Doechii recently opened up about battling suicidal thoughts after facing relentless bullying in school. In a conversation with The Cut, the Grammy-winning rapper shared how her stage name came to her during one of the darkest moments of her life in the sixth grade.
“I don’t want to get super-dark [but] I was getting bullied so bad that I was thinking about killing myself,” she revealed, adding that she heard a divine message instructing her to write down the phrase “I am Doechii.”
Instead of letting her bullies define her fate, she had a life-altering realization. “I realized, Oh, fuck, 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,” she recalled. That moment of clarity shifted her mindset completely. “And then I was like, Fuck that! Fuck that shit! I’m not going for that! And this wash of peace came over me, and I received ‘I am Doechii.’” She described the experience as an awakening, saying, “I made a choice, a decision. I am the most important character in this movie. This is my motherfucking movie.”
Doechii isn’t the only TDE artist to share her struggles with bullying. SZA has also spoken about her tough high school years, telling PEOPLE in 2023: “I was bullied because I wasn’t quiet and I was awkward at the same time.”
Despite these painful experiences, both artists have thrived. Doechii celebrated a Grammy win for Alligator Bites Never Heal, while SZA performed with Kendrick Lamar at the Super Bowl and expanded her SOS album.
If you or someone you know is struggling, dial 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
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