At the podium Doechii — the third woman to win a Best Rap Album Grammy — took a moment to inspire. “I know there is some Black girl out there [watching,] and I want to tell you that you can do it. Anything is possible. Don’t allow anybody to project any stereotypes onto you. You are exactly who you need to be where you are, and I am a testimony to that,” she said.
The profoundly powerful, charismatic artist’s breakthrough mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal bested projects from a handful of veteran rap hitmakers including Common and Pete Rock, Eminem, Future and Metro Boomin, and J. Cole in the best rap album category.
Lauryn Hill was the first woman to win in the category, as part of the Fugees, in 1996, for the album The Score. In 2019, Cardi B became the first female solo rapper to take home the award for Invasion of Privacy. Cardi passed the torch to Doechii by presenting her with this year’s award.
Doechii was also nominated for best new artist along with Benson Boone, Sabrina Carpenter, Khruangbin, Raye, Chappell Roan, Shaboozey and Teddy Swims; and for best rap performance for her song “Nissan Altima.”
Of her performance during the show, including her hit “Denial Is a River,” she said, “It was one of the most difficult performances I’ve done, and I really felt the need to push myself harder than I ever have before. It really meant everything to me to prove myself tonight. To me. And so it was about Broadway and theater and art and I think I brought that to the stage.”