Artist: Doechii
Album: Alligator Bites Never Heal
Release Date: August 30, 2024
Genre: Alternative R&B, Alternative hip-hop
Rating: 7/10
My Favorite Song: Profit
Alligator Bites Never Heal is a mixtape created by Doechii that showcases her versatility and witty lyrics. This mixtape is dedicated to her native state of Florida. In a paraphrased quote from an interview Doechii had with Apple Music, she says that the term “Alligator bites never heal” relates to how people experience rough things in life and that at different points in life, those things will happen again, and those scars will never leave. She also states that she’s resonated with this title since around 2021.
This work recently won the Grammy category for “Best Rap Album”, which made Doechii the third woman in the history of the Grammys to win this category. The other women who have won are Ms. Lauryn Hill and Cardi B. Unlike other albums, these songs are put together less formally, there’s no specific story to follow when listening. The songs are more like diverse vignettes that showcase different beats and feelings. For example, in “Denial is a River,” she showcases an unhealthy relationship and even shows how LA influenced her lifestyle in unhealthy ways, such as drinking. In her interview with Apple Music she states, “I moved to Los Angeles and that was a culture shock for me…I’m just one young girl and my family’s not with me not around me so I think that overtime I just started to party a lot.” This quote signifies how she started to drink a lot more and party to feel less lonely in a city she had just moved to.
In this mixtape, the first seven or eight songs, a more rap and hip-hop genre shines brightly through. After those songs, a more R&B vibe came across. Even though the genres are separate, the songs resemble each other enough to feel a sense of similarity and allow the listener to go with the changing flow of the mixtape. I like how this album has a lot of upbeat songs that you can vibe to full-on or just nod your head to in the car. I highly recommend this to anyone who’s a fan of hip-hop, rap, or R&B and anyone who likes their songs to tell a story in the lyrics.