Few young artists are making waves in music quite like Doechii. Nearly one year ago, the Florida artist splashed onto the scene as the latest addition to the Top Dawg Entertainment roster. In a matter of months, she’s collaborated with SZA, appeared on the Breakfast Club and performed at the 2022 BET Awards. Seeing TDE artists make waves is nothing new, but Doechii stands out from her peers like Reason and Ray Vaughn because she is the first female rapper signed to the prominent imprint. During a recent interview with Billboard, she was asked what pressure, if any, she feels as the label’s first female rapper.
“A good pressure, because I know with me being the first, the next female rapper on TDE is going to look to me, look at the things I did and didn’t accomplish, and hopefully be better than me,” Doechii told Billboard.
“That’s the point. I’m a leader of a new era of TDE, which feels really good. A lot of my fans reach out all the time about the impact that I’m making for them just being an alternative Black girl. Doing it on TDE like this is cool.”
Doechii is the first female rapper on the label, but she is not the first woman in the TDE family. Not only has she collaborated with SZA, but she has also toured with her as well. Through those experiences, she has come to call SZA a “big sister.”
“She’s like a big sister to me. When we were on tour [in 2021] she gave me a lot of advice on what to expect from the industry and how to carry myself,” she said.
“She has just always been supportive of who I am.”
