Songfacts®:

• "Anxiety" is a personal and introspective song that explores themes of mental health, self-discovery, and the unrelenting pressures of the modern world. Doechii borrows the instrumental from Gotye's 2011 pensive mega-hit "Somebody That I Used To Know," which is the perfect sonic backdrop for her confessions.
• The song starts with the hook, which emphasizes the persistent presence of anxiety.
  
  My anxiety
  Can't shake it off of me
  Somebody's watchin' me
  And my anxiety, yeah
  
  From there, things unravel in a poetic and painfully real way. In the first verse, Doechii raps about losing her spark, about trying to outrun the weight of it all - money, relationships, expectations - but never quite shaking the feeling of being trapped. The second verse takes a sharper turn, weaving in references to police brutality, global unrest, and the not-so-progressive political climate in her home state of Florida.
• Mental health is a recurring theme in Doechii's work, both in her music and in her public statements. "Denial Is A River," for example, is structured like a therapy session.
• "Anxiety" first emerged on YouTube in 2019, where it simmered quietly until 2023, when Jamaican-American rapper Sleepy Hallow sampled it for a single. His version took off, sending listeners scrambling to find Doechii's original on TikTok. Finally, after years of floating around in the digital ether, she released the full track to streaming services on March 4, 2025.
• A TikTok dance trend inspired by a scene from the 1990s TV show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air significantly boosted the online success of "Anxiety". In the original scene, Tatyana Ali's character, Ashley, dances with headphones on in her room while Will Smith's character mimics her moves behind her. TikTok users recreated this nostalgic moment, performing the dance to Doechii's "Anxiety." The trend gained further momentum when Smith and Ali reunited to recreate the iconic dance, this time featuring Doechii and dancing to "Anxiety."
• Helmed by James Mackel, who also co-directed Doechii's "Denial Is A River" clip, the "Anxiety" video begins with the Florida rapper on her bed, working on music, a visual nod to the intimate vibe of her 2019 Coven Music Sessions, where the song was first born. Suddenly, a S.W.A.T. team crashes through her windows, plunging the video into a surreal, anxiety-fueled spiral.
  
  The visual pays homage to "Somebody That I Used to Know," when Doechii glances over to see a man and woman camouflaged against a wall in geometric body paint - a direct visual echo of Gotye's iconic video.
• The video won for Best Hip Hop at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards, besting Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us." The "Anxiety" video also took the prize for Best Choreography.