"DEI sympathy Grammy"— Controversial takes fly as netizens left divided over Doechii winning historic Rap Album award at the Grammys

Spotlight: Doechii - Source: Getty — Doechii has won an award in the category of Best Rap Album at the recent Grammy Awards (Image via Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

Doechii is trending in the headlines after she won an award for Alligator Bites Never Heal in the category of Best Rap Album at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards held on February 2, 2025. Notably, it marked the first Grammy for the popular rapper.

Also known as Jaylah Ji'mya Hickmon, she beat out other nominees, such as J. Cole and Eminem, in the category. The award was presented by Cardi B. Apart from this, Doechii was included in two other categories as a nominee, including Best New Artist and Best Rap Performance.

As she gave a speech, Jaylah had a message for all the Black women who were trying to win an award in the same category, saying that they can do it and everything is possible.

"Don't allow anybody to project any stereotypes on you, tell you that you can't be here, that you're too dark, that you're not smart enough, that you're too dramatic, you're too loud. You are exactly who you need to be… and I am a testimony," she further stated.

While the news of Doechii's achievement went viral on different platforms, netizens took to the comments section of The Shade Room's Instagram post on the same, to share their reactions.

Although Jaylah's fans expressed their happiness about her win, others were seemingly not happy with the same. A user even referred to The Recording Academy's commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and wrote:

"This was a DEI sympathy Grammy. That album sold 20k the first week, there's no way this is possible."

A user reacts (Image via Instagram/ @theshaderoom)

Among Jaylah's supporters, a user called her a "talented artist" who has brought uniqueness to the music industry. People were also spotted praising her album Alligator Bites Never Heal, which was released in 2024, with one of them writing that she deserved to win.

Online reactions (Images via Instagram/ @theshaderoom)

On the other hand, people addressed those who were nominated in the same category, and a person wrote that J. Cole will get ignored forever at the awards ceremony. Another user alleged that Doechii's achievement was a "fraudulent win," pointing out that her album allegedly sold 11,000 units in the first week.

An individual also stated that Future or Metro Boomin' should have received the award. A user seemingly expressed disappointment that Nicki Minaj was not nominated in the category despite that she had the record of being the highest-selling female rap artist last year.

Doechii became emotional as she gave a speech after winning the Grammy award

While the Tampa, Florida native won an award in the category of the Best Rap Album, she was spotted getting emotional as she began her speech. According to Billboard, Jaylah addressed that it is rare for a female to become a winner in this category.

Doechii mentioned that apart from her, Lauryn Hill and Cardi B have previously won the award of the Best Rap Album, and then started speaking about herself. She referred to her hometown by saying:

"There's so many people out there who probably don't know who I am. I call myself the Swamp Princess because I'm from Tampa, Florida. There's so much culture in Tampa.… labels, go to Tampa."

She also spoke about her project Alligator Bites Never Heal, saying that she put her "heart and soul" into it and continued:

"I bared my life. I went through so much. I dedicated myself to sobriety and God told me he would reward me and show me just how good it could get."

Following its release, Alligator Bites Never Heal was well-received by the public and it was added to the list of best albums by publications such as NPR and Rolling Stone.

Edited by Ahana Mukhopadhyay