Jaylah Ji'mya Hickmon (born August 14, 1998), known professionally as Doechii ( ), is an American rapper and singer. Her songs became on TikTok in 2021 and she signed recording contracts with Top Dawg Entertainment and Capitol Records in 2022. Her single "What It Is (Block Boy)" (2023), which features Kodak Black, became her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 and received a platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). That same year, she made her acting debut with the drama film Earth Mama.
Doechii's second mixtape, Alligator Bites Never Heal (2024), peaked inside the top 10 of the Billboard 200 and was met with critical acclaim. It won Best Rap Album at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards, making her the third female artist to win in the category. It spawned the singles "Nissan Altima", "Boom Bap", and "Denial Is a River". Its bonus single, "Anxiety", became her first song to debut in the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the first to peak in the top 10. She was additionally featured on the remix of the Weeknd and Playboi Carti's "Timeless" in May 2025.
Doechii has guest appeared on several tracks including Tyler, the Creator's "Balloon" (2024) and Jennie's "ExtraL" (2025). Her accolades include a Grammy Awards and nominations for two MTV Video Music Awards, a BET Awards, and two Soul Train Music Awards. Additionally, Billboard Women in Music named her a Rising Star in 2023 and Woman of the Year in 2025.
One of Doechii's first projects, Coven Music Session, Vol. 1, was released in 2019, and her debut EP, Oh the Places You'll Go, was self-funded and released in 2020. It was described by Rolling Stone as a mix of pop, dance, and hip hop. "Yucky Blucky Fruitcake", a single from the EP released in September 2020, was inspired by her reading The Artist's Way and went viral on TikTok in 2021, earning her attention from record labels. Also in 2021, she released her second EP, Bra-Less; she was featured on Isaiah Rashad's song "Wat U Sed" from his album, The House Is Burning, which she performed with Rashad at the 2021 BET Hip Hop Awards; and was an opening act during SZA's 2021 tour.
In March 2022, Doechii was signed to Capitol Records by Chris Turner and to Top Dawg Entertainment, making her the first female rapper on the latter label. That same month, she released "Persuasive", her first single published through Top Dawg, and appeared as a featured artist on David Guetta and Afrojack's song "Trampoline", alongside Missy Elliott and Bia. In April 2022, she released the song "Crazy" with a music video. Her second EP and her first major label release, She / Her / Black Bitch, was released on August 5, 2022. Her July 2022 performance of her song "Persuasive" was nominated for Push Performance of the Year at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards.
In April 2023, Doechii performed at Coachella. Also in 2023, she made her acting debut in Earth Mama, a drama film directed by Savanah Leaf. In the same year, she performed as an opening act on Doja Cat's The Scarlet Tour (2023).
In August 2024, she released her second mixtape, Alligator Bites Never Heal, to critical acclaim. Pitchfork called it "her most ambitious and musically diverse release" filled with "playful and melodic sides without skimping on hard-hitting hip-hop". The mixtape won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards, making her the third woman to win in the category. Shortly after the event finished airing, she released the song "Nosebleeds" as a celebration of her win. Throughout 2024, Doechii featured on multiple songs: Katy Perry's "I'm His, He's Mine" (from her album 143), Tyler, the Creator's "Balloon" (from his album Chromakopia), and Banks's "I Hate Your Ex-Girlfriend" (from her 2025 album Off with Her Head). Variety named her the 2024 Hitmakers Hip-Hop Disruptor of the Year.
Doechii appeared as a guest judge on a January 2025 episode of RuPaul's Drag Race season 17, with her song "Alter Ego" featured in a lip-sync competition. The song's exposure in the episode resulted in significant chart increases across music streaming platforms. In February 2025, Doechii appeared as a feature on Jennie's song, "ExtraL". Doechii was nominated for Best New Artist and Best Rap Performance, and won Best Rap Album for the 2025 Grammy Awards. She also received several nominations for the 2025 NAACP Image Awards, including Outstanding New Artist, Outstanding Female Artist, Outstanding Music Video/Visual Album, and Outstanding Album. In 2025, Doechii became the second female rapper to receive the Billboard Woman of the Year award, following Cardi B in 2020. In March of the same year, she officially released the single "Anxiety" to digital streaming platforms, which prominently samples Gotye and Kimbra's 2011 single "Somebody That I Used to Know" and was originally a part of her 2019 self-released mixtape, Coven Music Session, Vol. 1. It had first been sampled by Sleepy Hallow for his eponymous 2023 song before Doechii's original version became popular on TikTok. In May of that year, Doechii was featured on the remix of Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd and fellow rapper Playboi Carti's 2024 song "Timeless".
Doechii has cited Lauryn Hill as her biggest inspiration and referred to her as a hero, stating that she grew up listening to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and Hill's 2002 song "I Gotta Find Peace of Mind". Reflecting on Hill's influence, she said, "Listening to her all the time as my influence…I feel like it built this understanding that I have about resonating and being vulnerable in my music even though it can still bop. It can still rock". Her early viral track "Yucky Blucky Fruitcake" has drawn comparisons to the interludes on The Miseducation for its classroom-style introduction, in which a teacher figure prompts Doechii to introduce herself.
She has also named Nicki Minaj as a key influence, particularly on her rapping style, stating, "I always adored her and thought she was really incredible". In addition to Minaj, she has cited Kanye West, Tyler, the Creator, Kendrick Lamar, and SZA as her major musical influences, and expressed admiration for artists including Trick Daddy, Grace Jones, Paramore, Madonna, KRS-One, and MF Doom.
At the BET Awards 2025, Doechii condemned US President Donald Trump for "ruthless attacks", referring to military deployment amidst the June 2025 Los Angeles protests. She also stated her support for Black people, Latino people, trans people, and people in the Gaza Strip amidst the Gaza genocide.
2023 ! scope="row" | Earth Mama | Trina | |
2025 ! scope="row" | RuPaul's Drag Race | Herself | Season 17, episode 2; guest judge |
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