Doechii on How to Harness the Creativity and Confidence Needed to Be a Superstar

editorialinterview

5 Apr

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If Doechii were to write a book about her career so far, she’d call it “Alligator Bites Never Heal.” I audibly laughed when she told me this over zoom as a statement without explanation. I couldn’t help it. “What an unusual title,” I thought to myself, but Doechii is not your usual artist, and that’s what makes her so refreshing.
Even if you’re unfamiliar with the Florida-born rapper and singer by name, her infectious and outlandish lyrics live in the depths of your subconscious. The lyrics “Hi my name’s Doechii with two i’s” from her song *Yucky Blucky Fruitcake* – which went viral on TikTok in 2021 – have dominated the internet ever since its release. From that moment on, Doechii has continued to ride on an uphill wave of success. From being the first-ever female rapper to be signed to Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), securing a joint record deal with TDE and Capitol Records, placing number 17 on *The Fader’s* list of the 100 Best Songs of 2022 for her song *Persuasive* and releasing her five-track debut EP *she / her / black bitch*, which peaked at No. 23 on the Heatseekers Albums chart. The list of what she’s achieved in the last two years is endless.

Doechii – whose real name is Jaylah Hickmon – has always been a creatively ambitious person. Even though my first question about writing a book was meant to be a fun hypothetical, Doechii confessed, rather seriously, that she has always had plans to write a book since she was a little girl. “I have kept a journal since fifth grade, and I have every single one. I’ve always said to myself, ‘One day, I want to write a book.’” While Doechii was writing and plotting the book she’d one day write as an adult, she was also engaged in various other artistic pursuits. From ballet, tap dancing, acting, cheerleading, and gymnastics to writing poetry, Doechii did it all. Amidst all of this, however, she loved singing the most. “I started singing, well, as soon as I could talk, really. I went to a performing arts school for singing, and my family always pushed me to perform in front of them. I don’t know what it is about singing. I just love it, and I’ve always loved to sing my heart out.”

“I take creativity very literally. It is in everything we do. I believe lawyers have a creative flow. I believe there’s a creative flow in motherhood, our family dynamics, our emotions, and everything. Creativity is very deep for me.”

For a lot of Black girls, especially those with darker skin, there’s this feeling – as a result of the racism, classism and misogynoir that is rife in the arts – that the creative world isn’t for us. That it will always be a lot harder for us to succeed in creative spaces. But Doechii’s mum played a pivotal role in keeping her motivated and determined when it came to exploring the arts in all its different forms. “I did push myself, but my mom has always been very supportive. I went through this phase where I wanted to do things and quit and do things and then quit again. But my mom was always adamant about my musical career and taking art seriously.” Doechii’s resilient belief in herself also stems from her strong religious convictions, best exemplified in her 2020 song God from her EP Oh The Places You’ll Go. “God is an unlimited supply. There is no limitations. There is an unlimited supply of creative energy in me. There is an unlimited supply of opportunities around me.” She continues, “If I am a product of the greatest artists of all time [God], and he created everybody on this planet, everybody has the same access, everyone has access to this source.”

Music, creativity and art mean more to Doechii than just receiving praise and accolades. Her art is more than just a job. “Creative energy is what God is,” Doechii explains to me over Zoom. “Creative energy is everything. It is in everything. A plant growing is creativity. Do you understand what I’m saying? I take creativity very literally. It is in everything we do. I believe lawyers have a creative flow. I believe there’s a creative flow in motherhood, our family dynamics, our emotions, and everything. Creativity is very deep for me.” Doechii’s devotion to creativity goes way beyond herself. In 2022, she told Complex that she wants to “open as many doors as possible” for female rappers to come to TDE. Even though she is the First Lady of Rap on TDE, Doechii does not want to be the last.

“It’s weird because I was both confident and unconfident growing up. I knew I was confident. I just didn’t allow myself to be because I was worried people wouldn’t like me or they would be afraid of me.”

The last few weeks have been hectic for Doechii. From modelling for our print cover to releasing her latest single, “What It Is (Block Boy)”, and the music video accompanying it, Doechii has been working extremely hard. Instead of feeling tired, she’s elated about it all. “The photoshoot was really, really fun,” she explains.

Even though her camera is off, I can audibly hear her grinning. “The creative flow onset was just incredible. The energy was so good. We sped through looks easily, and everybody worked so well together. It was truly an amazing shoot, and the photographer was so sick. It was awesome.”

Her latest single, “What It Is (Block Boy),” which is her first single of 2023, came out on the 17th of March and is a mixture of “nostalgia and pop vibes,” according to Doechii. In several interviews last year, Doechii remarked that she wanted to focus more on singing than rapping. She told Complex “there’s a certain type of cocky rap that I got out of my system in [she/ her/ black bitch]. I’m really over that….I want more musicality in my songs. And these days, I’ve been wanting to sing more than I’ve been wanting to rap.” “What It Is (Block Boy)” is representative of her new musical shift. “In this song, I just wanted to sing,” Doechii exclaims to me. “I’ve been finding a love for singing again. My producer Jay White and I have such great chemistry in the studio. We just wanted to make a summer anthem where I just sang with a nice bridge and a catchy hook. This song is my first undeniable pop-ish song.”

The music video for “What It Is (Block Boy)” has a slightly darker aesthetic than you’d expect from Doechii. “Usually, I’m really focused on the aesthetics of Afrofuturism (a cultural aesthetic that centres Black history, culture and incorporates science-fiction, technology and futuristic elements). But I was like, “what if I just completely switch it up and do a music video with a more vintage feel?” We even did it all on film. It was my first time recording a video on film, which I thought was really cool. I love how it came out. I just wanted something that felt thematic and different.”

While “What It Is (Block Boy)” was praised by fans, it also faced significant backlash during its initial release. The song features rapper Kodak Black, who has faced several legal allegations, from sexual misconduct to assault and battery. Following criticism from fans, Doechii has since released versions of the song without Black, but some fans are still taken aback by the collaboration, questioning why she would work with someone like Black in the first place. None of us really know what compels artists to work with abusive men. But instead of continuously speculating on their behalf, our collective energy is best spent on supporting, listening and uplifting victims of domestic and sexual abuse. For survivors to recover from the abuse they endured, we must continue to denounce the perpetrators of this violence and remove them from positions of power and prestige. Despite this, Doechii is known for advocating for women. In an interview with Billboard early this year Doechii passionately expressed that she is borrowing energy from the women before her: “I’m borrowing their energy so that one day I can give it back to the girl after me. That’s what I’m here to do.”

Doechii is known for her bold style, hard-hitting lyrics and fearlessness. But she wasn’t always this confident. When Doechii was 11, she attempted suicide due to the relentless and persistent bullying she faced as a child. After her failed attempt Doechii decided then and there that the bullies would not kill her, nor would they stop her from accomplishing what she was put on this earth to achieve.

She expands on her adolescent struggles further in our interview: “It’s weird because I was both confident and unconfident growing up. I knew I was confident. I just didn’t allow myself to be because I was worried people wouldn’t like me or they would be afraid of me. I was confident, but for all those reasons I didn’t allow myself to be.” Her advice to other Black girls who are struggling to find the courage to be themselves is to just go for it: “At the end of the day, you can get all the encouragement, advice and wisdom in the world, but it all comes down to giving yourself permission to be who you know you are despite everything. To all those girls who go out there seeking this advice, you’re seeking it because you really want somebody to give you permission to do it when you know who the hell you are. So go for it because you know you’re the shit.”

This year Doechii is preparing for the ride of her life. She’s performing at Coachella, preparing to release her first full-length album, going on tour, and much more. There’s so much to be excited about, but Doechii is most excited about her album. “Girl, I want this album to be out. I’m sick of the anxiety. I’m just like God, let’s get this thing out!” Doechii’s first album is her baby. As a result, she’s incredibly secretive about it, but did reveal that her fans are in for a treat. “The intro is sickening! That’s one thing I can tell you: it is sickening. But other than that, there’s nothing really to tell. Not right now anyway, but soon.” If the last two years of her monumental career have shown us anything, it’s that Doechii’s work is more than worth the wait.