Doja Cat connects with her roots at Coachella
. . . as she performs with Durban group The Joy
IN another moment of Mzansi pride amplified on the world stage, Grammy award-winning superstar Doja Cat performed on the main stage at Coachella with the South African acapella group, The Joy,
The five member Durban group has become quite the international phenomenon, becoming known for their high-profile live appearances. They recently also appeared on the ‘The Jennifer Hudson Show’.
The Joy opened the performance alongside Doja Cat after they were hand-selected by her as a guest.
The Joy provided lead vocals alongside the American rapper on two of her tracks; recent single, “Acknowledge Me” and “Shutcho” which was re-imagined to incorporate lyrics in Zulu.
Videos of the group’s performance on stage with Doja Cat, whose real name is Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini, have gone viral with many praising the superstar for bringing the group on stage.
Doja Cat is the daughter of South African actor Dumisani Dlamini who is also from Durban, South Africa and is of Zulu descent, making the performance extra special, as it showed the artist touching on her roots.
In a previous interview with US broadcaster Ebro Darden on his ‘Apple Music 1’ show Doja Cat admitted that her dancers plugged her with music from South Africa.
Doja Cat’s father, Dlamini, is well known for his role as “Crocodile” in popular film ‘Sarafina’ but Doja Cat has actually never met him.
Her parents connected when Dlamini was in the States, but upon his return to South Africa, disconnected.
Doja Cat in her interview with Darden acknowledged her father’s talents and how in awe she is of his artistry.
“My dad is so good at dancing; he’s a goated (Greatest Of All Time) dancer. It’s unbelievable, there’s this one video that my mom showed me.
“There’s one of him performing on Broadway I believe, his whole upper body was still but his feet were just like all over the place,” she said.
Maybe, after her performance with The Joy, Doja Cat will be motivated enough to brace the long haul flight to South Africa and finally visit.