Doechii
American rapper (born 1998) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jaylah Ji'mya Hickmon (born August 14, 1998), known professionally as Doechii (/ˈdoʊtʃi/), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. She first gained attention on TikTok, leading her to sign with Top Dawg Entertainment and Capitol Records in 2022. Her 2023 single "What It Is (Block Boy)", which features Kodak Black, became her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 and received a platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[1]
Doechii | |
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_(cropped).png) Doechii performing at the Grammy Museum in 2024 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jaylah Ji'mya Hickmon |
| Also known as | Iamdoechii |
| Born | August 14, 1998 Tampa, Florida, U.S. |
| Genres | Hip-hop |
| Occupations |
|
| Discography | Doechii discography |
| Years active | 2016–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | iamdoechii |
Doechii's third mixtape, Alligator Bites Never Heal (2024), peaked at number 12 on the Billboard 200 and was met with critical acclaim. It won Best Rap Album at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards, making her the third female artist to win in the category. It spawned the singles "Nissan Altima" and "Denial Is a River". Her 2025 single "Anxiety" became her first song to debut in the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100[2] and the first to peak in the Top 10.[3]
Doechii has guest appeared on several tracks including "Balloon" by Tyler, the Creator and "ExtraL" (2025) by Jennie. She made her feature film debut in the 2023 drama Earth Mama. Her accolades include a Grammy Award from three nominations and the 2023 Rising Star and 2025 Woman of the Year awards from Billboard Women in Music. She has also received nominations for two MTV Video Music Awards, a BET Award, and two Soul Train Music Awards.
Early life
Jaylah Ji'mya Hickmon was born on August 14, 1998, in Tampa, Florida, where she was raised.[4][5] Her father and uncle were both rappers, and her father recorded professionally.[6] She has younger twin sisters.[7] She has described her upbringing as Christian.[8] Doechii attended Howard W. Blake High School and grew up performing ballet, tap dancing, acting, cheerleading, doing gymnastics, and playing soccer.[9] She planned to become a professional choral singer until a friend encouraged her to produce and release her music online as an independent artist.[10] In 2016, she sold hoodies with the phrase "Stay woke. Stay black." in protest of police brutality.[11][12]
Career
Summarize
Perspective
Doechii started writing poetry and rap lyrics in high school and had started making music by 2014. Doechii released her debut song "Girls" on SoundCloud in 2016 under the name Iamdoechii.[13]
One of Doechii's first projects, Coven Music Session, Vol. 1, was released in 2019, and her debut EP, Oh the Places You'll Go, was self-funded and released in 2020.[14][5] It was described by Rolling Stone as a mix of pop, dance, and hip hop.[15] "Yucky Blucky Fruitcake", a single from the EP released in September 2020, was inspired by her reading The Artist's Way and went viral on TikTok in 2021, earning her attention from record labels. Also in 2021, she released her second EP, Bra-Less; she was featured on Isaiah Rashad's song "Wat U Sed" from his album, The House Is Burning, which she performed with Rashad at the 2021 BET Hip Hop Awards; and was an opening act during SZA's 2021 tour.[16][17][14]
In March 2022, Doechii was signed to Capitol Records by Chris Turner and to Top Dawg Entertainment, making her the first female rapper on the latter label.[18][19] That same month, she released "Persuasive", her first single published through Top Dawg,[20] and appeared as a featured artist on David Guetta and Afrojack's song "Trampoline", alongside Missy Elliott and Bia.[21] In April 2022, she released the song "Crazy" with a music video.[22][23] Her second EP and her first major label release, She / Her / Black Bitch, was released on August 5, 2022.[24] Her July 2022 performance of her song "Persuasive" was nominated for Push Performance of the Year at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards.[25]
In April 2023, Doechii performed at Coachella.[26] Also in 2023, she made her acting debut in Earth Mama, a drama film directed by Savanah Leaf.[13] In the same year, she performed as an opening act on Doja Cat's The Scarlet Tour (2023).[27] In August 2024, she released her third mixtape, Alligator Bites Never Heal, to critical acclaim.[28][29][30] Pitchfork called it "her most ambitious and musically diverse release" filled with "playful and melodic sides without skimping on hard-hitting hip-hop".[31] The mixtape won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards, making her the third woman to win in the category.[32][33] Shortly after the event finished airing, she released the song "Nosebleeds" as a celebration of her win.[28] Throughout 2024, Doechii featured on multiple songs: Katy Perry's "I'm His, He's Mine" (from her album 143),[34] Tyler, the Creator's "Balloon" (from his album Chromakopia),[35] and Banks's "I Hate Your Ex-Girlfriend" (from her 2025 album Off with Her Head).[36][37] Variety named her the 2024 Hitmakers Hip-Hop Disruptor of the Year.[38]
Doechii appeared as a guest judge on a January 2025 episode of RuPaul's Drag Race season 17, with her song "Alter Ego" featured in a lip-sync competition. The song's exposure in the episode resulted in significant chart increases across music streaming platforms.[39] In February 2025, Doechii appeared as a feature on Jennie's song, "ExtraL".[40] Doechii was nominated for Best New Artist and Best Rap Performance, and won Best Rap Album for the 2025 Grammy Awards.[33] She also received several nominations for the 2025 NAACP Image Awards, including Outstanding New Artist, Outstanding Female Artist, Outstanding Music Video/Visual Album, and Outstanding Album.[41] In 2025, Doechii became the second female rapper to receive the Billboard Woman of the Year award, following Cardi B in 2020.[42] In March of the same year, she officially released the single "Anxiety" to digital streaming platforms, which prominently samples Gotye and Kimbra's 2011 single "Somebody That I Used to Know" and was originally a part of her 2019 self-released mixtape, Coven Music Session, Vol. 1. It had first been sampled by Sleepy Hallow for his eponymous 2023 song before Doechii's original version became popular on TikTok.[43][44][45]
Musical style
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Perspective
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Rolling Stone's Mankaprr Conteh described Doechii's rap delivery as "animated" and her song narratives as "quirky". Her music has been compared by critics to that of Nicki Minaj, Doja Cat, and Missy Elliott.[19][46] Doechii has described her style of music as alternative hip hop,[5] and credits Busta Rhymes for inspiring her expressive performance approach, stating, "There's so many different emotions that I feel like you don't have to emote in one way. Hip-hop gives you so much room to be animated. I'm a theater kid as well, so I like to create characters".[47]
Doechii has cited Lauryn Hill as her biggest inspiration and referred to her as a hero, stating that she grew up listening to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and Hill's 2002 song "I Gotta Find Peace of Mind".[48][49] Reflecting on Hill's influence, she said, "Listening to her all the time as my influence…I feel like it built this [understanding] that I have about resonating and being vulnerable in my music even though it can still bop. It can still rock".[50] Her early viral track "Yucky Blucky Fruitcake" has drawn comparisons to the interludes on The Miseducation for its classroom-style introduction, in which a teacher figure prompts Doechii to introduce herself.[51]
She has also named Nicki Minaj as a key influence, particularly on her rapping style, stating, "I always adored her and thought she was really incredible".[52][53] In addition to Minaj, she has cited Kanye West, Tyler, the Creator, Kendrick Lamar, and SZA as her major musical influences,[14][54][55] and expressed admiration for artists including Trick Daddy, Grace Jones, Paramore, Madonna, KRS-One, and MF Doom.[6]
Personal life
Doechii currently resides in Los Angeles, having lived in New York City before the COVID-19 pandemic, during which she published YouTube vlogs about her daily life.[56] Doechii is bisexual.[57] She disclosed in a 2024 interview with Joe Budden that she had recently become sober following years of heavy drinking.[55]
Discography
Mixtapes
- Coven Music Session, Vol. 1 (2019)
- Oh the Places You'll Go (2020)
- Alligator Bites Never Heal (2024)
Extended plays
- Bra-Less (2021)
- She / Her / Black Bitch (2022)
Tours
Headlining
- Alligator Bites Never Heal Tour (2024)
Supporting
- Doja Cat – The Scarlet Tour (2023)[58]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Earth Mama | Trina | [59] |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | RuPaul's Drag Race | Herself | Season 17, episode 2; guest judge |
Awards and nominations
| Organization | Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Music Awards | 2025 | Social Song of the Year | "Anxiety" | Pending | [60] |
| Herself | Favorite Female Hip-Hop Artist | Pending | |||
| BET Awards | 2023 | Best New Artist | Nominated | [61] | |
| BET Hip Hop Awards | 2023 | Best Breakthrough Hip Hop Artist | Nominated | [62] | |
| Billboard Women in Music | 2023 | Rising Star | Won | [63] | |
| 2025 | Woman of the Year | Won | [64] | ||
| GLAAD Media Awards | 2023 | Outstanding Breakthrough Music Artist | Nominated | [65] | |
| 2025 | Outstanding Music Artist | Won | [66] | ||
| Grammy Awards | 2025 | Best New Artist | Nominated | [33] | |
| Best Rap Performance | "Nissan Altima" | Nominated | |||
| Best Rap Album | Alligator Bites Never Heal | Won | |||
| iHeartRadio Music Awards | 2024 | Best New Pop Artist | Herself | Nominated | [67] |
| Best New Hip-Hop Artist | Nominated | ||||
| TikTok Bop of the Year | "What It Is (Solo Version)" | Nominated | |||
| MTV Video Music Awards | 2022 | Push Performance of the Year | "Persuasive" | Nominated | [68] |
| 2023 | Song of Summer | "What It Is (Block Boy)" (featuring Kodak Black) | Nominated | [69] | |
| MTV Europe Music Awards | 2022 | Best Push Act | Herself | Nominated | [70] |
| NAACP Image Awards | 2025 | Outstanding New Artist | Won | [71] | |
| Outstanding Female Artist | Nominated | ||||
| Outstanding Music Video/Visual Album | "Alter Ego (ALTERnate Version)" (featuring JT) | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Album | Alligator Bites Never Heal | Nominated | |||
| Soul Train Music Awards | 2022 | Herself | Best New Artist | Nominated | [72] |
| Best Dance Performance | "Persuasive" | Nominated | |||
| Streamy Awards | 2023 | Sound of the Year | "What It Is (Block Boy)" | Nominated | [73] |
| UK Music Video Awards | 2022 | Best Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Video - International | "Crazy" | Nominated | [74] [75] |
| Best Choreography in a Video | Won | ||||
| Best Cinematography in a Video | Nominated |
References
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