Doechii has joined her former TDE comrade Kendrick Lamar in defending Hip Hop against those who claim it is not a legitimate artform worthy of respect.
In an interview with The Cut, the Grammy Award-winner spoke about her deep appreciation for rap music and argued that the suggestion it is not an “intellectual” genre is “rooted in racism.”
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“I’m gravitating back towards things that I used to love,” she said. “The first album I ever purchased and ever remember listening to in full length was The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.”
She added: “Old-school Hip Hop is vulnerability. I’m gravitating towards the pure skill that was incorporated. Anyone who doesn’t think that Hip Hop is an intellectual genre, I think that assumption is rooted in racism.”
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Doechii also elaborated on her love for Lauryn Hill‘s debut album, saying: “The feeling that I have when I listen to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is the same feeling I want some other Black little girl to have when she listens to me.
“And in order for her to have that feeling, I have to talk about my feelings.”
The “Denial is a River” star’s comments echo those of Kendrick Lamar, who also defended Hip Hop against its detractors in his recent pre-Super Bowl interview with Apple Music.
Asked about being the first solo rapper to headline the Super Bowl halftime show, he said: “It puts the culture at the forefront where it needs to be and not minimized to just a catchy song or verse. This is a true artform.”
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The Compton superstar, who was fresh off sweeping the 2025 Grammy Awards, added: “When people talk about rap, man, the conversations I hear, they think it’s just rap and it’s not an actual artform.
“So when you put records like [‘Not Like Us’] at the forefront, it reminds people that this is more than just something that came 50 years ago.”
