Hayley Williams tips rapper Doechii for Grammys success
Hayley Williams has revealed she and Doechii "go way back" and will be gunning for her at next year's Grammy Awards.
Paramore's Hayley Williams has tipped Doechii to "win every Grammy".
The 26-year-old rapper - whose real name is Jaylah Hickmon - recently opened up about how the pop-punk band was the first rock band she listened to and how frontwoman Hayley, 35, had a "huge impression" on her.
She told The Sydney Morning Herald: “Paramore was my first introduction to rock music.
“I know that rock music is popular but where I grew up in the South, in my culture and my radius, it wasn’t so popular. But she kind of changed my life and my perspective, and I learned about different types of music through Paramore. It made a huge impression on me and my style.”
And in response, the 'Misery Business' hitmaker showered Doechii with praise and said they "go way back".
Sharing a screenshot of her comments from the article on her Instagram Stories, Hayley wrote: “This is my laaaadyyyyy. Don’t ever hurt her. We go all the way back even tho we only ever met one time. She better win every Grammy too. (sic)"
Doechii is nominated for Best Rap Album for 'Alligator Bites Never Heal', Best Rap Performance for 'Nissan Altima' and Best New Artist at the 2025 ceremony, which takes place on February 2.
Meanwhile, Doechii recently declared that she wants to “bring back” hip-hop's "traditional roots".
The singer – who went viral on TikTok in 2021 with her song 'Yucky Blucky Fruitcake' and later signed to Top Dawg Entertainment - says her aim with her third mixtape, 'Alligator Bites Never Heal', was to "represent" the relatable hip-hop she first fell in love with whilst also pushing it "forward".
Speaking to Apple Music’s Ebro Darden, she said: “When people are listening to this project, they’re really witnessing me reconnect with my roots. I learned how to rap through boom bap beats, through classic beats. My first rap that I ever made was a diss track.
“With me kinda coming back to myself … I kinda re-fell in love with hip-hop. And realised that there is a sense of tradition in hip-hop that I really want to represent and bring back.”
Doechii - who recently teamed up with pop star Katy Perry on the track 'I'm His, He's Mine' – says rappers need to share their “feelings” and be “honest” more than ever in these times of "economic recession".
She explained: “There is importance in tradition. I feel like it is important for us to uphold the heart of hip-hop, which is lyrical composition, it is skill, it is wittiness, but it is also talking about our feelings, being honest about what we’re going through and connecting us as people.
“I feel like, especially in the time of an economic recession, people need to feel things right now and we need to talk about it. And we need to do it through rap, which is why I chose the sonical direction that I chose.
“I wanna take us back to this classic space in hip-hop and just remind people of the traditional roots of where this started — and do it in my way and push it forward.”
