Who is Doechii? The US rapper set for the big time in 2025

Doechii is a name that you're going to be very familiar with over the next year.

Yes, the US rapper, singer and songwriter has been working hard on her breakthrough moment for a few years now...but it does seem that 2025 will be the year all her hustling pays off. 

Not only making the longlist for the BBC's Sound Of...2025 list (alongside the likes of Chappell Roan and Myles Smith), last year saw the release of Doechii's third mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal, which drew acclaim from critics and superstar fans, such as SZA (who claims Doechii is her favourite artist right now), Billie Eilish and Paramore's Hayley Williams. 

But if you want to know more about the star-in-the-making before she goes supernova, we have you covered.

Who is Doechii?

Doechii is the moniker of Tampa native Jaylah Ji'mya Hickmon. Originating with original music on SoundCloud as early as 2016 (under the early alias Iamdoechii), her first release proper as Doechii came in 2020 with her independent EP Oh The Places You'll Go, although her first taste of tangible success came in 2021, when the single Yucky Blucky Fruitcake blew up on TikTok. 

Thanks to this viral hit, Doechii inked a deal with Top Dawg Entertainment (one-time home to both SZA and Kendrick Lamar) and Capitol Records in a joint venture. The became the great work of turning Doechii into an overnight sensation. And as everyone from Chappell Roan to Sabrina Carpenter will tell you - this takes years. 

Signs of a meteoric rise were there in 2023, with the release of Doechii's bouncy What It Is, one of the rare songs where she sings instead of raps. The solo version of the track became her first-ever entry on the Official Singles Chart in the UK, peaking at Number 63, while a version featuring fellow Florida MC Kodak Black became her first Top 40 entry in her native US, reaching Number 29.

As a rapper, Doechii has become notable for her animated flow. It's seen her been compared to Nicki Minaj - the blueprint for any mainstream female rapper today - and chaos queen Azealia Banks (it's no coincidence that 2024 single Alter Ego sounds like a cousin to 212). 

When it comes to her lyricism, Doechii has described the narratives included in her songs as 'quirky' and takes direct sonic inspiration from the likes of Kanye West, Lauryn Hill and Tyler, The Creator.

Why is Doechii blowing up so much right now?

We're sure if you've been on social media in the last few weeks, you would have come across a post praising Doechii, be that celebrating her making the BBC Sound Of...2025 longlist, or maybe some of the glowing platitudes she's received from famous fans like SZA, Billie Eilish and even Paramore's Hayley Williams. 

No doubt that the release of Alligator Bites Never Heal has taken Doechii into a new realm - it was highly acclaimed (named by Rolling Stone as one of Top 10 best albums of the last year), became her first project to chart in the US (peaking at Number 69 on the Billboard 200) and helped Doechii notch up three Grammy nominations; for Best Rap Album, Best Rap Performance (for Nissan Altima) and the big one, Best New Artist (which she's nominated alongside the likes of RAYE, Benson Boone and Sabrina Carpenter).  

What Doechii songs should I listen to?

We're glad you asked!

A great starting point would be 2023 banger What It Is, a bouncy pop-rap track produced by J White Did It (Cardi B), which is a notable for Doechii singing, not rapping, on the track. 

We would be remiss not to mention Alter Ego, one of the most underrated singles of 2024, a frantic house-hop cut t that bears more than a passing resemblance to the barely-contained chaos of 212, which comes chock-full of sneering one-liners traded between Doechii and former City Girls member JT. 

Doechii is also the best part of Katy Perry's I'm His, He's Mine, a clear-highlight of 143, which contains a sample of Crystal Waters's influential Gypsy Woman. It may have not made much of a dent chart-wise, but the feature alongside Katy has no doubt helped Doechii's profile rise. 

Finally, we'd recommend DENIAL IS A RIVER, the best cut from Alligator Bites Never Heal, and Balloon, a collab with one of Doechii's biggest sonic influences, Tyler, The Creator, taken from his UK Number 1 album CHROMAKOPIA.