Doechii makes a ferocious comeback through her latest mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal. The Tampa native is emerging from the shadows of the swamp after not releasing an EP for over 3 years, to prove that she deserves to be considered one of the best female rap artists of our time. This project oozes authenticity, and cements her as a true storytelling hip-hop artist. The 19-track album leads you into the dark corners of Doechii’s mind, and explores topics related to her career, love life, struggles with addiction, mental health, and family matters. While Doechii recently said in an interview with Paper Mag that this project is all about her own self expression and healing, rather than what is trending or expected of her, the diverse and intimate subject matter allows Doechii to connect with the listener on a more personal level.
In “Denial Is a River” Doechii uses a call-and-answer format where she is both talking as herself, and an unnamed narrator, who is helping her process what has happened to her in the last few years. In that song alone, she mentions her cheating ex-boyfriend, how she navigated her rise to fame, and her complicated relationship with drugs and party culture in Los Angeles. She delves deeper into her relationship woes in “Fireflies”, which despite its title, is probably one of the darkest songs on the project, and “Beverly Hills” where she states she was “waking up to piss in the bathroom” and “thinking about another life without [him]”. On “Death Roll” she contemplates her rise to fame, how she’s perceived as a black artist, the loss of friends and lovers, but concludes she would “rather choose me over them”. On “Boom Bap” Doechii proves to her haters that she can effortlessly rap old-school style, despite having big hits like last summer’s smash “What It Is (Black Boy)”. She also has a few more playful/ slightly Pop-adjacent Rap songs on the project such as her single “Nissan Altima” and “GTFO” ft KUNTFETISH, both of which feature infectiously energetic beats and melodies.
The title track “Alligator Bites Never Heal” is also the closing track; an interesting choice of placement, as most title tracks on a project have already been played by the time the final track arrives. However, to me this seems very intentional, and obviously fitting considering the subject matter. In this track, she is presumably reminiscing on a previous relationship before fame, someone she may have hurt but had enjoyed easier days with. It concludes with the sentiment that she can’t take everyone with her to the top, a sad but common theme for successful artists. This leaves her alone at the end of the project, and brings everything full circle with the intro song “Stanka Pooh” that “starts the story backwards” and kills off the preconceived notion - that those who don’t know much of Doechii’s music outside of her mainstream hits - that she is a “TikTok rapper” In fact, this mixtape proves the exact opposite: Doechii is perhaps one of the only female artists emerging in this era that keep the true integrity of rap alive and thriving. Overall I’d give the album a 4.5/5, as it is a clearly well thought out project with a lot of interesting ideas and layers to keep the listener engaged in her story.
Favorite Tracks: Denial is a River, Catfish, Skipp, Wait, GTFO, Slide, Fireflies
Least Favorite: Profit, Huh!, Bullfrog
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