Girl, Get Up

"Girl, Get Up" is a song by American rapper Doechii, featuring American singer-songwriter SZA. It was surprise-released on December 29, 2025, by Top Dawg Entertainment and Capitol Records. Doechii wrote the song as a response to accusations that she was an industry plant, or someone who became famous seemingly out of nowhere because of powerful people in the music industry.

"Girl, Get Up" is a hip-hop song combining guitars, drum grooves, and mellow synthesizers; it samples the 2002 single "What Happened to That Boy" (2002) by Birdman and Clipse. In the lyrics, Doechii rebukes the accusations of her being an industry plant, rapping that they come from misogynists and racists who downplay her years of hard work. She scorns streamers and bloggers, likely including Adin Ross, for peddling the rumors and backlash.

Music and cultural critics wrote positively about the song. They praised the incisive and direct nature of the lyrics, connecting it to wider discussions of misogynoir in hip-hop. "Girl, Get Up" debuted and peaked on number 57 on the US Billboard Hot 100; it also charted in the top 100 of Canada, Nigeria, and the UK.

American rapper Doechii rose to mainstream fame in 2024 with the release of her mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal, which won a Grammy award for Best Rap Album.^[1][2] Since then, she began receiving allegations of being an "industry plant", or someone who becomes famous seemingly out of nowhere because of industry connections, from Internet personalities like streamer Adin Ross.^[3][2] Her music became a subject of online backlash as well. Her discography was called "Harriet Tubman music" or "slave music" after a TV performance of "Boiled Peanuts" – named after a snack introduced to the Southern United States by slaves from West Africa – went viral on social media.^[1][4] Doechii was accused of being in an "anti-male agenda" due to an offhand remark she made on First We Feast about heterosexual men being a "red flag".^[1]

Discussions about the backlash's sociopolitical aspects were published in several media outlets.^[1][4][3][5] Andre Gee of Rolling Stone wrote that the industry plant accusations were not only a "fundamental misunderstanding of how the [music] industry works", but also fueled by misogyny, queerphobia, and racism.^[1] Gee was critical of the "slave music" and "anti-male agenda" labels and said that they were similarly misogynistic and racist.^[1] Angie Martoccio, also from Rolling Stone, wrote that calling Doechii an industry plant was erroneous because she had been making music for over a decade, noting that the label has been used disproportionately on female musicians.^[3]

Doechii wrote "Girl, Get Up" as a response to the aforementioned online backlash.^[6] It is a hip-hop song^[7] featuring American singer-songwriter SZA, with whom Doechii first collaborated in 2022.^[8][9] The song samples Birdman and Clipse's "What Happened to That Boy" (2002), combining mellow synthesizers with the sample's guitars and drum grooves.^[10][11] Doechii and SZA co-wrote "Girl, Get Up" with Darius "Dixson" Scott and its producer, Jay Versace.^[12][13]

In the lyrics, Doechii rebukes the online accusations of her being an industry plant, having a drug addiction, or making a deal with the devil. She raps: "All that industry plant shit wack [...] Y'all wanna believe I'm on drugs and forsaken / They won't credit me, so they blame it on Satan / Blame it on my label, blame it on my team / End of the day, everything is on me."^[11] She scorns the bloggers, streamers, and social media users who peddle the accusations; Martoccio writes that this was likely a pointed response to Ross.^[3] Doechii attributes the backlash to misogynoir ("You suck every rap nigga dick from the back / But what's the agenda when the it girl Black?"),^[9] using it as an opportunity to tease an upcoming album ("These niggas misogynistic, I'll address it on the album").^[11][14] She compares the album to a six-month-old baby, which led to speculation that the album would be released in around three months after the single.^[14]

Jason P. Frank of Vulture writes that Doechii also took the opportunity to make the song "both a flex and a therapy session".^[11] Doechii flaunts her accomplishments, such as a co-sign from fellow rapper Kendrick Lamar, and adds that her haters dislike her because they refuse to acknowledge the efforts she made to be successful.^[8][14] She adds: "Y'all can’t fathom that I work this hard / And y'all can’t fathom that I earned this chart."^[6] In the song's hook, SZA sings words of affirmation: "Fuck a limitation, leave me, girl, get up / Somehow I know that I'll have everything that's mine."^[11][15]

"Girl, Get Up" was written as the last entry on Doechii's Swamp Sessions series. Each song on Swamp Sessions would be written in under an hour and released with a music video.^[10]

"Girl, Get Up" was surprise-released on streaming services on December 29, 2025, by Top Dawg Entertainment and Capitol Records.^[13][16] It was later sent to rhythmic contemporary radio on January 20, 2026.^[17] The music video, directed by James Mackel, was published the same day as the song's release on streaming.^[15] In the video, Doechii dances and drinks champagne on a yacht in her bikini, and in another scene, she sits on top of a stadium rooftop.^[6][18] Shortly after the song's release, Ross released a diss track, featuring rapper 6ix9ine, where he insults Doechii in various ways and affirms his view that she is still an industry plant.^[5]

Many critics wrote positively about "Girl, Get Up", citing the sharp and direct way Doechii responded to backlash against her. Frazier Tharpe of GQ praised the lyrics for being incisive and said it renewed his interest in her upcoming album after one of her previous singles, "Anxiety" (2025), dampened it. He also found "Girl, Get Up" well-produced and SZA's feature a welcome addition.^[19] Rolling Stone's Jon Blistein expressed similar opinions in his article about the song: "[it] offers Doechii the perfect platform to ruminate on life and retort the hate[;] SZA holds down the song with a simple but infectious hook."^[10] Culture critics who analyzed the controversy for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation were supportive of Doechii's commentary on misogyny and racism in the song, said that it was representative of hip-hop's long history of misogynoir, and made fun of Ross for being offended or "chipped by a throwaway".^[5][a] Kylah Williams, who included the song on a best-of-this-week list for The Fader, wrote: "Doechii's unbeatable pen and fearless emotional range are what's allowed her to thrive in an industry that's never made it easy for dark-skinned women."^[21]

In the US, "Girl, Get Up" debuted and peaked on number 57 on the Billboard Hot 100,^[22] as well as number 12 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.^[23] The single also peaked at number 13 on Rhythmic Airplay.^[24] Elsewhere, "Girl Get Up" peaked at number 81 in Canada,^[25] 79 in the UK,^[26] and 59 in Nigeria.^[27]