Welcome to Ear 2 Da Sky! Each week, I will be going over topics within music culture and reviewing albums and EPs across genres, eras and artists that are submitted by readers and listeners of my radio show every Monday at 11 p.m. on WHUS 91.7 FM! For this week’s submission, I will be going over Doechii’s 2024 mixtape, “Alligator Bites Never Heal.”
I have personally had Doechii on my radar since early 2021 due to — like many — the power of social media, discovering her single “Girls” and her EP “Oh The Places You’ll Go” through what was known as Twitter back then (now X). Marketing your music through independently run internet platforms isn’t the newest idea, dating back to the late 2000s and early 2010s Blog Era of rap with artists such as Kid Ink, Kid Cudi, Childish Gambino, Drake and many others. However, Doechii was one of the first artists to use TikTok as a platform for getting your name out there, which served as a catalyst for the rest of her career.
As she has gotten signed to Top Dawg Entertainment and risen to the upper echelon of the music industry, “Alligator Bites Never Heal” displays Doechii’s introspection, personal relationships, as well as her entire career. Listeners explore this soul-searching more closely in “BOILED PEANUTS,” “DENIAL IS A RIVER,” “BLOOM” and the first track of the project “STANKA POOH.”
“STANKA POOH” sets the mental scene for the listener, chalking Doechii up to be nothing if she were to die today but a “TikTok rapper” and “YouTube actor.” The track takes away from her achievements and explores this strongly internalized imposter syndrome, undermining her successes as though she took the “easier route.” She also grasps at her age — 26 years old at the time of recording this tape — as she doubts if this will all be worth it. She questions whether or not her success and fame will pay off before the age of 30, or if she will just die meaninglessly.
“BOILED PEANUTS” is the third song off the project, titled after a common snack in the southern United States, especially in states such as Florida, which is the artist’s place of birth. Doechii talks about her life in Tampa, even dropping the address of a house in her neighborhood. She highlights the ever-unbalanced scale of the media spotlight, as she discusses her drug use and struggles with addiction, bringing up her constant scrutinization from faceless social media accounts. But after that, she delves into the materialistic things that have come with that exact same spotlight.
Following that is track four, “DENIAL IS A RIVER.” This is in reference to the infamous clip from The Wendy Williams Experience, as Doechii reflects on a past relationship. She opens the song with a conversation with her voice of reason. She then goes on to reflect on a past relationship that had ended in infidelity, as the man she had been with cheated on her — with another man — tying back to the title of the song. She then goes into how she turned this hard time in her life into success, going on to create a platinum record, a lengthy list of hits as well as making a large sum of money. But as fast as she turned to this success, she turned to drug addiction. She finally owns up to her voice of reason, exclaiming that it was a tough time, rather than attempting to uphold a facade of success.
The eighth track “BLOOM,” opens with Doechii airing her grievances that come with success and the pressure to withhold it. She reminds herself to make goals, but also to check in with family and make sure everyone is okay all while she still worries about herself. A second voice in the conversation consoles her, telling her: “Because, you, you just can’t do it all in one moment,” a grounding sentence to those in need of hearing it. Through all the struggle and mental gymnastics of trying to balance everything, Doechii finally finds her place to bloom.
Doechii is greater than the artist comparisons and viral, made-to-be catchy hooks you hear in every video as you scroll through your timeline. She is truly an artist, taking inspiration from her city, as well as her own struggles. It feels as though she shared her personal journal with the listener, creating a fully transparent and vulnerable project in “Alligator Bites Never Heal.”
Rating: 3.5/5
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