Doechii, the genre-defying rising music artist from Florida known for the popular song “What It Is,” landed the cover of Allure for the magazine’s Melanin Edit series. 

In the interview aimed at answering the question, “What does a nerd look like?” the 25-year-old star opens up about her rise to fame as well as a few personal topics she says helped shaped her career journey.

Born Jaylah Hickmon, she created the Doechii persona in sixth grade as way to find courage to be her truest self. 

“I was just trying to be who everybody wanted me to be because I just wanted to be loved,” she said. “But then …  I told myself … I can be gay, I can be weird, I can sing, I can listen to rock music, I can learn how to write rock music. I can do whatever. I can be myself.”

Middle school was a troubling time for the star, who says she felt misunderstood. Doechii would get asked prying questions about her appearance and personal life that made her “really anxious all the time.”

Now, after letting go of the unwarranted opinions by others, Doechii is living her best music and personal life. 

“I’m in a position where I want to win,” she said. “I just needed to love myself as an artist and now that I do, I want to be the best.”

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