Doechii

Doechii lived in New York City prior to the COVID-19 pandemic before relocating to Los Angeles. During her early years in the music industry, she connected with audiences by posting lifestyle vlogs on YouTube, sharing personal reflections and behind the scenes moments from her career.

Doechii has been open about her identity and personal growth. She previously identified as bisexual and later came out as a lesbian. She has shared that growing up in a religious environment made it challenging to embrace her sexuality until she attended a performing arts high school with a supportive peer group. In 2024, Doechii announced that she had achieved sobriety, giving up alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine after recognizing that excessive drinking during the creation of her mixtape was hindering her personal well-being.

Jaylah Ji'mya Hickmon was born on August 14, 1998, in Tampa, Florida. She was raised primarily by her mother, Celesia Moore, and grew up alongside younger twin sisters. Her father recorded professionally under the name Snatcha Da Boss, and she had an uncle who was also a rapper. Raised in a devout Christian household, she spent much of her childhood participating in church activities, singing gospel music, and performing with the church marching band. Outside of church, she practiced ballet, tap dance, gymnastics, and soccer.

Doechii developed an interest in performance early on, creating her musical alter ego in sixth grade to overcome bullying in school. She attended Howard W. Blake High School, a performing arts institution in Tampa, focusing on vocal tech and classical choral singing before graduating in 2016. While she originally contemplated a career in choral music, encouragement from friends pushed her to create and release original tracks online. In 2016, she debuted the song "Girls" on SoundCloud under the name Iamdoechii.

To sharpen her songwriting skills, Doechii embarked on a self-directed challenge in 2018 to write a song every day for three months. Inspired by reading the self-help book The Artist's Way, she shifted toward deeply personal and vulnerable lyrics. She self-released her first EP, Coven Music Session, Vol. 1, in 2019, followed by the self-funded 2020 EP Oh the Places You'll Go. The latter featured "Yucky Blucky Fruitcake", which became a viral sensation on TikTok in 2021 and caught the attention of major record labels.

In March 2022, Doechii signed a joint recording deal with Top Dawg Entertainment and Capitol Records, making her the first female rapper on the Top Dawg roster. Soon after, she released the solo single "Persuasive" and collaborated with David Guetta, Afrojack, Bia, and Missy Elliott on the track "Trampoline". In August 2022, she released her major-label debut EP, She / Her / Black Bitch, which included a remix of "Persuasive" featuring labelmate SZA.

Her commercial momentum accelerated with the release of the 2023 single "What It Is (Block Boy)", featuring Kodak Black. The song earned platinum certification from the RIAA and marked her first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100. In addition to her music releases, Doechii expanded into performance and acting, making her feature film debut as Trina in the 2023 drama Earth Mama, directed by Savanah Leaf. She also performed at Coachella and joined major concert tours as an opening act for SZA and Doja Cat.

In August 2024, Doechii released her mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal to widespread critical acclaim. The project showcased her dynamic lyricism and versatile delivery across tracks such as "Nissan Altima", "Boom Bap", and "Denial Is a River". The mixtape reached the top ten of the Billboard 200 and peaked at number two on the Billboard Top Rap Albums chart.

At the 67th Annual Grammy Awards in 2025, Alligator Bites Never Heal won Best Rap Album, placing Doechii alongside Lauryn Hill and Cardi B as one of the few women to win the category. She also received nominations for Best New Artist and Best Rap Performance. Following the ceremony, she released the celebratory track "Nosebleeds". Billboard named her their 2025 Woman of the Year, making her the second female rapper to receive the accolade after Cardi B.

Doechii continued her commercial run in 2025 with the official digital release of "Anxiety", a track sampling Gotye and Kimbra's "Somebody That I Used to Know", which reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 and won the Grammy Award for Best Music Video. Alongside headlining her Live from the Swamp Tour, she expanded her collaborative catalog with appearances on tracks by Tyler, the Creator, Katy Perry, Jennie, the Weeknd, and SZA.