Review: Doechii delivers a hip hop master class at Lollapalooza

Chicago Tribune

a day ago

No one is having a better year than Doechii. The Florida rapper, 'The Swamp Rula,' released her critically-acclaimed mixtape 'Alligator Bites Never Heal' in August 2024 and hasn't hit the brakes since, taking home the Grammy for best rap album — only the second woman to do so— as well as gracing runways in New York and Paris and putting on some of the most dynamic live performances on and off screen.
Bringing us to her Saturday night Lollapalooza set on the T-Mobile stage. With respect to Rüfüs Du Sol, Doechii should've headlined.
Welcoming thousands to Doechii's School of Hip Hop, complete with a giant, funhouse-style boombox center stage, she rapped, writhed, and twerked circles around a troupe of dancers (delivering choreography that would make the great, ballroom pioneer Willi Ninja proud) and delivered lessons in bars, flow, genre, scratching and word play for just under an hour. Teasing her own headlining 'Live From the Swamp Tour' by the end, she left everyone wanting more.
Doechii is one of a kind. With a looming, unbodied voice ringing out to encourage her ascent throughout her performance, Doechii, grounded by DJ Miss Milan, wielded the power of mania, tension, drama, and queer joy like a spear, piercing any posturing or pretension to free herself and her onstage classmates/dancers from the tyranny of self-doubt and limitations. One of the most versatile vocalists in today's mainstream, she oscillated seamlessly from growled, ruthless rhyme ('Nissan Altima,' 'Nosebleeds,' 'Catfish') and full-throated screams to smooth melodies and big crescendos, like on 'Anxiety.'
For the house-flecked 'Alter Ego' — during which she referenced her infamous Met Gala 'umbrella incident' during her outfit change — she welcomed former City Girl member JT to the stage after hinting at a special guest in the days leading up to her Lolla debut. Both women were beaming from the big screens and the fields of the south end of Grant Park were awash in flailing hands and fans snapping in the air. Black girl magic, indeed.
With her signature extra-long braids and head-to-toe DSquared2 custom outfits, Doechii covered every inch of that stage bathed in adulation. Classic hip hop and pop samples were woven into interludes throughout her set, including 'Pull Over' by Trina, Doug E. Fresh's 'La Di Da Di' and Beyonce's 'America Has a Problem.' Before delivering her megahit 'Denial is a River,' the unbodied voice — taking a kinder tone— spoke about how every master of something starts as a student. That the importance and interconnection of studying and honoring what you're choosing to dedicate yourself to is just as important as the final result.
Then she appeared again. An icon born — the self-proclaimed 'hip hop Madonna,' 'trap Grace Jones,' making all the hard work look effortless, and so damn fun.