Mississippi girl who went viral after rapping ‘Chickenhead’ to perform with Project Pat

Nine-year-old Alaynna Doty is like many girls her age. She dreads going to school, but still has fun in certain classes. Her mom, Lauren Durham, describes her as a “girly girl,” but she still loves activities like hunting and riding in their side-by-side through muddy trails. Likely her biggest passion is singing.

And on 901 Day, she’ll be singing with Memphis rapper Project Pat.

The Byhalia girl’s journey to performing on stage with one of her favorite rappers began in mid-July with a trip to one of Alaynna and her mom’s favorite restaurants, Crazy Cactus in Olive Branch.

“I’ve been singing my whole life, but doing karaoke (about a year).” Alaynna said. “It just looked fun, I’ll really be listening to songs in the car and I’ll just sing.”

Most of the time, Alaynna sings country music — Lainey Wilson and Jessie Murph are two of her favorite artists. But she decided to switch it up this time and sing “Chickenhead” by Project Pat.

“I used to sing it all the time in the car because mom would play it a lot,” she said. It’s one of Durham’s favorites, and that love transferred over to her daughter.

Durham captured her daughter nailing the lyrics with the entire restaurant hyping her up and singing along with her. Her original video on TikTok currently sits at 5.4 million views and 1 million likes, and has been shared and reuploaded all across the internet — including by Project Pat.

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The video even briefly boosted the 2001 song back into the charts, hitting No. 8 in a late-July R&B/Hip-Hop digital song sales chart, and boosting the song to 1 million listens, a 219% increase in on-demand U.S. streams.

Alaynna said her best friend told her about her newfound fame.

“She was freaking out,” Alaynna said. “I was really happy, I just couldn’t believe it. (My other friends) said, ‘I think I saw you on YouTube,’ and I was like, you saw me?'”

“I was shocked, very shocked,” Durham said, “just because I’ve posted a lot of videos of her singing, and that one just blew up.”

One look at the viral video, or any number that Durham has posted, and it is easy to tell that Alaynna is completely in the zone when she has a mic in her hand. She displays an infectious confidence that Durham said she got from her late dad.

“He would always hype her up, she would sit in the garage and sing with him,” Durham said.

While her new fourth-grade teachers and close friends know about the video, Alaynna said “thank goodness” it has not reached her other classmates yet. She’s not ready for too much fame, though she would still love to be a singer when she grows up. That, or doctor or nurse — jobs she’s wanted to do since she was just 2 years old.

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The duo have tried karaoke at another DeSoto County restaurant but didn’t find the same supportive environment there, especially when it comes to Crazy Cactus’ karaoke host, DJ 12noon. Alaynna was at first nervous to switch genres from country, but the DJ and crowd gave her the confidence to try.

“That’s one thing I can say about Crazy Cactus, the people who go there are very good at hyping her up, no matter what she’s singing. Everybody in there just hypes her up for everything,” Durham said. “If it wasn’t for (DJ 12noon), I honestly don’t know if she would have even ended up singing it.”

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Now that she’s found a voice for rap, Alaynna’s karaoke repertoire will surely expand past just country to her other favorite artists, like Three 6 Mafia.

Despite not capturing the attention of all her peers, Alaynna got Project Pat’s notice. Now she is set to sing “Chickenhead” with the Memphis rapper at the 901 Day on Beale event. That signature confidence is still there — she’s got nerves of steel, and is beyond excited to sing with him during the Sept. 1 event.

“It’s bigger than just one song, it’s a full-circle community moment,” Beale Street Management Director Jon Shivers said. “Alaynna captured all of our attention when a clip of her rapping Project Pat went viral… letting the community cheer for her on Beale Street, in her own city takes it to another level.”

Memphis Mayor Paul Young said 901 Day is set to be the perfect time for Memphians to connect over local artists like Project Pat (and Alaynna).

“We think that our entire 901 Day lineup will show Memphis at its best: celebrating our own, lifting up young talent, and turning an internet moment into real-life community pride,” Young said. “And while Alaynna’s set will be a highlight, the rest of 901 Day will be just as exciting, packed with surprise performances, local artists, and plenty of ways for Memphians to connect and celebrate together.”

Countless comments across the internet lauded Alaynna’s performance. A noticeable pattern emerged: Most of the top-liked comments praised the mix of cultures at work in the video as an ideal of what the U.S. should be. The image of a White girl in a Mexican restaurant rapping for a mostly Black crowd struck a chord with thousands.

Seeing such positivity on the internet directed at her daughter had a big impact on Durham.

“It meant a lot to see everybody come together… and not so much hate on having so many different cultures together,” Durham said. “It made my heart very very happy to see everyone hype her up on the internet as well.”

Jacob Wilt is a reporter for The Commercial Appeal covering DeSoto County, as well as Dining in the Memphis area. You can reach him at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Mississippi girl to perform ‘Chickenhead’ with Project Pat