What is CLAUDE?
Doja Cat released seven songs as a deluxe to her fourth album. What makes CLAUDE different from Scarlet, and how do these new songs relate to the original project?
Scarlet by Doja Cat was one of my most streamed albums last year, and it was the core reason why Doja was in my top five artists. So imagine my delight when she dropped the deluxe back in April, and now imagine my surprise when I saw this wasn’t a regular deluxe; it was damn near a whole EP attached to Scarlet consisting of seven brand-new songs. In fact, it even has its own name: CLAUDE (full name Scarlet 2 CLAUDE). What I appreciate most about CLAUDE is that thematically and sonically, it is just like Scarlet. It is an addition, an extension, a sequel to the original project, and not some random tracks that were added on just because. Which is unique in this day and age, as we oftentimes see artists just release a deluxe with tracks that add nothing to the project as a whole. Going back to CLAUDE, Doja’s decision to release these songs begs the question: why were they not on the original album? What separates these tracks from the original album that she separated them into two different discs? That’s what I’m here to answer.
Let’s get the two obvious ones out of the way: “URRRGE!!!!!!!!!!” and “MASC” had to be left off because they have features. Not that Doja’s knocking on features, but you can’t say “I don’t need a big feature or a new sidekick” on “Paint the Town Red” and then have A$AP Rocky (big feature) and Teezo Touchdown (new sidekick—said with respect of course!) on the same album. Now one might argue that putting them on the deluxe runs into the same problem, since “Paint the Town Red” is technically still there, but I would disagree. Since CLAUDE works like an EP and was released several months later, the intentions and purpose behind the lyrics have already done what they needed. Whatever fame and fortune Scarlet amassed was done without a big feature or a new sidekick. So putting them on the deluxe does not undermine the meaning. Also, as I mentioned earlier, on Spotify, Scarlet and CLAUDE are on two separate discs. Back in the day, that would require taking the cassette out and flipping it. So we can say that the projects are separated by an invisible barrier and treat CLAUDE like a b-side. And finally, Doja says she doesn’t need those things, not that she doesn’t want or like them. For the purpose of making good music, Rocky and Teezo are perfect additions to the project. Especially since I think “URRRGE!!!!!!!!!!” fits Scarlet’s vibe perfectly.
The next songs on the chopping block are what I’ve deemed the “topic repeaters.” “DISRESPECTFUL,” “OKLOSER,” and “PISS” reiterate things that Doja already said, and while that's not a problem necessarily, it would make sense to limit the number of times you say the same thing on the same album. “DISRESPECTFUL” is a song praising Doja’s partner and their relationship, saying things like, “The way you save me from them dogs/Baby it’s disrespectful.” But on Scarlet, we already have “Can’t Wait” and “Agora Hills” for that purpose. “PISS” is all about stunting on the other girls and showing how rich and cool Doja is (“Call the paps and get a pic, I keep passin’ on your bitch”), and trust me, she does that plenty of times throughout Scarlet on multiple tracks. “OKLOSER” is also about stunting on the girls but places more emphasis on the fact that the other girls suck (or one specific girl), and I’d argue that we see that on “Balut.” It’s not an issue to repeat certain topics on albums, because at the end of the day an album should be a project of songs that are related to each other. But what you don’t want to do is beat a dead horse. Since these themes repeat multiple times in Scarlet, we don’t need to hear them again. This way, we can have more songs on the deluxe and we can touch up on the same things while also bringing new sounds to the project.
Lastly we have “ACKNOWLEDGE ME” and “HEADHIGH,” the bookends of the album. These two songs are about vulnerability—her vulnerability with herself, with her partner, with her fans, and with the world. Scarlet is an album about power, strength, and maintaining one’s sense of self-worth while dealing with nonsense from everybody else (perhaps deservedly so, but that’s not the conversation of this article). Songs like “Fuck the Girls (FTG),” “97,” and “Love Life” are components in creating a certain I-don’t-give-a-fuck energy that Doja was emanating throughout the entire era. Not a masquerade, but a persona of her best self that was used to promote the album. But our bookends on CLAUDE disrupt that flow. “ACKNOWLEDGE ME” is about separating Doja Cat the persona from Amala Dlamini the person, who warns “Don’t you ever in your life call me Doja Cat.” It’s also about strife and expectations arising in a relationship with a superstar. “HEADHIGH” is about holding yourself above the madness, above all the haters and people praying for your downfall. Doja, contrary to what she says on Scarlet, sometimes has trouble looking past the commenters. She says, “Fatherless, I do act so fatherless/Except that’s not actin’, actually, I do lack some confidence.” Meaning that she can be shaky when reading or confronting criticisms from the public, especially on the internet. She closes her last verse with, “Hard to wish enemies well, that’s how the internet feel, hard to hold my- [head high].” These two songs expose a side of Doja that is hidden in the original album. There could be some arguments saying that “Attention” does something similar, but I would disagree. In that song, she mentions that she’s been to therapy, and now she understands everyone more clearly. She also says, “Vulnerability earned me a lot of bacon,” and I would take note of that past tense here. In her past albums, yeah, vulnerability made her a lot of money with songs like “Kiss me More” and “Streets.” However, that’s not what’s happening on Scarlet. By keeping “ACKNOWLEDGE ME” and “HEADHIGH” off the album and putting them into CLAUDE, she is able to maintain the rough, who-cares exterior of Scarlet and be open with her fans on CLAUDE.
Now no one knows what the thought process behind these tracklists was except for the Cat herself. The vibe was definitely consistent all throughout, and I think that’s a skill artists are losing. The art of making an album is being lost, but we still have some tried and true leaders in the game. More artists should work to release deluxe albums that are more than just three new songs, and we need ones that understand the power of a tracklist, and what it means when you add to it. I highly recommend you all give this project a listen, especially in anticipation of Doja Cat’s new album, which she has said will be very different from her current sounds. Until next time.
edited by Samuel Espinal, Jr.
album artwork believed to belong either to the publisher of the work or the artist.
