Doechii Reflects on Breaking Norms With Her Grammy-Nominated Mixtape: ‘I Have to Do It, Because I’m an Artist’

variety.com:

Steven J. Horowitz Senior Music Writer Doechii isn’t just a rapper or a singer: “I’m everything!” she roars on her song “Boom Bap.” Indeed, the tune both summarizes and lampoons the criticism that she’s faced throughout her career — that she must fit into one box in order to find success. “Overall, it’s about the frustration of ‘Why can’t you just let me be me?’” says the 26-year-old artist, born Jaylah Hickmon. “Why can’t I be respected as myself, as an individual, as everything?

I can do rap, trap, rock, pop, and I’m still great and I’m still me and that’s still valid. It’s just me fighting for people to understand me in a time where I felt like they just didn’t get it.” That should explain why she’s Variety’s Hitmakers Hip-Hop Disruptor of the Year.

The first female rapper signed to Top Dawg Entertainment, Doechii has attracted fans enamored by the theatricality and vulnerability of her kaleidoscopic style.

Her first full-length project, the mixtape “Alligator Bites Never Heal,” earned three Grammy nominations including best new artist and best rap album — the first time a female artist has been honored in the category with a mixtape format.