Grammy winner Doechii reveals how finding a stage name helped her to overcome suicidal thoughts during teenage years

Doechii, born Jaylah Ji'mya Hickmon, rose to fame on TikTok following the success of her 2020 song, "Yucky Blucky Fruitcake." Her third mixtape, 'Alligator Bites Never Heal', won best rap album at this 75th Annual Grammy Awards this year.

While sharing a traumatic memory from her past, singer-rapper Doechii revealed that during her teenage years, she was thinking about killing herself after getting bullied. In an interaction with The Cut, as quoted by The Hollywood Reporter, Doechii said,

"I don't want to get super-dark. I was getting bullied so bad that I was thinking about killing myself." The rapper dated those thoughts to around sixth grade. "I realized I'm gonna kill myself, and then I'm gonna be the only one dead. The bullies aren't gonna be with me, and everything they said is not coming with me either. I would just be gone."

The singer then shared how she received a message from the god which helped her to overcome her suicidal thoughts.

"This wash of peace came over me, and I received 'I am Doechii.' But it was more like this feeling of -- I made a choice, a decision. I am the most important character in this movie. This is my movie," said Doechii, as quoted by The Hollywood Reporter.

The victory for Doechii at the Grammy Awards 2025 was quite emotional for her as she became the only third woman in his to win the award in the category of 'Best Rap Album'.

"I put my heart and my soul into this mixtape. I bared my life," she said onstage through tears. "I went through so much. I dedicated myself to sobriety, and God told me that I would be rewarded and that he would show me just how good it can get. And I have to thank God."

The "Nissan Altima" singer also thanked her mother, her fans and her hometown. "I call myself the swamp princess because I'm from Tampa, Florida," she said. "There's so much culture in Tampa. Whenever people think about Florida, they only think about like Miami, but Tampa has so much talent. Labels, go to Tampa, there's talent there."

Doechii was also nominated for Best New Artist and Best Rap Performance for the Nissan Altima. However, she lost Best Rap Performance to Kendrick Lamar's Not Like Us during the pre-telecast awards ceremony. (ANI)