Doechii’s Triumphant NPR Tiny Desk Performance

Black Girl Magic at Tiny Desk

Doechii’s performance at NPR’s Tiny Desk showed off her powerful style with an all-Black female band.

Her show started gently with "Boom Bap," a playful track from her first mixtape, Alligator Bites Never Heal. Then she moved into jazzy versions of "Boiled Peanuts" and "Hide and Seek." She also gave a laid-back twist to the second verse of “Denial is a River,” a song Rolling Stone thinks is one of the year’s best.

Switching gears, she went full rock with "Catfish," growling through her verses. The horn section added a familiar riff that reminded people of C-Murda’s song. Her speedy rap on "Nissan Altima" was partly performed without any instruments, showing off her skills. Doechii’s band kept the energy high, leading into a lively praise break before ending.

Fans think her music is getting better and better.

Doechii played just one old song, "Black Girl Memoir," from her 2020 EP, Oh, The Places You’ll Go. This song, a tribute to Black women, was special to her. She said, "I feel like as a dark-skinned woman there’s a very unique experience that I’m trying to internalize…So I dedicate this to all the beautiful Black women in the room."

She’s up for three Grammys in 2025, including Best New Artist. Another nomination came for a remix of her song “Alter Ego” by Kaytranda featuring JT.

Alligator Bites Never Heal reached number 9 on Rolling Stone’s list of best albums in 2024. Doechii also rocked it on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and shared a stage chat with Brittany Howard at Rolling Stone’s event at the Apollo.