The Universal laws of Doechii

Hello and welcome to our first ever ARTIST STUDY 🔬! I have had this episode half baked in my head for weeks but Doechii’s recent Grammy win put the FIRE under my butt. I am a woman in love and I DON’T CARE WHO KNOWS IT! We’ve got our first Artist Study up for free.99 for a few days but we will placing these eps behind our stunning new paywall 💃🏻. You can find monthly Artist Studies and Green Room eps by becoming a paid subscriber.

Like so much of the internet I found Doechii from her STUNNING NPR Tiny desk concert (the tik tok music doesn’t seem to permeate my millennial algo). And have been captivated by her!

The Universal laws of Doechii

Study your craft

Doechii is a student of Hip Hop, she is a lover of her craft. She studies not just the history but the context of the genre, constantly referencing artists before her placing her work in it’s own referential world.

Playing the role of student quite literally for this promo cycle. Her most recent Grammy’s looks were dreamt up with designer Tom Brown to craft the “highly luxiourious” looks. Referencing the moment when Jay Z put on a suit in the early aughts to walk the red carpets. Class is very much in session. 🤓

Playing with performance references from Solange and MF Doom. From lyricism to production (her “breathing exersize” in “Denial is a River” is inspired by a Dougie Fresh beat boxing pattern). She plays with Lauren Hill’s vulnerability, Kendrick Lammar’s early mix tape formulas. Honestly I could go on but then it would turn into a Hip Hop history 101 seminar LOL. She is a student by nature.

Performance + Place

Theatre kid recognize theatre kid. It’s undeniable Doechii is a performer. She is CAPTIVATING to listen to and watch because of the world building Doechii does. From fashion, to stage presence to who is on stage with her. Doechii builds a world of whimsy Not to distract from the music itself but to place it firmly in time and place. Doechii exists inside the world she creates. Her choreography works to applyfy her message, not to distract from the music. Everything in her world building is purposeful and here tell a story and act like a play.

Place is equally important. Her Florida roots are on display with the creation of her Swamp Princess persona, you get a sense of what Doechii’s Florida is like through her lyricism “BOILED PEANUTS” and “NISSAN ALTIMA” but also in the visuals for her album. And glamourizes the swamp and gators of it all with her eye for style, sexiness and subversion. You get a sense of Doechii’s Flordia without ever having to travel there and I think that says so much about her world building. It’s immersive.

Honesty as a formula

Ok it’s not just to quote her exclusively here because everything she has to say about ditching a formula is SO GOOD! She’s got her own blueprint and boiled down she is creating art “for therapy”. In her own words it has to have “honesty, detail and abnormal production”. Doechii makes for Docehii first.

I make my best work when no one cares and when no one listens

Doechii speaks very specifically about her experience as a dark skinned queer sober woman. And that specificity breeds universality. Finding the Doechii in us all – so to speak. Honestly I could say more but I’m just donna drop this codepentant line because I think it says so much about artists working towards “sucess” and tbh it rearranged my brain cells.

I wanted to be able to detach myself from the “perfect project” and … Stop being codepandant on my label

Everything is Fuel

“I’m a hungry, I wanna be the best. If i have two days if i have 24 hours, I’m gonna work my hardest to make my best performance because I want to be the best”.

Doechii takes the critics and the industry scaffolding and uses it to play the game she wants to play. Using all the the materials around her to craft her next move or response. It was hard not to slide her drag persona Ricardo under “performance” but I think it’s such a great example of playing the game. Ricardo is Doechii’s reply to critics misogynoir. She uses everything around to as ammunition. If it’s a time constraint, critisism, the formula of a mix tape or the demands of the industry, Doechii makes the system work for her

OK FOLKS! Thanks for coming on this journey with us it was a STUNNING ride! We’ll be back next week with your regular, degular programming and join us next month for our next Artist study 🧐 (holler in the comments if there is someone you’re DYING for us to dive into.)

Big Love!

P+J 👯‍♀️