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DDG is in the midst of his 24/7, weeklong Hit-A-Thon livestream, where he streams the process of creating his new album. We got to sit down in the middle of his stream to talk to him about why he decided to create an album during streaming, his top Billboard-charting songs, his eagerness for Blueface to be released, co-parenting Halo with Halle Bailey and more!

Are you watching DDG’s Hit-A-Thon? Let us know in the comments!

Tetris Kelly:

Yo, Billboard News hanging out with DDG, so bro, I’ve interviewed you like, I think this may be the third time, but nothing like this. So you gotta tell me, when did you decide you were gonna stream for seven days, man?

DDG:

I think I planned this probably, like, three weeks ago. 

Oh, dang, not even that long ago. 

Yeah, I know. 

You said, I want to do this. 

Yeah, I just been going every day, so I’m like, 36-37 days in a row. 

That is wild, and how did your team feel about it? 

Great. This is going amazing, actually. This is going much better than I actually thought. I thought it was gonna be, like, just something cool, but this is, like, my biggest project ever. 

And I mean, it’s got to feel good, but at the same time, I know it can’t be just like easy to be 24/7 on the stream. So has it at any point yet, has it felt like this is overwhelming?

Nah, I ain’t gonna lie, it’s cool because, well, I got, like, my family and friends that pull up just to help entertain the audience, so it’s not too many dead moments. And that’s, that’s that’s what a lot of people scared of when they do like, 24/7 streaming, because it can be like moments where it’s like, super dead and you don’t know what to do, and you just don’t know how to entertain them. You run out of things to do. But since I got a lot of people here pulling up every day, it makes it easier for me to, like, you know, jump back and forth. Plus, I got a pool, basketball court and-

Stuff to do. 

Keep watching for more!

With Doechii being honored at Billboard Women in Music this upcoming Saturday as Woman of the Year, Billboard staffers share their take on the internet debating if she’s an industry plant, and explain why she isn’t.

Keep watching to see their take!

What do you think an industry plant is? Let us know in the comments below!

Jerah Milligan:

Yo, y’all see Twitter going crazy talking about Doechii and Billboard? 

Evan Burke:

Oh, my god, yeah. I gotta show you this one. Someone said “kind of awesome that it’s only March and Billboard’s like’ we’ve seen enough it’s Doechii.’” I mean, but it’s legit though. I mean, she just won a Grammy that only two other women has ever won. 

Ciara Zimring:

She’s killing it. 

Evan Burke:

And I mean, Women in Music always happens every March. So it’s not like we just decided.

Stefanie Tanaka:

It’s not like this is, like, the first time we’ve done it. We kind of did something similar, with SZA like, ‘SOS’ came out at the very end of, like, 2022 when she was our Woman of the Year in March, and then she had that great run in 2023 with ‘SOS.’ 

Tetris Kelly:

But I feel like what they’re really doing is just putting Billboard in the conversation that they were already trying to have about Doechii being an industry plant.

Evan Burke:

I mean, they’ve always been trying to discredit her success. I mean, she has been like in the game forever. She was our Rising Star two years ago. So it’s not like she is brand new. 

Tetris Kelly:

Oh my god. Two years ago, I was talking to her at Coachella. 

Ciara Zimring:

Oh, right! 

Jerah Milligan:

Oh, well five years ago I saw her on Twitter. I saw her post “ I lost my job. I’m going to go knock on doors” 

Keep watching for more!