Meet the Woman Responsible for the Internet's New Obsession With Cows
Doja Cat has everyone singing “Mooo!”.
“B*itch I’m a cow, B*itch I’m a cow/I’m not a cat/I don’t say meow” — admit it, you’ve been singing this nonstop for the past few days. These lyrics are from the Doja Cat‘s viral parody song “Mooo!” which she reveals was made on a whim. The song’s theme was inspired by her cow-print coordinate outfit which was heavily featured in her entertaining home-made video. Between the song and the meme-worthy visual it was only a matter of time before the song took off becoming an Internet sensation.
The 22-year-old South African singer is not a newcomer to the music industry despite her recent breakout popularity. Her first EP “Purr” released in 2013, featuring the buzzy single “So High.” She went on to record her first studio album Amala which was debuted earlier this year. Ahead of her September tour, she felt the need to take a break from “serious” music resulting in the social media phenomenon that is “Mooo!”
We got a chance to catch up with Doja Cat to find out more about how the catchy track came to be.
What inspired you to write the song, “Mooo!”? Is it meant to be a parody or was it just for fun?
It’s totally for fun. The song was inspired by the cow-print costume set I wore in the video. I was trying on different things for my upcoming tour and got on Instagram Live with the top on while making the song. I’ve been making music for five years and most of it has been about love and it was becoming mushy for me so I needed a break. That resulted in a song about cows.
How did you come up with the concept for the video?
It’s really all pulled from the outfit. I love green so much that I used these sheets from when I was a kid to make a screen and hung it up with some tacks. I used the green-screen function on PhotoBooth to make the animations pop up in the back, and dragged the things I wanted on there. I also edited the video myself — it took like half a day.
What are your thoughts on the song going viral and becoming a meme? Was that your intention?
I make funny songs all the time. The last goofy one I released was “Nintendhoe” and I thought people would take to that more, so I’m really surprised to see how people have taken to this song about cows.
You just dropped Amala, but after the success of “Mooo!” do you plan on releasing another project this year?
Yes, I’m working on my second album now. I’ve been making a lot of music in the last couple of months and have a whole lineup for the next album. What is really so interesting to me, is the synchronicity of the moment. I’m watching this song blow up while planning my tour. It’s the craziest thing. The tour starts in September and this happened so unexpectedly.
Do you plan on working the song “Mooo!” into your set?
Definitely. We’re planning on throwing cheeseburgers at people. I thought that would be pretty funny.
You tweeted earlier: “I like to disappoint woke-hip-hop people”. What are some of the responses you’ve been getting from people on the Internet and do you think that artists are too serious nowadays?
I haven’t really looked at the responses from that tweet. I don’t really don’t give a sh*t anyway. There’s a world of woke and fake-deep rappers that try to use certain words to make it seem like they actually care about what’s going when they really don’t. Fans of those types of people are kind of uptight, and I would encourage them to not take life so seriously. “Mooo!” is just a joke. Get over yourself.
Can we expect more parody songs like this from you?
I want to make a cat song of course, but I’m going to let “Mooo!” run its course first.
