When Doechii sat down with Apple Music Radio to dissect her latest album, she told host Ebro Darden this is what she wants new listeners to understand about her. Her most recent mixtape, Alligator Bites Never Heal, is a unique 19-track project that keeps listeners wondering what’s next from start to finish. Despite being released almost two months ago, it’s easily maintained its relevance as one of the most talked-about projects, and definitely stands out as one of the most outstanding releases of the year. After Doechii announced an international 12-stop tour, all shows sold out within the first ten minutes, with her New York City and Philadelphia shows quickly upgraded to larger venues. If you haven’t tuned in yet, you’re probably wondering what all the hype’s about.
The Tampa native, previously known as “iamdoechii” and known back home as Jaylah Hickmon, has long been in a league of her own. Some of her most well-known songs include Tik-Tok viral record “Yucky Blucky Fruitcake” from her 2020 EP Oh The Places You’ll Go, as well as her 2022 hit “Persuasive” and 2023 R&B single “What It Is (Block Boy)”. On Doechii’s newest album, versatility and vulnerability reign supreme as she tackles the ups and downs of life and its many emotions, from sky-high confidence to insecurity and heartbreak.
With “STANKA POOH”, she opens the album rapping in her signature style, spilling out a chaotic list of random possibilities towards the end: “What if I die on purpose? What if it wasn’t even worth it? What if I’m walkin’ alone? What if I choke on this Slurpee? What if I make it big? What if my car exploded while I’m casually pumping the gas and smokin’ a cig?…Whole lotta bills and a whole lotta kids.” She then concludes the song in true Doechii fashion– still anxious, but unashamedly hilarious and witty: “And if those the only fears that I’ll take to my grave, I’m pissin’ on you h*es, livin’ or dead.” She continues showing off her rap skills with “BULLFROG” and “CATFISH.”
On “BOILED PEANUTS,” she pays tribute to her hometown, rapping, “I’m a dying sunflower leaving a trail of seeds, in the 813, that’s my legacy.” She recalls the simple, joyful aspects of her upbringing, captured by the chorus: “It’s a sunny day, the gang’s all here, no chip on my shoulder, a-ha-ha-ha-ha!” However, no song on the mixtape can compare to “DENIAL IS A RIVER,” a simultaneously dark but entertaining track.
Throughout the song, the title being a reference to a viral Wendy Williams clip, Doechii channels her love for old-school rap and showcases her storytelling abilities. She tells the story of discovering an ex-boyfriend had been cheating on her with another man, and the process of coping with it as well as the other hardships of life.
In her conversation with Apple Music Radio, she discusses what rap means to her, and expresses that there needs to be more balance in today’s rap between flaunting what we’ve accomplished and talking about the real issues affecting us. “There is importance in tradition. I feel like it is important for us to uphold the heart of hip hop, which is lyrical composition, it is skill, it is wittiness,” she says. “But it is also talking about our feelings, being honest about what we’re going through, and connecting us as people.”
“DENIAL IS A RIVER” is formatted as a conversation between Doechii and her alter-ego therapist, who facilitates an intervention after hearing people are a little worried about her. While she opens up to her therapist, she also seems to run away from fully processing the trauma and the heartbreak she’s experiencing. When Doechii’s therapist prompts her to stop for a moment and further unpack what happened, she instead jumps to a hustle attitude, replying, “Mmm, nah, f*ck it, platinum record this, viral record that, I’m makin’ so much money, I’m all over the net… I need a cleanse, need a detox, but we ain’t got time to stop, the charts need us…” She momentarily pauses her bragging about money and success to be a bit more honest about her sadness and drug use, which is challenged by her therapist:
“Honestly, I can’t even f*cking cap, this is a really dark time for me. I’m goin’ through a lot— By a lot, you mean drugs? Um, I wouldn’t— Drugs? No, it’s a— No? It’s a natural plant No, I’m not judging I’m not an addict I’m just sayin’ I don’t think— You wanna talk about it? Uhhhh…”
She proceeds to talk further about engaging in the endlessly glorified Hollywood lifestyle: day-drinking, strippers, sex, pills, the list goes on. She opens up to Ebro Darden in her interview about the development of her unhealthy relationship with substances, discussing the culture shock she experienced moving from Florida to Los Angeles to chase her dreams, and the struggle of being unable to find true community there. She reminisced on the loneliness of that transition: “It’s just me and my label. I’m just one young girl, my family’s not with me… over time I just started to party a lot.” She has also been open about her newfound sobriety, and the journey of coming back to herself. Her experience is not unique and is one that both celebrities and ordinary people often battle with. As she puts it, “What can I say? The sh*t works, it feels good, and my self-worth’s at an all-time low.” She then returns to the subject of her ex-boyfriend, her helplessness turning into fury, and the song closes out with a breathing exercise as advised by her therapist, ingeniously resembling the sound of scratching turn tables.
Doechii then transitions into more of an R&B vibe with “SKIPP” and then “HIDE AND SEEK”, the first track where she both raps and sings. Unknown by many, Doechii has loved to sing since she was young– before she freestyled for fun with a friend one day and started exploring rap, she was a classically trained singer who did chorus and sang in her church choir.
On “BLOOM,” Doechii tackles the all too relatable feeling of overwhelm and discusses juggling the many responsibilities of adulthood: chasing goals, paying bills, maintaining relationships, and prioritizing self-care. The person in the introduction tries to advise her: “God made a day 24 hours. It’s not a lot of time…You gotta put pieces in places… You take part of those hours, you do what you can do, and you go to bed.” The conversation is followed by Doechii’s beautifully layered, hypnotic vocals.
The following song, “WAIT,” builds on the importance of slowing down and ceasing to worry about everything outside of the present moment. She sings, “Who wants to clear the fog and all the smog in your mirrors, when you could just fall back and wait? Delete your call log and clear your agenda, you should just eat what’s on your plate…”
“DEATH ROLL” is another vulnerable track, a window into Doechii’s painful emotions, anxieties, and insecurities, from feeling the need to prove herself to experiencing the grief of lost relationships. She raps, “I contemplate, how’d I ever get this rich or get this bag? I wonder what them labels see in a b*tch this Black, I wonder what my friends all think when I’m not there, I love the way my ideas flow when I’m not scarеd…” In the following song, “PROFIT,” she steps far away from this self-consciousness, returning to the self-assured, goal-oriented version of herself who works to make herself proud, instead of searching for other people’s approval. This song and its placement further into the album represent her growth in confidence over time as an artist:
My label hate the direction I’m goin’, they knock my sh*t Stick to the plan and ignore ’em, I can’t acknowledge it They don’t make statues of critics, they don’t make statues of fans I’m not no poli-ma-tician, I can’t be shakin’ them hands F*ck modest, f*ck polished, f*ck the politics I pledge allegiance to the motherf*ckin’ profit, b*tch
Another standout song on the album is “BOOM BAP,” which Doechii wrote while experiencing severe creative frustration. She felt confused and overwhelmed by the many voices in her ear, all voicing different opinions about the music they wanted from her. Some wanted rap, while others begged for R&B. After incessantly debating what genre to go for, as well as whether to aim for commercial success or a more underground appeal, she finally drowned out all the noise and released herself from the pressure. She conveys this mental chaos by rapping (sometimes random syllables), singing, even yelling, while also experimenting with different pitching and speeds. She eventually shouts, “It’s everything! I’M EVERYTHING!” representing her refusal to be restrained or boxed in by genres and expectations.
“I switched my mind frame and my questions…What story do I want to tell?… What realizations have I had? What wisdom do I wanna share with other people?” she shared with Ebro. “And that is what has birthed this project, and I naturally gravitated towards beats that complemented the truths that I wanted to tell. Thassit.”
The songs “NISSAN ALTIMA” and “SLIDE” are the most upbeat, catchy, and dance-worthy songs on the album. “GTFO” and “HUH!” are more mellow rap songs before she returns to singing on “FIREFLIES,” creating a hypnotic, otherworldly vibe comparable to that of “HIDE AND SEEK.” Producer Monte Booker’s unique style shines especially bright during the last minute and a half of the song, pairing beautifully with Doechii’s gentle vocals.
In “BEVERLY HILLS,” Doechii moves on more gracefully from a breakup, fed up with her ex-partner’s shortcomings and lack of effort, ready to level up to someone who matches her drive. Thematically, it perfectly leads into the album’s final song and namesake. Driving home one of the project’s major themes, “ALLIGATOR BITES NEVER HEAL” emphasizes that some people enter our lives for a reason or a season, not a lifetime, and that we must leave those people behind, even when it’s painful.
The outro provides some much-needed wisdom: “You gotta understand, the path that you going on, everybody can’t go… you can’t take everybody where you’re going.” The title is one that Doechii herself is still processing the meaning of: “There will always be a situation that will puncture you or wound you or hurt you, but at the end of the day, in a way, ironically, you will heal,” she told Ebro. “And scars will always be there to remind you what happened, but it’s kind of like a victory thing as well.”
With Alligator Bites Never Heal, Doechii reflects introspectively, reconnects with her roots, and undoubtedly meets her goal of creating a refreshingly honest, compelling project guaranteed to resonate with listeners in one way or another. In a world where the talent and contributions of Black women, especially dark-skinned Black women, are constantly disregarded, she has once again shown herself to be deserving of ALL the flowers.
“I’m really competitive at heart… I feel like the underdog,” Doechii revealed, “…and I just feel like, stop playin’ with me! Stop playing with my pen, stop playin’ with me!” If one thing’s for certain, “Doechii the Don, Doechii the Dean, Doechii Supreme, the Swamp Ruler” (“CATFISH”) is a musical force to be reckoned with, and is here to stay
