Music

Doechii, What it is hoe? The song lyrics and meaning

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Some songs are genuinely able to conquer the Internet. They become social networks’ favorites, they get viral because people love them, and their lifespan becomes much longer. What It Is by Doechii & Kodak Black is one of the most popular songs of 2023: released in March, it got increasingly viral in the following months, especially with the line repeated in the chorus, “what it is hoe?” It’s time to explore the lyrics and their meaning: you will also find the complete lyrics at the end.

You can watch the official video for What It Is below.

Doechii - What It Is (Block Boy) feat. Kodak Black [Official Video]
Watch this video on YouTube.

What it is hoe? The song lyrics and meaning

In What It Is, Doechii reflects on how girls are often attracted to bad boys. The main line, “what it is, hoe?” is addressed to all girls from the block who have “a little thug” next to them: in urban slang, a “hoe” is a girl who enjoys life and sex without problems, and a “thug” is a criminal. The background is that many normal girls end up with bad boys, and that’s just a fact. “It is what it is,” the song implies. And the chorus includes another message:

What it is, hoe? What’s up?
Every good girl needs a little thug
Every block boy needs a little love
If you put it down, I’ma pick it up, up, up

Even a bad boy needs love. From this point of view, Doechii is not paying too much attention to the possible consequences of dating a bad guy: she feels someone has to save them after all, so if some other girl refuses them, she may be the one who can comfort them.

Doechii doesn’t need to point out how a thug fascinates a girl. She mentions his attitude, physical strength, and the different kind of sex they are going to have with them.

Bedroom bully in the bando
He gon’ make it flip, do it with no handles
Never switchin’ sides, only switchin’ angles
Ooh, we go crazy like Rambo

A solo version is popular on TikTok, where Doechii is the only one singing. However, the original song features the rapper Kodak Black, who impersonates the typical bad boy: he’s the gangster, but he knows he needs a girl supporting him. And yeah, a gangster needs love too.

Behind every gangster, a shawty solid that got his back
[…]
Bein’ Black in America, is the hardest thing to be (Baby, tell me, yeah)
Every thug need a lil’ love too, baby, how ‘bout me?

That’s the real meaning behind the lyrics of What It Is: it’s a fact, girls love bad boys, and bad boys need love too. Somehow, each side matches the other’s needs, and there isn’t much you can do. Awareness is the first step to a better life. It is what it is, hoe.

Read other popular song lyrics and their meaning on Auralcrave

The complete lyrics

What it is, hoe? What’s up?
Every good girl needs a little thug
Every block boy needs a little love
If you put it down, I’ma pick it up, up, up

Can’t you just see, it’s just me and you?
Panoramic view, that’s my point of view, bae
All about me, that’s the energy
That’s that lemon pepper thing, I’m a ten-piece, baby

Bedroom bully in the bando
He gon’ make it flip, do it with no handles
Never switchin’ sides, only switchin’ angles
Ooh, we go crazy like Rambo

What it is, hoe? (What it is?) What’s up? (What’s up?)
Every good girl needs a little thug (Thug)
Every block boy needs a little love (Love)
If you put it down, I’ma pick it up, up (Ayy), up (Ayy)

Hit ’em up, hit ’em up
In the truck, got it tucked
He get it up, like it’s stuck
All night, I like
You ain’t gotta say it when you know it’s on site

(Kodak Black)
She got everything he wanted, a nice body, a– fat
Behind every gangster, a shawty solid that got his back
He know who to come to every-time the world handlin’ him bad
The way he call first, but still he always put her last (Always put her last, yeah)
I’m pourin’ out this glass, my body fightin’ off that gas (Off that gas, yeah)
On smoke box, I kill ’em, that zaza pack kickin’ my a– (Kickin’ my ass, yeah)
In the studio dosin’, all I can keep from falling asleep
I hate that for you n–as ain’t got no bread, but trying to beef

Bein’ Black in America, is the hardest thing to be (Baby, tell me, yeah)
Every thug need a lil’ love too, baby, how ‘bout me?
Told her, “Don’t call me a stink ’cause I smell like money”
I putting down the greatest babe, hold this here for me
I took her from a n–a, we vibin’, two weeks out of the country
So she had a lil’ situation, but I could tell it ain’t ’bout nothin’
Now me and her rappin’, b- -h
She say, “Don’t hush me”, I say, “Don’t rush me”
And I can tell how much she like a n–a by the way she s–k it
Ho, what it is?

What it is, hoe? (What it is?) What’s up? (What’s up?)
Every good girl needs a little thug (Thug)
Every block boy needs a little love (Love)
If you put it down, I’ma pick it up, up (Ayy), up (Ayy)

I don’t care if you run the streets
Long as you comin’ home to me
I love the way you walk and the way you speak
He gon’ keep it real, that’s the deal, that’s the reason that I speed down, down (Down, down, down, down)
I put that all on my name (All on my name)
Yeah, that’s an even exchange (Tell me what it is)
Stay on your deal, we gon’ tell ’em, we gon’ tell ’em what, babe

What it is, hoe? (What it is?) What’s up?
Every good girl needs a little thug (Needs a little thug)
Every block boy needs a little love (Needs a little love, yeah)
If you put it down, I’ma pick it up, up, up

Back it up and do, and do it like that, yeah (What it is? What’s up?)
Back it up and do it like that, yeah (Ho)
Back it up, back it and do it like that, yeah
Back it up gon’ and do it like that, yeah (Woo)
Hey, what it is? Hey, what’s up?
J. White Did It (Yup, yup)
More is on the way (Yup, yup, yeah)
We need a lil’ love, you know what I mean? (Yeah, ayy-ayy, woo)
Ride out, woah

Published by Carlo Affatigato

Carlo has been a web content creator for over 10 years. He founded Auralcrave in 2015, envisioning it as a new space capable of offering different perspectives on topics that passionate all of us. With a scientific background, Carlo developed an interest in music, cinema, literature, and art at a young age, transforming it into a complementary dimension to his professional growth. For years, he was a music journalist specializing in electronic and dance music, writing for the most important Italian magazines (both online and print). Movies and TV series have been a true obsession in many phases of his life: during university, it was not uncommon for him to set the alarm in the middle of the night to watch classic films airing on TV. With the advent of the Internet, Carlo became a keen observer of web and social phenomena, addressing light topics such as advertising, trends, fashion, and general themes. He is the main author of Auralcrave and personally manages its social media, editorial line, book publication, resource management, and business expansion. A former engineer, life coach, husband, and father, he believes that every area of knowledge has interesting stories that deserve to be told and is convinced that doing so makes the world a better place.