12 songs that capture Doechii’s genre-bending brilliance

Doechii's presence on the rap scene has gone from newcomer to rising force. The business is finally awarding her the degree of notice she's so long deserved. But aside from accolades, what truly differentiates her from the competition is the way that music won't neatly fit into categories. She is great at polarity, easily switching between silken melodic streams and explosions of raw feeling.

Her music feels lived-in and despondent, like she's inviting listeners into her rawest thoughts. Songs such as Anxiety and Alter Ego don't just illustrate her range; they illustrate an artist who's determined to push against structure, tone, and even comfort. This instability is not a tic, it's her signature, and it's the reason she is among the most compelling voices reimagining what hip-hop can sound like today.

From Florida, Jaylah Hickmon, aka Doechii, started crafting her artistic voice in high school, gradually honing her craft as a rapper, singer, and songwriter. She initially made waves on SoundCloud, where her initial releases foreshadowed the genre-bending creativity to follow. Her growing momentum eventually led her to a deal with Five 5 and, more significantly, a spot on the powerhouse roster of Top Dawg Entertainment, a label celebrated for cultivating visionary artists like Kendrick Lamar and SZA.

Landing in such a rarefied creative space isn't just a co-sign; it’s a signal that Doechii’s trajectory is aimed at something far beyond typical industry success. Doechii is not just copying the footsteps of TDE legends, she's carving out her own path alongside them.

Doechii has created a path that is hers alone, opting for originality over imitation at every turn. Her style is a bold mixture of art, attitude, and edge, never static, always intentional. From the over-the-top visuals to her incendiary stage shows, she possesses a theatricality that upends expectations of what a new star should look and sound like.

In a flash of unity, she is a force of unbridled, assertive energy, smashing the mold rather than filling it out. Backed by Top Dawg Entertainment, she's rewriting the style guide, performance playbook, and stage presence manual of modern hip-hop.

Disclaimer: This article contains the writer's opinion. The reader's discretion is advised!

---

Here's the top 10 Doechii songs of all time

Here is the all-time top 10 Doechii tracks, a list that reflects the essence of her frenetic work and unapologetic individuality. These are not just fan favorites or trend turns; they're benchmarks that trace her path from underground phenomenon to genre-defying giant.

Each one of them reflects a specific facet of her artistry, whether manic intensity, acidic slashes of lyrics, emotional vulnerability, or unapologetic confidence. Together, they encapsulate what Doechii is doing beyond merely riding shotgun on today's hip-hop tide, she's rewriting it, one boundary-breaking drop at a time.

1) Denial Is A River

Denial Is A River from the album Alligator Bites Never Heal (2024) is akin to an internal monologue over a dreamworld soundtrack, intimate, reflective, and quietly fierce. It's not so much a traditional confessional as Doechii constructs a sonic mirror that reflects phases of feeling under a gauzy veil of piano and skeletal production.

It's more of a thought process than a performance, with each line dissecting denial, doubt, and self-confrontation.

The chorus doesn't burst but floats in like a specter, dissolving the space between understanding and bewilderment. There's a movie-like silence to the song, as if witnessing one person grappling with their truth in real-time under neon lights. It's more of an atmosphere than a story, a dark, creeping dive into self-consciousness that imprints itself well after the last note.

Read More: The 10 greatest Pink Floyd songs of all time

---

2) Persuasive feat. SZA

Persuasive wasn't just a success, it was career-defining for Doechii, her official signing to TDE as the label's female rapper. Released in March of 2022, it was a quick standout, Best of 2022 on major outlets such as Vulture, Billboard, and The Fader. It's laid-back, bass-dropping instrumental mix of house and hip-hop beats makes the song a soothing anthem, one meant to mobilize and bring together.

Doechii's rap delivers a cheeky drawing of reigning high on top of the world, and SZA's guest verse on the remix merely extended the song's impact further. Their laid-back chemistry while performing live is the promise of Doechii's eclecticism, to be a rapper, singer at will, to deliver an advantage of sound one moment that's edge-cutting, but the next time-less.

Persuasive is convincing as much as it's also a sign of Doechii's multi-textured ability and unyielding declaration that she can be found elsewhere.

Read More: 8 must-listen Elvis Presley songs of all time

---

3) Nissan Altima

Alligator Bites Never Heal single Nissan Altima kicks in with an aggressive, unsettling sound that you can't deny from the very first note. The beats take on a dichotomy of ahead-of-its-time club beats and grimy, glitch textures, an eerie yet engrossing atmosphere. The pulsing rhythm is unrelenting, like it's driving you down an electrified urban landscape.

Doechii's rhymes reflect the manic vibe of the song, veering from frantic verses to smooth, near-hypnotic choruses effortlessly, never breaking a sweat, always leaving you guessing. The vibe is dark and ominous, racing down a neon strip, risk and exhilaration side by side. Every element of the song is crafted to have you in its hold, so you just can't help but continue playing it after it starts.

---

4) Crazy

Crazy is Doechii's most frenzied and unapologetic, a jolt of frenzied brilliance that differentiated her from the beginning. Not bothered with mainstream finesse, the song goes headlong into razor-like rapid-fire delivery and raw emotion, tapping into an intensity that feels both deliberate and natural.

It didn't make a timely splash on broad charts, but its belated acknowledgment, most notably after she won her Grammy, demonstrates the extent to which it touched those listening back.

The strength of the song is not only its music, but its message: a statement of unbridled creativity and inescapable energy. Complemented by a bold image defying conventions about female anger and freedom, Crazy serves as both an art statement and transition for Doechii, heralding the arrival of a genre-bending artist willing to be loud on her own terms.

---

5) Yucky Blucky Fruitcake

Yucky Blucky Fruitcake isn't an intro, it's a statement. In this song, Doechii doesn't build up to the stage; she blows the door open with a monologue that reads more like a chat than a performance. She weaves together personal anecdotes and acidic humor, writing a coming-of-age story that avoids tropes and plunges headfirst into the messy, real stuff of who she is.

The relaxed rhythm provides her space to wander, but it's her charm and quirky sense of humor that keep you engaged. It's the type of song that doesn't attempt to impress; it simply is loudly, assertively, and on its own terms, announcing from the get-go that Doechii wasn't here to fit in.

---

6) Stressed

Doechii released Stressed in October 2022, but peels back the curtain on her own inner world to show a naked, unvarnished picture of her emotional burden. At 26, she examines over a decade of unresolved anguish, broaching personal struggles with drug use, abuse, and the residual impacts of her earlier life.

One of the standout lyrics, "I've got like thirteen years of age that I ain't still got off my chest", strikes like a revelation, not to be pitied but to clarify. The song doesn't simply prove her chops as a lyrical writer; it's an act of release, a fearless decision to open up and let it all out as she battles the stress that comes with rising fame.

Instead of hiding behind the sheen of achievement, Doechii is in your face about the conflict between public acclaim and personal hardship, and that candor is what sets this track apart from the rest of her output.

---

7) Balloon (feat. Doechii)

In Balloon, Doechii graphically illustrates the vulnerability of happiness, comparing it to the lightness of a balloon. The performance is a mix of a sense of carefree energy and a deeper, more reflective message, showcasing her capacity to combine joy with deep reflection.

This artistic growth demonstrates her capacity to play around with light-hearted themes while still providing meaningful reflections.

---

8) Black Girl Memoir

Black Girl Memoir is more than a track, it's a close proclamation, a moment where Doechii pulls away all the blankets and communicates in plain soul. Released in November of 2020, it did not receive much attention at the beginning, but its sound only increased over time, especially following her tear-jerking NPR Tiny Desk performance.

The track doesn’t aim to impress with theatrics; instead, it draws strength from its honesty, speaking to the everyday experiences, doubts, and triumphs of Black girlhood.

There's a softness in its delivery that contrasts with much of Doechii's louder, more chaotic catalogue, making this moment of calm all the more striking. It's not just about surviving the world’s projections, it’s about defining oneself on one's own terms. Black Girl Memoir is a quiet anthem for self-worth and a foundational piece in understanding Doechii's artistic vision.

---

9) Catfish

Released on July 19, 2024, Catfish is more than just a track, it's a bold declaration wrapped in sharp lyricism and throwback energy. First heard by many during her powerful medley performance at the Grammys alongside Denial Is a River, the live moment showcased Doechii’s technical finesse: breath control, rapid-fire delivery, and stage command all on full display. But Catfish, pulled from her project Alligator Bites Never Heal, holds its own far beyond the stage.

It's a cutting critique of performative personas and empty activism, laced with wordplay that’s as clever as it is confrontational. The track's production leans into boom-bap nostalgia, but Doechii’s cadence injects it with a fresh urgency; her chorus punch of 'Hoorah' alone draws comparisons to the animated precision of Busta Rhymes.

In an often-same rap landscape, Catfish is a force of bold hybridity: at once homage and progress, moored in grit but aspiring to something other.

---

10) Alter Ego

Alter Ego lives off its unapologetic swagger and chic ferocity, a sound power play between Doechii and JT that exudes self-assurance. The beat rides hard on dark, punishing bass, ceding the stage to a lyrical flex-for-skill that's both effortless and deliberate.

Instead of merely swapping bars, the two rappers reflect the other's confidence in opposite ways: Doechii spits with a frenetic flow that registers as desperate and unvarnished, and JT flows through her raps with a detached cool that provides equilibrium to the song's snarling bite.

There's a silent chemistry here, as if two aspects of the same fearless character. It's not only a song, it's a change of energy, the theme to turning off the din and walking into a room as if you belong there.

---

11) What It Is (Block Boy)" feat. Kodak Black

Released on 17th March 2023, What It Is (Block Boy) served as the anthemic song of Doechii, even if its title doesn't immediately come to mind for everyone. This was the track that brought her to the general public's eye, entering the Billboard Top 100 for the first time.

The track is an excellent mashup of retro influences, using a sample from TLC's timeless No Scrubs and taking inspiration from Trillville's Some Cut for its hook.

Doechii and Kodak Black switch between innocence and street sense throughout the track, playing the role of a 'good girl' and a 'block boy' effortlessly. Doechii's vocals are the standout; her range on the track is both fresh and unexpected, highlighting a different side of her artistry. Kodak Black's feature contributes to the vibe, adding dirtiness to the track in his rough but laid-back delivery.

Together, they created a track that not only went on to be a fan favorite but also solidified Doechii as an artist who could successfully pair catchy hooks with rich lyrical material.

---

12) ExtraL

In ExtraL, where Doechii is featured, she has no problem taking the reins and making the whole thing her own. As soon as she name-drops herself with breezy confidence, it's apparent that she's not merely a ride-along passenger; she's flipping the whole atmosphere of the song. Her energy is hypnotic, introducing a confident new force that's less feature and more takeover.

With her unforgiving demeanor and forceful delivery, Doechii doesn't just contribute to the song, she takes it to the next level, expressing the truth that wherever she's going, she doesn't belong, she demands the stage and will be heard.

---

With her catalog growing, this much is clear: Doechii is not making songs, she's building a whole universe in her own timeframe.

Keep reading SoapCentral for more informative content!

Also Read: Top 10 Cardi B songs that defined her career