SHE / HER / STAR: The Genre-Bending Revolution of Doechii

The rise of the Hip-Hop phenomenon Doechii has been nothing short of a marvel to witness. Seamlessly blending experimental rap with R&B, her 2024 album Alligator Bites Never Heal won the award for best rap album at the 2025 Grammy Awards ceremony. With her debut single release 'Girls' reaching audiences via SoundCloud in 2016, under the name Iamdoechii, and her debut album, Coven Music Session, Vol. 1, releasing in 2019, it wasn’t until the following two years that she began cementing herself as a voice of a generation. The 2020 EP release of Oh the Places You’ll Go to date has over 3,000,000 streams on Spotify, a particularly impressive feat considering the release was self-funded and released originally on SoundCloud. In 2021, Yucky Black Fruitcake, the most popular song of Oh The Places You’ll Go, reached TikTok virality, starting Doechii’s journey toward the icon we all know and love her as.

With more and more people accessing her music, with her virality only spiralling upwards, it was only natural that big-time record labels would be competing for the honour of representing such a talent. The Florida-born super talent ended up making Hip-Hop history, signing with both Capitol Records and Top Dawg Entertainment, with her being the first female rap artist to sign with Top Dawg. The attention didn’t stop there, of course, with Doechii collaborating with the likes of Thom Browne, Vivienne Westwood and Valentino, repping some stellar pieces across some of her most impressive live performances. But I’ll let Harry tell you all about that…

Image: Leon Neal

With a more than impressive number of incredible live performances to date, perhaps her best came recently with her appearance at Glastonbury Festival 2025. Tens upon tens of thousands of fans witnessed what will go down in rap history, as despite perhaps one of the biggest clashes in Glastonbury history (with Charli XCX playing at the same time), Hip-Hop's queen still put on a show that has people talking weeks later. With the current audience record at Glastonbury being held by Dolly Parton at an estimated 180,000, it wouldn't be ridiculous to believe Doechii can pull similar numbers in the not-too-distant future.

Whether it be her lyrical genius, smooth flow, or bad-bitch energy, it’s clear she’s given fans a reason to fall in love. Collaborating with artists such as Tyler, The Creator, SZA, and Rico Nasty, she’s put the music scene on standby, with even the best realising there’s a legend in the making playing down our headphones. A striking mix of Lauryn Hill, Tyler, the Creator, and perhaps even Busta Rhymes, there’s something in her music for everyone. And although she has the world of music lapping up her every move, if there’s one thing we can expect, it's that she is nowhere near finished climbing. Records are there to be broken, legends are there to be collaborated with, and worlds are there to be conquered, and it would seem as though, little by little, the SHE / HER / STAR is well on her way to doing just that. Watch this space.