On Doechii’s feverish “MPH,” the rapper gives us a summer anthem filled with fun and attitude, while showcasing her deep range of talent.
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Stream: “MPH” – Doechii
When Rolling Stone asked Doechii about her recent release “MPH” in an interview backstage at this month’s Governor’s Ball, the singer and rapper made it clear, turning straight to the camera to emphatically tell her fans “it’s simple freestyle, it’s nothing crazy, it is NOT an official single… but it’s fun.”
In an era of music that at times can feel defined by lyrical complexity and over the top production – sometimes simple fun can be exactly what it takes to cut through the noise.
At exactly two minutes, and not a second longer, there’s no mystery to where the title “MPH“ comes from. It’s fast. Rapping over an energetic, electric beat, she kicks off the song with distorted vocals that establish her point of view:
I ain’t really come to party,
I just came to get my money right.
If you really wanna stop me,
you should know that I don’t run from fights.
Part of what makes MPH so much fun to listen to is how its lyrics twist and turn – playing as equal parts a hype song and a diss track. The addictive beat is hard not to dance along to, which becomes a highly intentional component of the song as the chorus kicks into gear, and she repeats:
Whatever it is that you’re doing
I don’t really think I would call that a dance.
As Doechii repeats these lyrics over and over, it feels as if the listener is being brought into the storyline. Doechii makes music that can make her fans dance. But her unnamed contemporaries? Not so much.
From opening for Doja Cat on the recent Scarlet Tour, to debuting on the Billboard Hot 100 last year with her viral single “What it Is,” Doechii has quickly become one of the fastest rising artists in the music industry today. She has also been unafraid to talk about the way identity shapes her music. Earlier this month she wrote an open letter to the queer community for Billboard, talking about how her experience as a bisexual artist from the South has shaped her career, sharing:
“Growing up as part of the LGBTQ+ community in the South, acceptance wasn’t always readily available to me. As a bisexual woman living in Tampa, Florida during the early 2000s, I stood out from the perceived norm… The LGBTQ+ community provided me with the support and encouragement to defy societal norms and embrace my true self unapologetically.”
Doechii’s range as a singer and rapper feels unbound.
There’s no telling what is going to come next, which is what makes her music so exciting. Earlier this year she sat down with fellow rapper JT for Interview Magazine where she talked about feeling artistically free to do whatever she wants, saying:
“As far as boxes and s**t, I don’t do that. I jump from genre to genre. I’ll be making a rock song, then I make a pop song, then I make this, that, and the third. I don’t think I have to be super deep in all of my songs, but I also don’t have to be superficial all the time either. It’s a balance.”
While Doechii may be clear that “MPH” isn’t a single – whatever it is, I’m tuned in.
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Stream: “MPH” – Doechii
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