Album Review: Doechii’s Alligator Bites Never Heal
By Marvellous Chukwukelu, March 9 2025—
You may not remember the name ‘Doechii’, but you have certainly listened to Jaylah Ji’mya Hickmon before. The Tampa native made waves with her single “Yucky Blucky Fruitcake”, released in 2021. However, it was her 2023 single, “What It Is (Block Boy)”, that earned her her first taste of commercial success.
About a year later, on Aug. 30 2024, Doechii released her third mixtape, Alligator Bites Never Heal. The 16-song collection, which finds a way to be irreverent while crafting a deeply emotional story, was praised by critics and fans alike culminating in a Best Rap Album Grammy win for “The Swamp Princess”. With that win, Doechii became the third woman to win the best rap album award in its 35 year history, joining Cardi B and Ms. Lauryn Hill.
On the mixtape’s opener, “STANKA POOH”, Doechii kicks off the incredible storytelling that this album is rife with. Over a solemn beat, she reflects on her life, inflecting every other line with darkly humorous and sometimes raunchy quips. And while those odd lines may feel disjointed at first, this constant push-and-pull of getting intimate then immediately pulling back with well-timed but concerning humour lends a feel of humanity to the album. The beats and flows may change, but the next two songs —”BULLFROG” and “BOILED PEANUTS”— find themselves rooted in the same vein as the opener and seemingly set the stage for what Alligator Bites Never Heal is going to feel like, which is why, for new Doechii listeners, the next track is bound to be a surprise.
From Beyonce to Billie Eilish, many artists have found themselves at odds with their fans on what the ‘big single’ from an album might be. With this album, Doechii adds herself to the list of those ‘at odds’ artists. While the intended ‘big single’ for Alligator Bites Never Heal is further down the tracklist, the next track “DENIAL IS A RIVER” —which has become her highest charting single usurping “What It Is (Block Boy)”— is largely credited for the eventual commercial success of this mixtape and there is a good reason for that.
Narrated as a conversation between Doechii and an unnamed friend —who is joining us from previous mixtape, OhThe Places You’ll Go— “DENIAL IS A RIVER” ,which gets its title from the viral Wendy Williams clip, abandons all self-reflection and fully leans into a humour that feels uniquely Doechii. In less than three minutes, she manages to explore the unconventional way in which she found out that her ex-boyfriend was bisexual — just like her —, talk about being forced to release music optimized for TikTok success and get confronted over her sobriety. Yet, at no point in time does this track lose its humorous touch nor does it ever begin to feel crowded. This track reached heights that no other work on this collection could manage and thoroughly deserves its spot at the star of the mixtape.
Unfortunately, a meteoric rise always leaves room for a meteoric fall. Over “CATFISH”, “SKIPP” and “HIDE N SEEK”, we are forced to listen along as Doechii slowly falls off the dopamine rush that was “DENIAL IS A RIVER”. By the time we get to “BLOOM”, she has abandoned the rap genre, and devolved into a full rant about her future layered over a comforting R&B vocal track.
The rest of the album generally follows the same theme. Another slow rise in energy that culminates in the raunchy “NISSAN ALTIMA” which was the intended single for this album before bottoming out in the barely there title track “ALLIGATOR BITES NEVER HEAL”. Yet even though the second half of this album has the same undulating feel that the first half does, there is no mistaking that it is its own world and own story.
Alligator Bites Never Heal is a triumph, a return to the unabashed storytelling that has defined rap for time immemorial and it is executed with such a level of skill that it never fails to astound on every listen. And if this is what Doechii has to offer before releasing her debut album, I shiver in anticipation for the next swamp meet.