By Serena Edwards
Doechii isn’t new to the rap game, but has recently made a huge impact on the rap community. With her quirky personality and unbothered attitude, she has represented Black women and women in rap as a whole.
Her debut album, “Alligator Bites Never Heals,” earned a Grammy this year for Best Rap Album. Her songs “Boom Bap”, “Denial is A River”, and “Nissan Altima” have been fan favorites. Doechii’s rise to fame is a testament to her talent, persistence, and bold approach to music.
Doechii, who’s real name is Jaylah Ji’mya Hickmon, comes from Tampa, Florida. In 2016, she released a song called “Girls” on Soundcloud, and at the time she went by the name IAMDOECHII. Doechii pays homage to her hometown by calling herself the “Swamp Queen,” and her fans are collectively known as “The Swamp.”
Doechii started gaining recognition for her music around 2019 after being fired from her job at Chipotle. She would upload video diaries to give an inside scoop of who she was and her day-to-day life. In 2020, she uploaded a video to YouTube titled “I got fired thank God,” describing her situation and
how she planned on making the most out of it.
“So I got fired today, either way I’m going to be straight, I think tomorrow I’m just gonna go to a whole bunch of studios and ask if they have any internships open.”
She would later drop her first mixtape, “Oh the Places You’ll Go”. This mixtape was only the beginning of Doechii’s influence. Though she had not garnered a lot of recognition thus far, many fans began to flock to her music. Her resilience in finding the best in difficult solutions helped her gain a fanbase that not only related to her music but connected with her.
After her mixtape, Doechii began to rise on TikTok during COVID with her underground hit “Yucky Blucky Fruitcake,” which brought attention to her music career. That project was fully self-funded and done by Doechii herself. Following that, in 2023, she would come out with a song called “What It Is” and it would become a trend on TikTok, lasting to the present day.
In 2024, she released her mixtape, “Alligator Bites Never Heal,” where she let us dive deeper into her dynamic music career. Her trending song “Denial is a River” follows a timeline of her music career and life from 2019 to 2024.
Rapping lines such as, “Remember ole dude from 2019,” and later, “Fast forward me 2023/I’m stacking lots of cheese and making money,” she reflects on her struggles with self-confidence in 2023. “I can’t even cap no more/this is a really dark time for me/I’m going through a lot,” she raps in the song. This song later became trending on TikTok, sparking more interest in Doechii as not only an artist but as an individual.
Last year, Doechii’s career launched to new heights. She collaborated with other big artists like JT and Tyler the Creator. In the JT-featured hit single “Alter Ego,” Doechii raps with JT and shows a powerful and harmonious contrast between the rappers styles. Doechii’s ability to mesh with other artists became more apparent when Tyler the Creator’s album ‘Chromakopia’ dropped in Oct. of 2024, Doechii was featured on the song “Balloon.” This song highlighted the pair’s quirky dynamic and introduced Tyler’s fans to Doechii’s artistry.
But the cherry on top of her career was when she won a Grammy for Best Rap Album. In her speech, Doechii made sure to thank her family and stayed humble, referencing her roots and background by giving thanks to her hometown Tampa, Florida. She recognized the people who paved the way for her, and recognized that only two women before her had won this award.
“This category was introduced in 1989, and two women have won. Lauryn Hill—three women– have won. Lauryn Hill, Cardi B, and Doechii,” Doechii said.
What a lot of fans appreciated was her motivation to other Black girls with dreams.
“Don’t allow anybody to project any stereotypes on you, to tell you that you can’t be here, that you’re too dark, or that you’re not smart enough, or that you’re too dramatic, or you’re too loud,” said Doechii. Her speech resonated with many of the viewers watching.
Doechii continues to pave the way and set new standards for what artists can aspire to. Since her Grammy win, she has graced the runway for fashion house Dsquared2 and was on the cover of New York-based magazine “The Cut” for its Feb. 2025 issue.
Doechii has let it be known far and wide that you don’t have to fit into one categor- you can be anything. As Doechii said in her speech: “You are exactly who you need to be to be right where you are, and I am a testimony right now.”