Song Review: Say So

Zach Williamson '22 Lead Arts Editor

Doja Cat, born Amala Dlamini, started to hit her stride back in 2018 with her viral hit “Mooo!,” but it wasn’t until late last year when she really took the world by storm. No song speaks to her newfound success better than “Say So,” off her sophomore album, Hot Pink.

n.b.: Shortly before this article was set to be published, information regarding Doja Cat’s history of participation in alleged alt-right chat rooms online surfaced, along with a leaked song titled with an alt-right dog whistle used to mock victims of police brutality. Doja Cat has since issued a statement addressing the controversy via her official Instagram account (@dojacat), as well as streaming an Instagram Live in the late hours of the night on May 25th. The link to view her Live video with her claims and explanations can be found here: https://youtu.be/jXL2Qboetuc.

“Say So” samples Nile Rodgers’ guitar riff from Chic’s 1979 hit, “Good Times,” and it’s this disco-infused sound that makes “Say So” so infectious and danceable. Really, really, danceable. TikTok’s Haley Sharpe (@yodelinghaley) created and popularized a dance to the song in December. The song spawned over twenty million videos on the app, and the music video, released in late February, has already garnered over 100 million views. Sharpe even appeared in the 70s-esque video, directed by current visionary Hannah Lux Davis (known for her work with Ariana Grande, Halsey, and other powerful women of modern music).

But why did “Say So,” which wasn’t originally even released as a single, experience so much success? While Sharpe’s dance certainly helped, it’s Doja’s signature blend of R&B and rap that really gives the song its shine. Throughout her discography, Doja Cat shows off her complex flow alongside her vocal talent. Fans who’ve been following her since her 2018 debut LP Amala know Doja Cat doesn’t shy away from quick and rhythmic bars juxtaposed with rich harmonies, and “Say So” finds a perfect balance. The song features Doja addressing a friend, urging him to admit his feelings for her (“I’d let you had I known it, / Why don’t you say so? / [...] You want it? / Say so”). On the chorus and first verse, Doja sings in her classic light and lilting R&B tone, providing her own backup vocals and making her voice dance effortlessly on top of the song’s catchy beat, but, in the second verse, she brings out her expert flow. Starting out slow, the verse builds to a climax of quick-hitting rap begging her suitor to just admit how he feels.

After being sent to radio late last year, “Say So” experienced a steady rise in chart position on the Billboard Hot 100, but its biggest boost occurred after the song’s Nicki Minaj remix, released May 1. After eighteen weeks on the chart, the song finally went number one on May 11, the first song to do so for both artists, which is remarkable considering how long Minaj has been a success in the industry. The remix was released in two versions. The original, which leaked online in late April, was released as a gift to fans May 8, but it’s the official remix that really resonated with consumers across the artists’ fan bases. Minaj supplies two hard-hitting verses, one after a new and refreshing beat switch; in her signature style, she offers up witty double and triple entendres, smart word play, and pop culture references, providing nothing short of a phenomenal verse.

It’s important to acknowledge the underlying conflict of supporting “Say So,” however. The song was produced by Lucasz Gottwald, a.k.a. Dr. Luke, a producer with a long history in the industry. In 2014, Kesha sued Gottwald for emotional abuse and sexual harassment, and the high-profile court case controversially ruled in favor of Gottwald. For the past six years, Dr. Luke has been, for the most part, exiled by the industry, and, although he left the board of the record label he founded, Kemosabe Records, he still serves as producer for many of the songs it releases, most notably for Doja Cat and up-and-coming pop singer Kim Petras. Gottwald produced Doja’s latest hit under the pseudonym Tyson Trax, and, although he’s proven that he can generate hits that garner artists huge success (i.e. Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the U.S.A.” and Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl”), it’s paramount that his resurgence is acknowledged and questioned. Perhaps ironically, given the controversy surrounding the song’s producer, for both artists, “Say So” going number one is a huge victory. “Say So” marks the first collaboration by two female rappers to top the Hot 100, and shattered the record for “the longest wait for a first Hot 100 No. 1, by total career entries” for Minaj, simultaneously making her the only artist to hold a number one song across every Billboard chart. Along with Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé for “Savage (Remix)” and Dua Lipa for “Don’t Start Now,” five women occupied the Top 10 on the May 11 chart. Doja Cat and Nicki Minaj are reaping the benefits of their musical prowess, earning their well-deserved first No. 1 hit with “Say So.”

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Song Review: Say So