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Jaylah Ji'mya Hickmon (Doechii)

Biography

Doechii grew up in Tampa, Florida, where she began writing poetry and making music while in high school. Her early artistic development also included theater, dance, gymnastics, and acting. She released music independently before gaining wider attention through the viral success of “Yucky Blucky Fruitcake,” which helped establish her as an emerging voice in contemporary hip-hop.


Her early releases included Oh the Places You'll Go and she / her / black bitch. In 2022, she signed with Top Dawg Entertainment and Capitol Records, expanding her audience through a combination of rap, singing, performance, and visual storytelling. Her 2023 single “What It Is (Block Boy)” became her first Billboard Hot 100 entry and a major commercial breakthrough.


Doechii's 2024 mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal won the 2025 Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, making her the third woman to win the category and the first artist to win it with a mixtape. In 2026, “Anxiety” won the Grammy for Best Music Video. The Recording Academy currently lists Doechii with two Grammy wins and eight nominations.


BQW Impact

Doechii's work is significant to BQW because she is an openly bisexual Black woman whose public identity and music challenge conventional expectations around gender, sexuality, and contemporary hip-hop. She has publicly described herself as queer and bisexual and has spoken about relationships with women.


Her Grammy-winning work has also established a significant place for Black women within contemporary hip-hop. Her 2025 Best Rap Album win made her the third woman to receive the award and the first artist to win the category with a mixtape. Her music and visual work provide BQW audiences with a contemporary example of Black female artistic self-definition within a genre shaped by complex expectations around gender and sexuality.


Notable Works

  • Oh the Places You'll Go (2020)

    Doechii's early EP, released independently as she established her musical identity.

  • she / her / black bitch (2022)

    A five-song EP featuring “Persuasive” with SZA and exploring sexuality and self-expression.

  • What It Is (2023)

    A breakthrough single featuring Kodak Black that became Doechii's first Billboard Hot 100 entry and a major commercial success.

  • Alligator Bites Never Heal (2024)

    A Grammy-winning mixtape that earned Doechii the 2025 Best Rap Album award.

  • Anxiety (2025)

    The official single release of a song originally uploaded in 2019. It became a major viral success and won the 2026 Grammy Award for Best Music Video.

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