The guiding light of heart plus logic keeps the focus on substance and astray from the bombast. In the case of she / her / black bitch, the concept already set a meaningful outline, it was just about finding the right pieces that fit. “I made the song [Swamp Bitches] and the whole concept is the black bitch who is the villain. A lot of times, I’ve seen black women in the industry get villainized, and more times than not they end up losing opportunity, money, and work—it actually affects their life. There’s not a lot of black villains that are successful in this industry but there are a lot of people who have villain archetypes, other races, and tend to get praised, are famous for being a villain, or get more jobs because of that.” Having heard the song prior to our conversation, everything clicks when I hear the context of why. She brings up an important point in unpacking that black bitch and exactly what it means. I can’t speak on the issues she spotlights from personal experience (my heritage is mixed and white-passing) but that’s the point, isn’t it? Thought-provoking art is meant to challenge you by thinking about what’s being said, appreciating the creativity in how it’s being said, and recognizing the bias that may be obstructing your awareness. It’s also a touchpoint for connection amongst minorities because music evokes a feeling and your story doesn’t have to be identical to the lyrics to tap in. 

“I wanted to make a song that really celebrated that type of black girl and I wanted the song to feel like the villain won. You know how every time you see a superhero story the superheroes always win? It’s so annoying, I’m pretty dark in that way, I want to see the villain win—so that’s how that song came about.” The track starts off with ominous production that feels like the perfect theme song for a villain arc before the vocals come in and Doechii is assisted by another special guest. “I was like who would I characterize as a villain? Who would look cool visually as a villain? and I was like Rico fucking Nasty [laughs] she just sounds like [maniacal laughter]. I put her on the track and she floated like a butterfly and it’s so cool.” 

The boxing of creatives into “genres” is getting old and it’s artists like Doechii that prove how antiquated the concept of categories in music is. She can spit bars on “Swap Bitches” with Rico Nasty leveraging a fast-paced flow over thumping production and in the same breath let her airy vocals sonically float on “Persuasive” with SZA. There’s no road map or master plan for how she’s going to utilize the tools in her toolbox, it’s intrinsic to her identity, proven by her approach to creation. “I kind of feel the music, I’m not thinking about I want to sound this way, I just let it flow and organically create.” She elaborates saying, “I like to take on different characters [and] do whatever the song calls for. [An] example [is] my single “Crazy” all the yelling and stuff, I feel like that was just a spiritual experience, something took over me and I naturally did that.” She does have a guiding objective, “I’m tapping into an energy so when I create I want to focus on the feelings that I want to give the audience. I’m not focused on how it happens—I just want to get across the feelings.”

Doechii’s affinity for theatrics and storytelling makes sense given her background in performing arts—ballet, tap dancing, acting, and classic chorus singing to name a few. Making her own music allowed her to encompass a bit of everything and she can remember why she made the switch. “I actually loved being in a chorus and singing other people’s songs but I remember running into a lot of conflict with my instructor because I would want to sing things my way, change the arrangement, and getting in trouble [for it]. He wouldn’t let me express myself creatively in my own way so I was like okay I’m gonna leave and do my own thing.” She did just that, taking cues from her friend Taylor Moon who showed her the possibilities of being an independent artist. “When me and Taylor made our first song together it was called “El Chapo” [and] it went crazy…well at that time we thought it was going crazy [laughs]. My whole city started booking us to perform and we were like oh shit not only do we think it’s dope but the whole city fuck with it.” Those early moments in Doechii’s career mimic some of the recent milestones when following her heart matched with logic paid off in a big way but the essence is the same.

The confidence to unapologetically be yourself, without doubts of failure or judgment, is set by example. “The way [Dr. Seuss] imagined really inspired me to expand my mind to imagine the same way. When I talk about these people or influences, I’m not talking sonically, I’m talking about the fearlessness of Tyler, the Creator—that’s what influenced me. Junie B. Jones, her fearlessness and sass, I picked that up and not just like her but in my own way. They made me feel less afraid to be me when I could see somebody else being them so boldly,” Doechii says of the characters that taught her the value of being yourself. There’s no doubt that Doechii does for her growing legion of fans (sometimes called “the coven”) what Dr. Seuss and Junie B. Jones did for her. Whether it’s her genre-bending sound, fearlessness, symbolic visuals, intricate concepts, or her personal experiences spun into lyrics—there’s a multitude of learning opportunities for the listener. You don’t need the classroom setting of Oh The Places You’ll Go to take a seat and let your personal experiences filter through the many lessons Doechii is serving to find the ones that speak to you.