Read our Spring 2025 cover story with Doechii here

In the wake of Doechii winning the Grammy for Best Rap Album earlier this month, clips from her 2019 webcam rant about being fired from her nine-to-five have been all over social media. Featuring the newly-crowned swamp queen of rap eating crisps and laughing about “having nothing to lose” the video is painfully relatable. More than anything, however, watching the video today illustrates just what a meteoric rise Doechii has had over the last five years. Now with a Grammy and a Dazed cover under her belt, if nothing else, she definitely has something to lose. 

What’s more, the project for which Doechii won the Grammy, Alligator Bites Never Heal, is a wholly uncompromising record. Between breakneck flows reminiscent of Busta Rhymes and snares so loud they make you wince, the project is unapologetically boom bap – and there’s not a mainstream throwaway track in sight. It arrives as the latest in a rather eclectic career for Doechii, following her self-proclaimed ‘pop era’ in 2023, an appearance in the BAFTA-winning feature film Earth Mama that same year, and most recently, storming the runway at DSquared2’s 30th anniversary at LFW earlier this week.

In honour of her new Dazed cover, we look back at five times Doechii broke the internet.

“YUCKY BLUCKY FRUITCAKE”

Years before the release of Alligator Bites Never Heal, Doechii got her first viral break with the “Yucky Blucky Fruitcake” freestyle in 2020. Arriving just one year after she posted her infamous webcam video, it’s fitting that the track opens with rap’s soon-to-be-golden child introducing herself to her newfound audience, rapping: “Hi, my name’s Doechii with two ‘i’s, I get anxious when I’m high.” 

Looking back in view of her now-global success, it’s also hard to not feel touched by Doechii’s palpable excitement about the track trending on TikTok, writing on the platform: “I can’t believe my song is trending on Tiktok 🥺🥺🥺 thank you guys so much”. 

“ALTER EGO WITH JT”

A few years later, she had her second major viral moment with “Alter Ego with JT”. With the video for the track casting Doechii in a bikini firing a shotgun into a pitch-black swamp while rapping about how “these hoes ain’t fazing me”, it’s clear that she was already growing into her superstar persona. 

Arriving towards the end of Doechii’s self-proclaimed ‘pop era‘, the track features a club-ready bassline and four-on-the-floor house kicks alongside braggadocious rap lyrics. “I accidentally created my own genre with this one,” Doechii said of the track when it released. “When they ask you, tell ’em it’s ‘editorial rap’: if hip hop and house music had a baby.”

TINY DESK CONCERT

Continuing her rise to greatness in 2024 was Doechii’s Tiny Desk Concert, which, in the space of just over two months, has become one of the most-viewed performances on the platform. It’s clear to see why, too, with the video delivering all the infectious energy and breakneck rap flows of Alligator Bites Never Heal alongside a full live ensemble. From the thinly-veiled delulu of “Denial is a River”, to the fearsome rage of “CATFISH”, Doechii and the gang create a live rendition that’s greater than the sum of ABNH’s parts.

What’s more, the performance is doubly significant for also arriving the same week as her similarly viral appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Swapping a live band for two identically-clad doppelgangers who mirror her every move, this performance showcases Doechii’s knack for musical theatre-esque storytelling.

“DENIAL IS A RIVER” MUSIC VIDEO

“Hey, I thought it was all over!” says the sample on the intro to “Denial is a River”. Nope, not quite, because the track went viral for a third time when Doechii finally dropped the “Denial is a River” music video on January 2, 2025. 

Featuring the canned laughter and sepia tones of 80s American sitcoms, the music video is full of easter eggs. There are appearances from rapper-comedian Zack Fox (as ‘the old dude from 2019’), hood punk rocker Teezo Touchdown, Top Dawg Entertainment top dog Anthony Tiffith, and even a nod to The Prince of Bel-Air’s iconic scene in which Jazzy Jeff is tossed off the mansion steps. In true Doechii fashion, the video culminates with the swamp queen breaking the fourth wall when she turns to confront the studio audience in the track’s third half. 

EVERYTHING ABOUT THE GRAMMYS 

Completing Doechii’s rise to rap royalty are not one, but two viral moments surrounding her Grammy win earlier this month. First, there was the aforementioned resurgence of her 2019 webcam rant, often appearing spliced together with her acceptance speech. It’s a powerful contrast. Where 2019 Doechii was a music industry hopeful stating her resolve to apply for internships at recording studios and record labels, 2025 Doechii now stands as an example for others to follow, announcing on-stage at the Grammys: “Don’t allow anyone to project any stereotypes on you, tell you that you’re too dark or that you’re not smart enough. You are exactly who you need to be, and I am a testimony!”

Broadcast simultaneously with this tearful speech, however, was a second power move from the swamp queen: surprise track “Nosebleeds”. Recorded ahead of the ceremony and queued perfectly to drop alongside news of her Grammy win, “Nosebleeds” acts as somewhat of a victory lap on Doechii’s legendary run over the last year. “‘Will she ever lose?’ I’ll guess we’ll never know,” she raps on the track, before closing with the lines: “I've been at a place where it was hard as it could get… this my lifestyle, guess you'll never know.” In light of all of the viral moments above, and the uncertainty that plagued her career just five years ago, it’s a confidence that’s well-deserved. Gwarn Doechii. 

Read our Spring 2025 cover story with Doechii here.