If you tend to spend time on TikTok every day, it is extremely likely that you have Doechii’s recently released “Anxiety” stuck in your head. In the past few weeks, the song has been used for a new dance trend on the app, and as many know, when a song becomes popular on TikTok, you will be hearing it often for the next few weeks. Despite being recently released and currently trending, the history behind the song began long before its recent release. Its origins go back early in Doechii’s career in 2019 when she first released “Anxiety,” which samples the beat from the song “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye. Her song was then sampled by the artist Sleepy Hollow, and new Doechii fans eventually discovered her original song through social media. After she realized the song was trending and fans wanted her to release the original track, she took advantage of the online traction and re-recorded “Anxiety” to be released to streaming platforms.
Doechii’s music has become quite popular with the release of “Alligator Bites Never Heal,” the album that helped the artist win her first Grammy award for Best Rap Album this past year. Doechii became only the third woman to win the Grammy for this category. The album has been deemed refreshing, exciting and unapologetically genuine, which are all traits that have become synonymous with Doechii’s celebrity brand. Many songs from this album became popular as sounds on TikTok, but “Anxiety” was the first of her songs to become part of a TikTok trend. Through re-releasing her song, Doechii once again took social media by storm and showed her fans she always wants to deliver art that they love as much as her.
The song itself has a rather simple, consistent beat throughout it that feels quite familiar since it was sampled from “Somebody That I Used to Know.” It adds a unique addition to Doechii’s discography since it showcases her vocal talent which is not always highlighted in her rap songs. Despite this, the style of the song stays true to her performance style, and as the song continues more and more voices begin to overlap, creating a sweeping crescendo at its conclusion. The song captures the same feeling as “Anxiety,” with the lyrics describing the eerie feeling of being watched by the physical embodiment of her own anxiety. As the song goes on, the breathing in the background picks up and gets faster to display her panic. Additionally, the previously mentioned crescendo emphasizes the rise in chaos she experiences as her anxiety looms over her. In true Doechii fashion, “Anxiety” delivers a strong message through storytelling and creatively structuring the music while also still being catchy and fun.