Rules (Doja Cat song)

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"Rules"
Doja Cat - Rules.png
Single by Doja Cat
from the album Hot Pink
ReleasedOctober 24, 2019
StudioEightysevenfourteen (Los Angeles, California)
Genre
Length3:07
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Doja Cat singles chronology
"Bottom Bitch"
(2019) 		"Rules"
(2019) 		"Cyber Sex"
(2019)

"Rules" is a song by American rapper and singer Doja Cat, released on October 24, 2019, as the third single from her second studio album Hot Pink with an accompanied music video for the song being released on the same day of the single's release. The song was written by Doja Cat, Yeti Beats, Lydia Asrat, Lukasz Gottwald, Theron Thomas, Ben Diehl and Salaam Remi. The song was produced by Tyson Trax alongside Ben Billions and Remi.[2] Soon after its release, the song became popular on Twitter, and Doja Cat's performance was noted to be influenced by Kendrick Lamar.[3]

Background[]

"Rules" was released as the third single from Doja Cat's sophomore album Hot Pink as well as being the third track on the album. Doja Cat first teased the song by releasing a still from the music video on her Instagram account on October 16, 2019 as well as another shot from the video on October 22, 2019.[4][5] The song was announced upon its release along with its music video premiere.

Music video[]

On October 24, 2019, a music video was released alongside the song's release. Directed by Christian Sutton while video production was handled by Psycho Films,[6] the video portrays Doja as the boss of a Cat Mafia gang with the video taking place in the desert.[7][8]

Critical reception[]

Lakin Starling of Pitchfork wrote, "[Rules] captures a more serious—though hardly humorless—mood, pairing eerie old-western bass with Doja's memorable command: 'Play with my pussy, but don't play with my emotions.'"[9] Following the release of the song, Shaad D'Souza of The FADER placed the song on the "20 Best Pop Songs Right Now" list admiring the "loose, funky production" as well as Doja's "charisma and charm".[10]

Many publications such as Elle and Pitchfork praised "Rules" and pointed out the similarities of Doja Cat's lyrical delivery to those of Kendrick Lamar's.[11][3]

Credits and personnel[]

Credits adapted from Hot Pink liner notes.[2]

Recording

  • Engineered at eightysevenfourteen studios (Los Angeles, California)
  • Mixed at Threejonet Studios (Los Angeles, California)
  • Mastered at Bernie Grundman Mastering (Hollywood, California)

Personnel

  • Doja Cat – vocals, songwriting
  • Ben Diehl – songwriting, production, all programming, all instrumentation
  • Salaam Remi – songwriting; production, all programming, all instrumentation
  • Tyson Trax – songwriting; production, all programming, all instrumentation
  • Lydia Asrat – songwriting
  • Theron Thomas – songwriting
  • David Sprecher – songwriting
  • Kalani Thompson – engineering
  • Seth Ringo – assistant engineering
  • Tyler Sheppard – assistant engineering
  • Clint Gibbs – mixing
  • Danielle Alvarez – production coordination
  • Mike Bozzi – mastering

Charts[]

Chart (2019) Peak
position
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[12] 17
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[13] 19
US Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles (Billboard)[14] 8
US R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[15] 25

Certifications[]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[16] Platinum 40,000double-dagger
United States (RIAA)[17] Gold 500,000double-dagger
United Kingdom (BPI)[18] Silver 200,000double-dagger

double-dagger Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history[]

Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various October 24, 2019
[19]

References[]

  1. ^ Pierre, Alphonse. "New Rap Song of the Day: Doja Cat "Rules"". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Hot Pink (Media notes). Kemosabe Records.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Pierre, Alphonse (October 28, 2019). "The Ones: Doja Cat's "Rules"". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  4. ^ "Doja Cat on Instagram: "I tried contact lenses for the first time. Also I have a surprise for you guys."". Instagram. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  5. ^ "Doja Cat on Instagram: "I got something completely new for you guys on Thursday. #HOTPINK