Over the last six months, one titan of the music industry has held both the spotlight and public conversation in the palm of her hand. First for her music, and fashion, then later for her persona and humbling come-up story, Doechii has been dominating the charts and the media.
In short, this seemingly undying audience captivation is linked to a particular hidden strength within Doechii’s story: a humble beginning and an unwavering air of honesty.
The old adage regarding the ten years of strenuous work required for overnight success has been attached to several emerging starlets. Sabrina Carpenter, Chappel Roan, and now Doechii have all been noted as tirelessly working creatives who have genuinely earned their spots at the top.
Fans seem to be particularly enamored by Doechii’s history and the passion she’s held for music throughout the entirety of it. How do they know about this? Well, she showed them herself.
Digital Footprint
Do You Wanna Build A Snowman Cover. (Credit: YouTube/Doechii)
Before rising to stardom, Doechii posted her first YouTube a decade ago, on January 17th, 2015. Wherein, she explains that on her channel she’d be sharing everything from girl talk to business talk, and that she certainly did.
Before “the swamp” Doechii had her coven.
In an interview, Doechii revealed she filmed her early videos using an iPhone camera, particularly the back camera as her front one was cracked and broken. These videos capture her life as down to earth, everyday individual, because at the time that’s who she was.
She followed the format of the pseudo-laid-back persona that many early influencers—or at the time “YouTubers” adopted, but with her you get the essence that the person behind the camera has a very full, real, life. These videos show the audience her friends and her high school. She tells stories about her life, and eventually, she shares very vulnerable details about her experience as a black woman, her thoughts on spirituality, philosophy, and self-help style videos that would allude to her later content where she began documenting what I consider to be the most important and compelling era of Doechii’s beginnings.
The Artist’s Way
The Artist Way | My Creative Recovery. (Credit: YouTube/Doechii)
Around a year after she started her channel, Doechii uploaded a video entitled: “The Artist Way | My Creative Journey”. Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way is a book meant to guide the reader along a twelve-week intensive creative recovery course. As someone who is currently in the throws of the journey, it is certainly a deeply vulnerable and revealing one.
The book uses spirituality, shadow work, prompts, as well as personal stories and experiences to help the reader uncover their creative blockages and to heal and smooth them over. Though it’s marketed as a self-help book, it delves more so in the realm of religious texts.
With that in mind, discussing Doechii’s process highlights how truly vulnerable she was willing to be in order to reach her goals, both in terms of creative power and self-discovery.
Growth in Hindsight
There are twelve weekly videos that follow, however a very notable moment is captured in the first week alone. She explains, “I’m starting this thing where I’m deliberately making these digital diary documentations for the future… I’m talking to my future self”, and what a beautiful sentiment to look back on with the knowledge of the musical powerhouse she will eventually become.
And even that image alone, Doechii now with a Grammy sat on her shelf, watching herself nearly a decade ago sat her bed on the precipice of unimaginable success. For an audience, and for the fans, that alone speaks volumes.
Everything You Need | COVEN MUSIC SESSION. (Credit: YouTube/Doechii)
Around halfway through the twelve-week program, Doechii starts posting her own original music, and the rest is history.
They say discipline beats talent, and Doechii is perhaps the poster child for that sentiment. This isn’t to say she lacks talent. It is to say that Doechii is the kind of artist with hunger, desire, and drive to be the very best.
To reference Julia Cameron’s belief, the difference between those who make it as artists and those who don’t is simply having the audacity. Doechii is clearly the latter.
The Birth of Doechii
Before Doechii was born, Jayla Ji’mya Hickmon came up with her stage name in her journal as a sixth grader. The name was born out of resistance and served as an armor-like shield against her classmates who ridiculed and bullied her throughout middle school. It was then that she decided she’d had enough, and though she would always be Jayla, her new persona Doechii would help her rise above her current reality.
The mentality she had from such an early age serves as an initial benchmark of something she’d continue to forge and nurture throughout her life. Doechii’s rise was not a simple, nor a direct one, but it was her grit and strength that supported her through it.
Early Performance Experiences
Being from Tampa Florida originally, Doechii claims a lot of her early influence came from her surroundings. Diverse culture, music, and art surrounded her and helped birth her creative vision. Additionally, growing up in the church led Doechii to spend nearly six days a week at church performing as a dancer, gospel singer, and marching band participant. The church provided her with her first stage and her first audience, and it was there that she realized her affinity for performing.
She began to dip her toe in the rap scene in middle school when she created a rap group and performed a song for a talent show. And she expresses that from that moment on, she followed music for the rest of her life. She later attended an art high school in Tampa, where she explored many different avenues of performing arts. Some included chorus, jazz vocals, music theory, and musical theater. She claims this experience is still to this day the core of where her music comes from.
Around this time she began filming videos for her aforementioned youtube channel and posted her first song ever titled “El Chapo” on Soundcloud. In 2016 she dropped her song “Girls” which brough with it her first wave of notoriety.
From The Swamp to The Stage
After graduating high school she made her splash in the underground music scene in Tampa . She recalls begging and being forced to forge her place in varying club lineups as many of them were male-dominated. Always the persister though, Doechii did what she always has and fought for her way in. I think it’s important to note as well, that her confidence was not born from desire alone. Creative success seemed as necessary as survival for her.
Eventually after outgrowing Tampa, she started traveling to other states and cities to gain knowledge of their differing music worlds. Around this time she recalls feeling as though she needed to re-spark her creative essence. Doechii then bought a one-way ticket to New York.
And it was there, where she couch-hopped, and bet on herself over and over until her path was forged. She completed her journey with The Artists Way, she began gaining more and more notoriety with every new project she released.
Why This Works So Well
So, Why does Doechii’s honesty and her story hit so close to home for fans?
It’s simple really, it’s just the truth. In a world where honesty is often warped, and weaponized it’s refreshing to see someone express themselves in such a grounded, down-to-earth way. And have physical proof of their life and proof that this honesty is real. That it’s just realness for the sake of realness. It was unmarketed, earnest, and made with no ulterior motives.
Additionally, we as fans long to be a part of something bigger. To belong to a movement. Seeing Doechii rise to such heights of fame would be rewarding enough, however having the recorded history of how she got there makes fans feel connected to her.
I think the most relevant reasoning behind the impact of her story relates to a rising trend in the music world. Unfortunately for up-and-coming creatives, we are living in a nepo-baby apocalypse. It seems as though every rising artist lately is simply someone’s kid. This recurring theme is disheartening, and honestly, a bit earth-shattering for those who don’t have a notable last name. For people who are just trying to do what they love. Doechii serves as a light and walking proof that one can rise above and forge their path. And that no matter the circumstance, if you want something bad enough, it can be yours.
