Doechii Reminds Everyone That Hip Hop Is “An Intellectual Genre”

For years, Hip Hop fans have debated about music within the genre increasingly lacking substance, especially with the rise of the streaming era; however, Doechii isn’t here for it. According to the “What It Is” hitmaker, the assumption that rap isn’t intellectual is “rooted in racism.”

In an interview with The Cut published on Wednesday (Feb. 19), Doechii emphasized rap’s roots in terms of lyricism and craftsmanship. “Old-school Hip Hop is vulnerability,” she told the publication. “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.”

The conversation isn’t new, especially given that Doechii and several others have weighed in on it before. In December 2024, she actually pushed back against critics who claimed her music was “too deep” and questioned what the genre would even look like without lyricists such as herself.

“Our music has always been deep. It’s always been complex, and it’s always been soulful or spiritual,” she explained before emphasizing how rap is just one of many facets Black culture uses to “evolve, to protest [and] to celebrate.”

The Bigger Conversation About Lyricism In The Genre

If anything, Doechii’s career is proof that artists don’t have to dumb down their music to keep up with the often fast-paced nature of streaming era rappers. Earlier in the month, her Alligator Bites Never Heal took home Best Rap Album at the 2025 Grammy Awards. As if the victory wasn’t big enough, the Swamp Princess was the third woman in history to do so — joining the legendary Lauryn Hill and Cardi B.

“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,” Doechii shared with The Cut. “And in order for her to have that feeling, I have to talk about my feelings.”

With that in mind, Doechii isn’t the only artist carrying the torch that MC Lyte, Missy Elliott and Queen Latifah first lit in the ’80s and ’90s. Doja Cat — who arguably gets compared to the “DENIAL IS A RIVER” rapper the most — along with Lady London, Tierra Whack and CHIKA, are among the many women helping steer lyricism back to the forefront of Hip Hop.