Doechii: Alligator Bites Never Heal

Doechii’s Alligator Bites Never Heal is an album that bites hard and refuses to let go. A sprawling, genre-bending testament to survival and self-affirmation, the project is both a love letter to her Florida roots and a raw chronicle of her battles with fame, sobriety, and the relentless churn of the music industry. The title itself, a nod to the alligator’s infamous “death roll,” frames the album as a fight for agency; Doechii refuses to be anyone’s prey, instead embracing her role as the “Swamp Princess” and predator in her own story.

(Album Cover)

The album’s opening stretch is electric, with the first five tracks, like Stanka Pooh and Bullfrog crackling with aggressive, punchy rhyme schemes and a confidence that ricochets off the mic. Doechii’s pen is as sharp as ever, blending humour, vulnerability, and biting social commentary. Denial Is a River, the now iconic breakout single, is a highlight—a playful yet painfully honest meditation on her rapid ascent, internet virality, and the discomfort of being pigeonholeed as a TikTok rapper. The album’s storytelling and role play recall her earlier work, but with a new maturity and emotional depth.

As it unfolds, Doechii’s versatility becomes both its strength and its Achilles’ heel. She pivots from hard-hitting boom bap to melodic, R&B-inflected tracks like Bloom and Wait, showcasing her vocal chops alongside her rap bravado. While this stylistic range has drawn praise for its ambition, the 19-song tracklist becomes somewhat unwieldy, with the momentum flagging in the album’s middle section as shorter, more radio-friendly tracks cluster together. Still, even at its most uneven, the mixtape erupts with creative energy and a sense of personal urgency.

Lyrically, Doechii is unflinching. She confronts the pressures of industry politics, the challenges of being a Black woman in hip-hop, and the struggle for self-worth amid external expectations. Her writing is witty and comical, but never at the expense of emotional honesty. Themes of processing trauma, healing, and the tension between public persona and private self recur throughout.

Alligator Bites Never Heal is not a flawless project, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s an album in the truest sense—restless, experimental, and fiercely individual. Doechii’s charisma and vision shine through, marking her as one of hip-hop’s most compelling new voices star in the making, unafraid to bare her teeth and her soul.

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By Anish Paranjape

The Department of Entertainment