Doja Cat's new video for "Mooo!" is taking over the internet.
Dressed up in a cow suit, the Los Angeles artist spends nearly five minutes dancing in front of cow-related imagery as she utters catchphrases like, "Bitch I'm a cow!" Within days of it being uploaded, the lo-fi video went viral as fans realized how much fun cow memes are. It even turned Chance the Rapper into a fan.
So, where did this come from? Was it all a carefully planned viral stunt by a meme mastermind somewhere? Not quite. Doja Cat reveals that the whole thing happened spontaneously as she was goofing around with fans on Instagram Live.
"The only reason I made this song is because I bought this cow print outfit as a costume for my upcoming tour," she tells Complex. "I cheated and wore it in bed while starting to make a new song on Insta-Live. It inspired everything."
Immediately after finishing the song, she jumped straight into making the video that ended up turning "Mooo!" into a viral hit. "I did this in my room at around 5:00 p.m. after I finished making the song," Doja Cat explains. "It was getting really dark and I don’t have any lighting except for some Christmas lights in my room. I pretty much had to rush the whole thing but I had a lot of fun."
The video's lo-fi, DIY charm came as the result of a last-minute decision to use old bedding from her childhood as an impromptu green screen.
"When I was 12 I was obsessed with green and had my mom get me a bunch of green bedding for my room," she says. "I thought about doing a green screen shoot through Photo Booth and got them out of my closet and used tacks and a hammer to nail them to the wall."
She adds, "After making the song I was craving a cheeseburger so I ordered delivery and it made it to my house in time for filming. That's why I’m eating and drinking a strawberry milkshake throughout the video. The whole process of making the video took about five hours max. The song took about six."
Once the video started going viral and Twitter users turned "Bitch I'm a cow!" into a meme, Doja Cat was as surprised as everyone else that her song was getting so much attention. "The 50 supporters I hang with on Instagram Live that I make songs with, all were watching and laughing along about it," she says. "I thought this was going to be an inside joke for all of us and we had no plan of it getting anywhere further than SoundCloud."
Four months removed from the release of her debut album, Amala, Doja Cat is preparing for the tour that inspired the cow costume in the first place, and she promises "Mooo!" will be featured each night.
"I really look forward to performing it for everyone on tour in September, I think it’s gonna be crazy lit. I start touring September 12th in Austin, Texas. It’s really crazy this blew up because it’s been four months since we released my first studio album and we’re planning this tour. For this to happen right before we take off is hugely surreal."
If "Mooo!" is your introduction to the multi-talented young artist, make sure to check out Amala on iTunes/Apple Music or via Spotify below.
