. And there are some songs on it that were totally new, so the album consists of three phases in my life.

— Doja Cat on the background ofAmala

Doja Cat herself has expressed strong disdain toward the record, claiming that it does not entirely represent her as an artist.She has also stated that she believes it is not a "finished album", partially due to her constantly partying and being high onmarijuanaduring its recording.Her first commercial release in four years, she revealed that it was also rushed in order to meet deadlines, and that it was made in a "difficult time" as she received "almost no support" before its release.

Singles

"Roll With Us" was released as the album's sole promotional single on February 1, 2018,and entered theSpotify'sGlobal Viral 50chart upon release.The album's lead single, titled "Go To Town", was released on March 9, 2018, along with a music video.Doja Cat further went on to promote the single by appearing onGenius' show "Verified".In an interview withEllein May 2022, she stated she regretted putting the song out, stating that her not being vocally and lyrically evolved makes the song "really difficult to listen to" for her.

A week before the album's release, "Candy",was released as the album's second single on March 23, 2018.Only a year later would the track become asleeper hitafter a dance challenge on the appTikTokwentviralin late 2019.Consequently, the single charted in countries such as Australia, Canada and the United States, the latter having the song peak at 86 on theBillboardHot 100,becoming her first solo entry on the chart.

The song "Mooo!"was originally released on August 10, 2018, exclusively toYouTubeas a music video. The track would be the first of Doja's to become aviral phenomenon,and would eventually surpass over eighty million views onYouTubeas of October 2020.The track was subsequently released commercially on streaming services,and would later serve as the first single off the deluxe edition of the album.

The second single from the deluxe edition (fourth overall), titled "Tia Tamera",featuring American rapperRico Nasty,was released on February 20, 2019.A music video was released on the next day.

Critical reception

Ranking it among their favorite albums of the first half of 2018,NPRdescribedAmalaas a "13-track collection ofbubbly,hip-hop-influencedindie pop"and" manifesto of a young woman striving to take ownership of her craft, her image and hersexuality,mi xing genres likedancehall,trap,houseandR&Bwith a healthy dose of sass and humor. "

Track listing

Amalastandard edition track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Go to Town"	Amala Dlamini Gerard Powell II David Sprecher Rogét Chahayed Rian Lewis	Tizhimself Yeti Beats[a] Chahayed[b]	3:37
2.	"Cookie Jar"	Dlamini Chahayed Sprecher Jon Millis Kurtis McKenzie	Chahayed Yeti Beats The Arcade	3:19
3.	"Roll with Us"	Dlamini Sprecher Chahayed Powell	Yeti Beats Tizhimself Chahayed	3:00
4.	"Wine Pon You" (featuringKonshens)	Dlamini Garfield Spence Sprecher Antwoine Collins	Yeti Beats Troy Nōka[b]	3:39
5.	"Fancy"	Dlamini Sprecher	Yeti Beats Doja Cat	2:59
6.	"Wild Beach"	Dlamini Collins Sprecher Elizabeth Getz Terence Coles	Troy Nōka Yeti Beats	3:24
7.	"Morning Light"	Dlamini Sprecher Cameron Bartolini Aaron Miller Aaron Harmon Jordan Reyes	Yeti Beats Cambo	3:59
8.	"Candy"	Dlamini Sprecher Joshua Karp Bartolini	Yeti Beats Budo Cambo[b]	3:10
9.	"Game"	Dlamini Sprecher Adrian Eccleston Bartolini	Yeti Beats Adrian X Cambo[b]	3:15
10.	"Casual"	Dlamini Collins Sprecher Carlos Muñoz Getz	Troy Nōka Yeti Beats Loshendrix	4:00
11.	"Down Low"	Dlamini Bartolini Christian Quirante	Cambo Alizzz	3:31
12.	"Body Language"	Dlamini Rytchi Pronzola Bartolini	Richie Beats Cambo[a]	4:05
13.	"All Nighter"	Dlamini Sprecher	Doja Cat Yeti Beats[a]	3:13
Total length:				45:13

Amala— Deluxe version (bonus tracks)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
14.	"Juicy"	Dlamini Sprecher Lukasz Gottwald Lydia Asrat	Yeti Beats Tyson Trax	3:20
15.	"Tia Tamera"(featuringRico Nasty)	Dlamini Maria-Cecilia Kelly McKenzie Sprecher Asrat	Doja Cat Kurtis McKenzie Yeti Beats[b]	3:32
16.	"Mooo!"	Dlamini Collins Sprecher Pharrell Williams Chad Hugo Jonathan Smith Michael Tyler Bobby Sandimanie Craig Lawson	Doja Cat Troy Nōka[a] Yeti Beats[a]	4:45
Total length:				56:10

Notes

• ^{^[a]}signifies a co-producer
• ^{^[b]}signifies an additional producer
• "Mooo!" contains portions of "Milkshake",as performed byKelisfrom her 2003 albumTastyand "Move Bitch",as performed byLudacrisfrom his 2001 albumWord of Mouf

Personnel

• Doja Cat– lead vocals (all tracks),engineering(track 16)
• Neal H Pogue–mi xing(tracks 1–13, 15)
• Clint Gibbs – mi xing (track 14)
• Troy Nōka – mi xing (track 16), background vocals (4)
• Rian Lewis –engineering(tracks 1–3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 13)
• Yeti Beats– engineering (tracks 3–10, 12, 13, 15)
• Macgregor Leo – engineering (track 5)
• Cambo – engineering (tracks 6–8, 10, 11)
• Kalani Thompson – engineering (track 14)
• Seth Ringo – engineering assistance (track 14)
• Tyler Sheppard – engineering assistance (track 14)
• Loshendrix – guitar (track 10)

Charts

Chart performance forAmala

Chart (2019)	Peak position
Australia Hitseekers (ARIA)	10
USBillboard200	138
USTop R&B Albums(Billboard)	16

Certifications

Certifications and sales forAmala

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)	Platinum	40,000‡
Poland (ZPAV)	Gold	10,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)	Silver	60,000‡
United States (RIAA)	Gold	500,000‡
‡Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats forAmala

Region	Date	Format	Version	Label	Ref.
Various	March 30, 2018	Digital download streaming	Standard	Kemosabe RCA
	March 1, 2019		Deluxe