It’s supposed to read "Doll-E Girl"?
I would start from #2, then try to make it a bit more legible (and maybe a bit more ornate too).

Yes. It is supposed to read, "Doll- E Girl". Is there anything in particular that you feel make it difficult to read?

Thanks

Mostly the ll pair, which I struggled to make sense of: together with the non-centred hyphen, they resemble maybe a deconstructed H or some unrecognised character.

I agree with @riccard0. I tend to read the "LL-E" segment as "THE". Perhaps separating the hyphen from the second "L" will improve readability.
Also agree that the second version is the one to work on.
You may want to experiment with different ligatures to get a more dynamic look.

Thanks guys. I cleaned up the awkward "ll-" ligature. Here are a few variations. Whataya think?

The fine lines in 2 & 3 make me think of the rings of a cut off tree stump. Not sure what that has to do with the concept. I don't think I get the logic of the variation of fill in the letterforms. Maybe something less rigid and more decorative would be fitting? By that I mean more swashes and curly embellishments or something along those lines. Or maybe even just really making those ligatures work. I am just not feeling the D-o-l connections especially. Hope that helps

I agree that the thin lines within some of the letterforms are not really working. #3 is best but I'd try to simplify it - lose the thin lines hanging off the G and between the O and LL (makes it look like an e). Maybe fill in the terminals etc?

You guys are right. I got a bit away from the original concept in which simplicity is very important. I got rid of all of the ligatures. and simplified the fills as well. (The fills in the last comps were done pretty hastily). Again, this is not rendered perfectly at this point (particularly in the fills and some line weights), but I think it's far enough to get a critique on how successful the letterforms are.

Daniel,
I think you're about a mile away from your brief and moving back and forth in four-foot increments. So you know that you're not alone, I get this feeling from the entire rapping visual arts scene. Generally speaking, there's no visual sophistication there.
My advice is that you get out of your studio and go for a walk to clear your mind of what you've done on the project already, perhaps to a library or art museum. Find some art that you feel is to the level your brief demands: the most mature, sophisticated, feminine art available. It need not be type-related. Then ask yourself why it accomplishes what it does, and what allows it to do this. If you will take your lessons as they come and begin to let them open your eyes, they'll see you through this little logotype exercise.

^^^

I'm currently creating letter shapes for a hip hop artist's CD to be released at the end of this year. I looked to the hip hop culture for inspiration and what clicked with me was the silk band found on hip hop felt hats, the silk band in relation to the felt hat.

So yeah definitely take a look around. You never know.