BOW DOWN TO DOECHII

Fresh off her Grammy win, the unapologetic Florida rapper is just getting started.

- Danya Issawi

Doechii is tired, but she doesn't have time to relax.

We're standing in the lobby of the Civilian hotel in midtown on a freezing December afternoon, and after a brief introduction, we're already on the move. The rapper doesn't walk; she strides, her arms crossed over her chest and heels click-clacking on the pavement as we head to Masseria Caffè & Bakery for coffee. She woke up early this morning for an appearance on "The Breakfast Club," where she told Charlamagne tha God about her new girlfriend, and now she has to catch a flight back to Los Angeles in a few hours.

At Masseria, despite the frigid temperatures, Doechii orders an iced caramel latte with "two times the sweetness." She turns to me. "Ever been to Maison Pickle? I just had some last night-a sweet, spicy pickle," she says. "I was like, Oh my God. This is the best thing I've ever experienced in my life."

It's a bold statement for someone who has been achieving a lot of personal bests lately. The week we met, she'd gone viral twice. First, for an intricate self-choreographed performance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, in which she rapped a five-minute medley of two songs from her mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal while dancing alongside two other performers, all literally connected to one another by interwoven braids. Then, a jazz-infused NPR "Tiny Desk" set that showcased the artist performing her already speedy "Nissan Altima" at a quicker tempo to an arrangement played by an all-Black, all-femme, all-braided band made the rounds online too.