‘My Pen is on Fire’: How Doechii Won By Trading Perfection for Progression

Before Doechii was a rapper, she was so many other things. For brevity, she shares a condensed list that includes everything from dancer and actor to creative director and, at one time, aspiring magician. Above all, though, the 22-year-old rapper born Jaylah Hickmon was a perfectionist who was acutely aware of her purpose as a “creative vessel.” In 2018, this pursuit of perfection landed Hickmon in an unfamiliar creative rut until it dawned on her that to develop her craft, she would