Doechii

Jaylah Ji'mya Hickmon was born on August 14, 1998, in Tampa, Florida,[1] where she was also raised.[2] She attended Howard W. Blake High School in Tampa and grew up doing ballet, tap dancing, acting, cheerleading, and gymnastics. She first started making music in 2015, and released her debut song "Girls" on SoundCloud in 2016 as Iamdoechii.[3] Her project, Coven Music Session, Vol. 1, was released in 2019.[4]

Doechii's debut EP, Oh the Places You'll Go, was self-funded and released in 2020.[2] It was described by Rolling Stone as a mix of pop, dance, and hip hop.[5] "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.[6][7][4] In March 2022, she signed with Capitol Records and Top Dawg Entertainment, making her the first female rapper on the latter label.[8] That same month, she released "Persuasive", her first release through Top Dawg, and appeared as a featured artist on David Guetta and Afrojack's song "Trampoline" alongside Missy Elliott and Bia.[9][10][11]

In April 2022, she released the song "Crazy". The music video, which depicts Doechii and other Black women battling each other in a parking lot mostly naked, was structured by the her and director C Prinz to show female nudity outside the male gaze and combat sexualized stereotyping of Black women. Although the label had attempted to negotiate with YouTube ahead of time, the platform ultimately placed an age restriction on the video on release, which limited its exposure.[12][13] Her sophomore EP and her first major label release, She / Her / Black Bitch, was released on August 5, 2022.[14] Her July 2022 performance of her song "Persuasive" was nominated for Push Performance of the Year at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards.[15]

Doechii performed at the 22nd Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April 2023.[16]

Rolling Stone's Mankaprr Conteh described Doechii's rap delivery as "animated" and her song narratives as "quirky". Her music has frequently been compared to that of the Notorious B.I.G., Nicki Minaj, Missy Elliott, and Azealia Banks.[8] She has described her music as alternative hip hop,[2] and has cited Minaj and Lauryn Hill as her major musical influences,[4] referring to them as "powerful women".[17]