So Doechii Pretty Much Killed It at Outside Lands

Friday night at Outside Lands, Doechii called a masterclass into session.

As her dancers dressed in high-fashion school uniforms writhed around student desks, Doechii strutted out to a boom-bap beat with daggers in her eyes, rapping in a pleated micro miniskirt: “Doechii the don / Doechii the dean / Doechii supreme / The swamp ruler.” Just like that, we were officially enrolled in Doechii’s School of Hip-Hop.

Perched atop a massive boom box, Doechii exuded poise and determination. Continuing the academic theme, cheeky narration broke the show down into chapters like “good bars and great bars” and “the aspect of flow.” Doechii excelled in every curriculum, demonstrating otherworldly breath control while rapping and dancing with athletic precision. Fans danced and jumped, but their eyes were laser-focused on the stage, afraid to miss a moment.

Doechii’s DJ, Miss Milan, interlaced the set with samples that positioned Doechii’s discography as part of a venerable lineage. “Persuasive” bled into Missy Elliott’s “She’s a Bitch”; “Boiled Peanuts” morphed into the beat of “C.R.E.A.M” by Wu-Tang Clan. Throughout the show, we caught snippets of Paul Wall, Doug E. Fresh and Crime Mob’s “Knuck If You Buck.”

After the boom-bap portion of the show, Doechii paid homage to the queer art of ballroom. “Alter Ego,” which she rapped with enough energy to light your hair on fire, was blended with a Crystal Waters sample as her dancers vogued, practically levitating off the stage. Doechii proclaimed, “Where my gays at?” to loud cheers from the main-stage crowd, tens of thousands deep.

The 45-minute set went from twerking to head banging during “Catfish,” with Doechii declaring, “Free Palestine, what the fuck is you talkin’ about?” As her cheeky, self-reflective breakout hit “Denial Is a River” closed out the show, she heartily thanked the people in the back, her dancers, her band and production.

Doechii delivered nothing but excellence, and she wasn’t even the festival headliner at Outside Lands. She returns to San Francisco on Friday, Nov. 7 for a show at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium; expect tickets to sell out quickly when they go on sale to the general public Monday morning.

More Outside Lands highlights

Doja Cat, the queen of camp

Doechii was a tough act to follow, and Doja Cat’s ensuing set as Friday’s headliner drew a noticeably sparser crowd. Dressed in ultra-kitschy head-to-toe zebra print with huge, teased-out blond hair, Doja came on stage singing “Woman” in an ’80s hair metal look that glowed in the dark. Throughout her 90-minute set, she teased the crowd with sexy songs like “Juicy” and got people jumping during the rambunctious “Tia Tamara.” With fireworks and pyrotechnics, but without dancers, a costume change or much set design, the performance left me wanting more — especially for one of the most highly anticipated sets of the night.

Fcukers were the breakout act of the evening

Almost every year at Outside Lands, there’s someone who kills it at the smaller Panhandle stage, and this year it was Fcukers. Deadpan valley-girl vocals, punchy drums, dreamy synths and DJ scratching fused into sheerly fun party music that packed in teens and 20-somethings eager for more post-Brat hedonism. Their Friday afternoon set proved Fcukers will be ready for bigger stages soon.