Ava Porten was “forced” by her parents to take piano lessons when she was five years old, but developed a passion for singing through vocal lessons at age 10.

At 20 years old, Porten, a junior business management major, was signed by the record label Distro by Benton and is now managed by Doechii’s father, known as Snatcha Da Boss.

This meant Doechii’s Grammy for best rap album on Feb. 2 resonated with Porten and inspired her to feel more confident as a singer fusing genres such as soul, R&B and pop, she said.

Doechii, born Jaylah Hickmon, was the third woman to win best rap album at the Grammys. In her award speech, Doechii called on labels to find talent in her hometown — Tampa.

“When she first started, he was the one helping produce, and now he’s working with me,” Porten said. “If we could get her there, what’s stopping me from being up there?”

Maily Nguyen, a junior creative writing major, said she releases alternative rock music but has always felt “connected” to rap artist Doechii due to their similar background.

Doechii and Nguyen both attended high schools for the arts, Howard W. Blake High School and Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts respectively, and began making music young. 

Nguyen played the trumpet in her elementary school’s choir. She then studied the French horn and taught herself guitar, bass and drums from middle school to college.

Nguyen began playing live shows in 2022, forming the band Maily Rock in September 2023 with friends she met at USF. 

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Nguyen said although she expected the win, she felt “Florida pride” seeing Doechii attain the award for her album “Alligator Bites Never Heal.”

“As somebody coming from an arts high school, it’s so cool to see her come up in success the way she has…and still remember her roots,” Nguyen said.

Porten said she was worried Doechii’s experimental approach to her new album would “cost her” the Grammy award. Doechii’s album is not conventional to typical rap songs in that it does not belong to just one genre, she said.

Nguyen said she hopes to be able to inspire artists in her hometown one day as Doechii has. 

Porten said she believes finding success on a national level coming from Tampa can be difficult because the music community is “less likely” to be discovered than in a city such as Los Angeles or Atlanta. 

Doechii’s win, however, proves it is possible, Porten said.

Porten said she hopes to network with the local music community and to create music people “can find comfort in.”

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Alexander Coppersmith produces rap and electronic music and said he was “not very familiar” with Doechii before the Grammys. 

Coppersmith, a junior computer science major, did not realize Doechii was from Tampa until seeing her acceptance speech online, he said.

The win excited him but did not necessarily make his own success feel more reachable, Coppersmith said. 

“So many stars have to align to reach the top of the top like she has,” Coppersmith said. “The music culture here is so cool, but underground. It can be difficult to get attention nationally.”

Coppersmith has also struggled to make musical connections as a commuter student from Wesley Chapel. However, he has made it a goal to network more after learning about Doechii’s background in Tampa, he said.

“I want the music scene in Tampa to take advantage of this moment and bring more attention to the talent here,” Coppersmith said.