Doja Cat's Real Name: Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini

Quick answer: Doja Cat's documented original name is Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini. Billboard uses that form and dates her birth to October 21, 1995, in "Tarzan, a suburb of Los Angeles." A GRAMMY.com profile independently uses Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini and describes her as being from Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley, without giving a calendar date (Billboard; GRAMMY.com).

Real name and early life

She is known professionally as Doja Cat. Both sources agree on Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini. Billboard dates the birth to Oct. 21, 1995, and places it in "Tarzan, a suburb of Los Angeles," a spelling that appears in that artist biography as written; the better-known San Fernando Valley place name is Tarzana, but Billboard's extract uses Tarzan. GRAMMY.com does not give a date and locates her in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley, which is compatible with a Los Angeles suburban origin. Billboard says she started making music as a teen, releasing it on SoundCloud, and that after the song "So High" she was signed at 17 to Kemosabe in 2013.

Career highlights

Billboard says she released the EP Purrr! in 2014 and her debut studio album Amala in 2018, which reached No. 138 on the Billboard 200, with "Candy" later peaking at No. 86 on the Hot 100. Sophomore album Hot Pink, it says, peaked at No. 9 and delivered her first No. 1 song, "Say So" featuring Nicki Minaj. Third studio album Planet Her reached No. 2 and included "Kiss Me More" with SZA (No. 3), which Billboard says won the Grammy for best pop duo/group performance, plus "You Right," "Need to Know," "Woman," and "Get Into It (Yuh)." GRAMMY.com independently describes her as a rapper/singer from the San Fernando Valley, dates a 2018 viral moment to the "Mooo!" video, discusses Hot Pink and its leading single "Say So," and notes the earlier EP Purrr! (2014), the track "So High," and a 2014 signing period. It also records 2021 Grammy attention around "Say So" and Best New Artist. Nicki Minaj does not have a live RealNameOf biography and is not linked here.

Name notes for searchers

Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini is the documented original name in both Billboard and GRAMMY.com. Doja Cat is the professional name. Searchers looking for the singer of "Say So," "Kiss Me More," or the albums Hot Pink and Planet Her are usually aiming at the same person.