Kendrick Lamar Names Doechii As The ‘Hardest Out’ Right Now

Earlier this year, Kendrick Lamar came out on top in a matchup with Drake, but there’s another artist he believes is dominating the game right now. On Thursday (Oct. 17), Lamar took to his Instagram Story to give a shout-out to Doechii. Lamar praised her as having star power that will last, posting a screenshot of her album Alligator Bites Never Heal with the caption “the hardest out [alligator emoji].”

Doechii, also known as “The Swamp Princess,” saw the praise and responded with several posts thanking Lamar for the shout-out. “Thank you Dot. You the greatest,” she wrote on her Instagram Story. “Getting your flowers while you can still smell them >>>.”

She kept celebrating by uploading a TikTok video where she reacted to Lamar’s approval. “Mood b/c THEE Kendrick Lamar just said IM THE HARDEST RAPPER OUT,” she captioned the video, showing herself shadowboxing and looking like she’s ready for a lyrical battle.

Doechii joined TDE in early 2022 as the label’s first female rapper. For two years, she released singles and collaborated with artists like SZA, Kodak Black, and JT from City Girls, but didn’t put out a full-length album until this year with ABNH. As the saying goes, all good things take time.

Kendrick Lamar also shared a Cash App commercial featuring Doechii and comedian ExavierTV called "The Barbershop" on his Instagram Story. The ad is part of Cash App's "That's Money" campaign and was directed by filmmaker Calmatic. According to a press release, the commercial “highlights the power of strategic self-investment and the importance of sharing financial lessons learned with others."

Recently, Doechii spoke about her relationship with Kendrick Lamar on The Joe Budden Show. She said she wants to work with Lamar someday but doesn’t feel like she’s “entitled” to a feature. Doechii admitted she doesn’t feel ready for that level of collaboration yet.

“I don’t assume anything and I also don’t feel entitled to a Kendrick feature but I would absolutely love that. That’s the goal,” she said on the podcast. “I’m sure that, like, for my debut project, eventually I’m gonna ask Top [Dawg] if he could ask Kendrick, or ask Kendrick myself and see what comes from that.”

“But I’ma be real, I don’t think I have the record right now for that opportunity. I think I would have to come a certain way and I don’t think I’m ready for that.”