Doechii Keeps the Window Shade Down on Flights
The Grammy-nominated rapper and singer reveals her hot takes and tips from touring the world.
We love Doechii—at just 26, she’s produced three incredible mixtapes that showcase her wide range of artistic talent. Her latest release, Alligator Bites Never Heal, just earned her three Grammy nominations: Best Rap Album, Best New Artist, and Best Rap Performance. In addition to her music, Doechii is also making waves in the fashion world, showing up at red carpets and runway shows worldwide, and collaborating with other major artists like SZA and Katy Perry. She’s a can’t-miss performer who shared tips learned from her globetrotting career.
A lot of my traveling began with road trips. I remember driving a lot to go see family in Orlando. And then we had family in Tallahassee, and then we started driving all the way to Georgia. We went as far as we could. And then I had my first flight when I was 16 and it was to Los Angeles, because I wanted to become a YouTuber. I flew all the way to YouTube headquarters and did nothing. But anyway.
Travel ends up bleeding together these days, and I'll expand on that. A lot of my work requires travel and I usually will end up extending those stays so that I can try to get a little play in. Most of my life is me working. And so if I can incorporate a little play into my travel and into me going to these stops, I like to do that.
Spain has really stood out. I did Ibiza and I also did Barcelona. That's been my favorite place to visit so far. And both of those times were for work that ended up also being play. I really would like to go back to Ibiza. I want to perform in Spain again. I really, really love it out there. It's just so beautiful. So I'm hitting Paris, Germany, I'm hitting London, I'm doing all of those, but I really want to go closer to the water.
Specifically for touring, I definitely prefer to take a bus over flights. You would think that you want to do flights, but the inconvenience of constantly having to pack and repack and hop on a plane and go to that plane and wake up early is a lot. And it wears on you a lot more than it would if you were just in a small bunk on a bus. So again, those road trips over flights. I'm team road trip.
Another pro tip that I've learned is how to be super hygienic on planes. And while traveling, if I could bring a portable mop and mop my area on the plane, I would. I'm very, very, very cleanly. When I'm traveling on planes, I wipe down every single thing. I wear gloves, I learned this hack from Naomi Campbell and I spray everything down. I also bring my face mask on planes and I do my skincare routines just to stay fresh. So I'm an expert when it comes to flying. I fly so much.
Rapid fire
Window or aisle seat?
Window, 100%.
Do you keep the window open to look out?
No, I'm not that person. Close that shit. Please close it.
Are you a light packer or an over packer?
Definitely over pack.
What's your favorite way to pass the time on a plane?
I play Monopoly on my phone, and if it's not Monopoly, it's probably ZzzQuill and I'm sleeping.
The best tip for fighting jet lag?
I don't know. I'm a maniac. I just go, I don't know, just go. Just sheer will.
What's your favorite travel snack?
It would have to be, you probably don't know about it, but it's the Cheez-It party mix.
Travel must-haves
Lysol wipes. Lysol wipes. Lysol wipes because I have to keep every single thing around me. Clean everything. I clean the seatbelt, I clean the seat, I clean the floor, I clean it.
Second thing would be my laptop and cell phone. Kind of interchangeable for obvious reasons. I don't even think I need to expand there, I just need them.
A blanket. I'm anemic and I get very, very cold and I hate being cold.
