Doechii Discovered Jay-Z’s Catalog Late & Came Away Stunned By His Artistic Growth

Doechii’s late dive into Jay-Z’s catalog left her amazed by the rap icon’s artistic evolution.

Doechii and Jay-Z are two of the dopest rappers. The rising rap star (who should be following up with a true debut album) revealed she recently did a deep dive int Jay catalog. She said she emerged with a newfound appreciation for the goat.

I grew up studying albums like Reasonable Doubt and later loved The Blueprint and The Black Album. Doechii confessed she came to Jay-Z’s music from a different perspective. A 2024 conversation with Ebro Darden for Apple Music has come back up. The Tampa native she did not grow up heavily exposed to Jay-Z’s work because of her Southern roots. Hmmmmmmm…OK.

“I’m from the south, so I didn’t grow up on a lot of Jigga, but I recently went through all of his discography. Oh my God! Everybody knows he’s crazy but damn! Hearing his growth?! Wow, so incredible. He’s so cool,” Doechii said.

That is the power of Jay-Z’s catalog, which spans decades. It also chronicles his evolution from street storyteller to business mogul. For Doechii, it was about witnessing an artist develop in real time across multiple eras. OK, forgive you for using the south as an excuse. 🙂

In early 2025, when she really broke, she passionately defended rap against critics who downplay the intelligence and technical ability required to make it in rap.

“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,” she said.

Doechii loves Lauryn Hill, who truly broke out in 1998. She has frequently cited Hill as a major influence, particularly when it comes to emotional honesty and vulnerability in songwriting. I can feel that all in her music. I hope she does not get stuck on the one album like L-Boogie.

“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 explained. “And in order for her to have that feeling, I have to talk about my feelings.”

Doechii’s building her own legacy and I think she will still be around in years to come like Jay and Lauryn.

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