In Doechii's new cover story with The Cut, the Florida-born artist opened up about her place in hip-hop, and how many of her predecessors' work has long gone unappreciated. She pointed out Lauryn Hill in particular, calling out those who have questioned the intellect of the genre. “Old-school hip-hop is vulnerability,” she explained. “I’m gravitating towards the pure skill that was incorporated [...] Anyone who doesn’t think that hip-hop is an intellectual genre, I think that assumption is rooted in racism.”
Doechii went on, revealing that she strives to inspire the next generation of young Black girls with her work. “The first album I ever purchased and ever remember listening to in full length was The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” she recalled. “The feeling that I have when I listen to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is the same feeling I want some other Black little girl to have when she listens to me. And in order for her to have that feeling, I have to talk about my feelings.”
Doechii's Grammy
This is far from all Doechii discussed during the interview, however. She also got candid about struggling with mental health issues when faced with intense bullying. “I don’t want to get super-dark,” she began, “I was getting bullied so bad that I was thinking about killing myself. I realized, Oh, f*ck, I’m gonna kill myself and then I’m gonna be the only one dead. The bullies aren’t gonna be with me, and everything they said is not coming with me either. I would just be gone."
“And then I was like, F*ck that! F*ck that sh*t! I’m not going for that!," Doechii continued. "And this wash of peace came over me, and I received ‘I am Doechii.’ But it was more like this feeling of — I made a choice, a decision. I am the most important character in this movie. This is my motherf*cking movie." She's since gone on to prove herself right, even securing her first Grammy award for Best Rap Album earlier this month thanks to her album Alligator Bites Never Heal.
