walking upstream…
Doechii
photo: the cwe · cc by 3.0 ↗Doechii
Jaylah Hickmon built a fanbase from her Tampa bedroom, turning viral TikTok tracks like "Yucky Blucky Fruitcake" into a deal with Capitol Records and Top Dawg Entertainment, where she became the label's first-ever female rapper. Her 2024 mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal fused rap-sung confession, alter-ego theatrics, and genre-hopping production into a Grammy-winning statement, making her only the third woman to win Best Rap Album. She raps with the technical density of a battle rapper and the emotional candor of a diarist, often within the same verse.
the sound in question
2025
AnxietyDoechii
walk the tributaries ↓
Lauryn Hill1990s · Hip hop soul / Neo soul / R&B / Reggae
Doechii has called Hill her biggest inspiration and a hero, and it shows in the rap-sung hybrid delivery and confessional, unfiltered emotional writing that runs through her catalog — verses that slide between talking, rapping, and singing without announcing the shift.
listen: upstream & here
2002
I Gotta Find Peace of MindLauryn Hill
2024
Denial Is a RiverDoechii
listen forCue up Hill's 'I Gotta Find Peace of Mind' and then Doechii's 'Denial Is a River' back to back — listen for the same move: a plainspoken, half-sung confession about inner turmoil that never hides behind a persona, delivered like she's working something out in real time.
TLC1990s · R&B / Hip hop / Pop
Doechii's breakout Hot 100 single 'What It Is (Block Boy)' interpolates TLC's 'No Scrubs,' a direct, sourced link between the two acts' takes on calling out undeserving men over a slinky, girl-group-indebted groove.
listen: upstream & here
1999
No ScrubsTLC
2023
What It Is (Block Boy)Doechii
listen forPlay TLC's 'No Scrubs' first, then Doechii's 'What It Is (Block Boy)' — listen for the interpolated melodic hook TLC made famous, now filtered through Doechii's rap-sung cadence and a Kodak Black feature.
Nicki Minaj2010s · Hip hop / Pop rap / R&B
Doechii has named Minaj as a key influence on her rapping specifically, saying she 'always adored her and thought she was really incredible.' The alter-ego theatrics and rapid, voice-shifting flows Doechii builds verses around echo Minaj's own use of alternate personas and cadence switches to keep a single verse feeling like several performances stacked on top of each other.
listen: upstream & here
2010
Roman's RevengeNicki Minaj
2024
Nissan AltimaDoechii
listen forPlay Minaj's 'Roman's Revenge,' where she snaps into her Roman Zolanski alter ego mid-verse, then Doechii's 'Nissan Altima' — listen for the same trick: a sudden change in voice and attack that turns one rapper into a cast of characters without ever leaving the beat.