Hot Pink (Video Deluxe)

As opening lines go, you can’t do much better than “Said play with my pussy, but don’t play with my emotions.” That’s how Doja Cat kicks off “Rules”, a semi-vulnerable highlight from a sophomore LP that’s forced to contend more with following last year’s “Mooo!” than her excellent debut from a few months earlier, Amala. “Mooo!” was an absurdist stunt (“Got the methane/I’m a farter/With my farmer/McDonald”) whose homespun video was designed to go viral—which it did, garnering co-signs from Chance the Rapper and Katy Perry along the way. While Hot Pink never shies away from a punchline—or much of anything, really—it also re-emphasises the California native’s artistry, whether she’s paying tribute to Nicki Minaj (“Cyber Sex”) and posteriors (“Juicy”) or making easy work of a woozy blink-182 sample (“Bottom Bitch”) and weightless West African guitar (“Won’t Bite”).