Doechii to the Front of the Class

The rapper from Tampa is about to be everywhere.

- By Cat Cardenas

IT'S A HOT JUNE DAY in Studio City, Los Angeles, and Doechii is sitting in the passenger seat of a Rolls-Royce, bobbing her head to her own song Bitches Be. Her voice in the chorus is low and full until her words start to slur in the next verse. The 23-year-old rapper has already been drawing comparisons to her idols-Nicki Minaj, Azealia Banks, and SZA-and while their influence on her music is undeniable, her southern flair and the aughts-era hip-hop and R&B she pulls from give each new release an element of the unexpected. The next track, Bitch I'm Nice, fades in. It's faster, and her rhymes are sharper. I'm the best thing in your life/Know this pussy good and it purr but it still got bite. She whips her head around and looks at me. It's my most cocky villain self just flexing my shit, she says with a cheeky smirk.

Doechii is at the precipice of one of the most exciting times to be an emerging artist. She has been releasing music for six years, amassing an audience on SoundCloud drawn to how cleanly she can switch from saucy and seductive croons to aggressive, staccato raps. She broke out to a wider audience in 2020 with the release of Yucky Blucky Fruitcake, which birthed a massive TikTok trend the following year. Over the line Doechii, why don't you introduce yourself to the class? users flashed old yearbook photos of themselves before revealing what they look like today. By March, she was signed to Top Dawg Entertainment, and her fourth EP is expected in August. Every day since her signing has included a business meeting or gig. Two days before we meet, she performed a medley of her songs Persuasive and Crazy at the BET Awards, snatching off her wig midway through the performance as the crowd went wild. I only had a few days to prepare for it. I learned the dance the day before, she says, shaking her head in disbelief. I feel like I'm moving so fast.