So of course she was quietly reading a book about the famous painter Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Shes already building for the future which includes her wildly anticipated debut album sometime next year.
Did I mention that one of the hottest rappers of the year hasnt released a proper album yet?
You may not fully understand Doechii as an artist until you know that she was a theater kid.
How does Doechii feel about her life as her career ascends rapidly?
It took me a long time to get here, she says.
A looong time to get here.
But yeah, I do feel a little surreal.
I wake up and Im like, what is actually happening right now?
Brittany Howardhas been flying like that for years.
Howard grew up in Alabama and worked for theUnited States Postal Servicebefore becoming a star.
Now she has five Grammys and a global fanbase.
She quickly set up and got the place feeling like church before easing into an upbeat blues.
Theyre both Southerners and theyre both people who come to music with something deep to say.
I asked Howard what she likes about Doechiis music and she said, I hear her in her music.
I hear her playfulness.
I hear her pain.
When I listen to her music, Im hearing a whole person, and I love that.
I feel like its like going out with your friends, you know what Im saying?
Brittany, youve been doing this for a minute.
Youve had an amazing career.
Can you give a little advice to the young superstar?
She does not need any help from any of us, but you have experience.
Doechii:Thank you for that, for real.
Time to just meditate and spend time with God and process whats going on.
Howard:My whole thing is spending time with my family.
That always fills my cup up.
And Im an Alabama girl, so I like to go fishing.
So I go out in nature and I go fishing.
Doechii:Youre a country girl.
Yeah, youre from Alabama, Brittany; and Doechii, youre from Tampa.
Doechii:Im a Florida girl through and through.
The South has been so important in music and Black music.
Doechii:I can speak for Florida.
The culture and the energy in our music scene is just so raw.
A lot of our hip-hop is rooted in a lot of party culture and communities coming together.
Theres so much energy and life when the Black community comes together.
I feel like thats where my roots are based in.
What about you, Brittany?
You know what Im saying?
Its basically what youre saying.
Those field parties and stuff, acting crazy with some Mad Dog 20/20 out in a farmers field.
I had to find something to do!
Doechii, I love the way that you use your voice.
This is a little different than a lot of the hip-hop weve ever heard.
Doechii:Theres so many different emotions that I feel like you dont have to emote in one way.
Hip-hop gives you so much room to be animated.
Im a theater kid as well, so I like to create characters.
I feel inspired by Busta Rhymes and the way he was able to incorporate theater in his music.
Doechii:Absolutely, because its about stories.
I embody the character of whatever story Im telling.
I think thats important and its fun.
Brittany, youre also theatrical in your performances.
I love the way you fill the space when you perform.
I dont know if you did theater, but I think that is inside of you.
It was a piece of paper, it wasnt a trophy, it was a piece of paper.
But I did love it, and I think thats so cool.
Its like when Im up here onstage I can become whatever, whoever.
And my favorite thing about performing is feeling powerful.
I feel like I finally found my space, my place, and I get to embody that.
Do you become a different person onstage?
Howard:I feel like Im pretty quiet in my everyday life.
I can be quiet, I can be reserved.
Im not shy, Im just observant.
But when Im onstage, I do not care.
Whatever Im singing about, thats the thing I want to connect to other people in the room about.
What about you, Doechii?
Do you become a different person onstage?
Doechii:No, child.
Im like this on and offstage.
Im a drama queen, definitely.
But I do think that when Im onstage, theres something that gets very quiet about the environment.
Its just me and God.
Im a vessel in that moment and it just feels like a blessing.
I dont become a different person, but I do leave this place, and I go somewhere else.
Can you talk a little bit about being a woman in this industry?
Female MCs are hot to death nowadays, theyre kind of running the game.
I know that theres challenges to being a woman in the industry and theres gifts to it.
So, lets talk about the ups and downs of it.
Doechii:I think its a great time for women, especially in hip-hop music right now.
It is a really good time.
There are challenges to being in a male-dominated industry.
But Im just a girl!
Im trying my best.
It was kind of like a defeatist attitude because it was just what I had seen.
It did feel like a boys club.
Now it doesnt feel so much that way anymore.
I feel like were being taken very seriously and were climbing in positions of the music industry.
And, I mean, obviously we got the microphones, you know what Im saying?
Doechii:Question for you.
You also have five Grammys, right?
Doechii:I am so curious where were you in your career when you received your first Grammy?
How did that feel and what do you think brought you to that space?
Theres no limits, theres no ceiling on it.
And I like exploring that space.
People want to give us awards.
And it was a lot.
It was happening so quickly, it was so surreal.
It was like a dream.
And how did I feel?
I felt this immense sense that my life was never going to be the same again.
And I appreciated that, and it gave me the inspiration to keep making music.
Im supposed to be doing this.
I thought so, but now I know.
Howard:I think there is no absolute answer to that question.
I feel like sometimes things are going to get stagnant.
And its always going to wake up that little girl in you thats like, What?
I cant believe this is my life.
Its always going to be like that.
Thats been my experience.
Production Credits
BRITTANY HOWARD: Styling byNONJA MCKENZIE.
Hair and Makeup byMONAE EVERETTatEPIPHANY AGENCY.DOECHII: Styling bySAM WOOLFatTHE ONLY AGENCY.
Video Director of Photography:SOREN NEILSEN.
Photographic Assistance byHECTOR ADALIDandJACKSON VERGES.
Digital Technician:ISAN MONFORT.
Photographed atPOWER STATION BERKLEENYC.
