Alligator Bites Never Heal

Alligator Bites Never Heal Album Review

“Alligator Bites Never Heal,” released Aug. 30 is a spunky duffy-boat ride down the bayou on a sweltering summer’s day. 

Jaylah Ji’mya Hickmon, known on-stage as Doechii, is a fierce rapper and singer from Florida (Instagram: @doechii / Tiktok: @iamdoechii_ ). Known as “Swamp Princess” on Instagram, Doechii rose to fame in 2021 after her multi-part narrative song “Yucky Blucky Fruitcake” told the nostalgic, melodramatic story of her upbringing. 

Doechii embodies how it is to be from the South in her new album, with regional animals “BULLFROG,” “CATFISH,” and “FIREFLIES” and snack “BOILED PEANUTS” among the 19 song tracklist. 

The first track of the album “STANKA POOH” begins with a mysterious, contemplative beat reminiscent of the beating of a heart. Doechii introduces recurring themes about her career, her fears about dying and ending up a statistic as a Black woman. 

The album chronicles Doechii’s journey with fame, her battle with drug addiction, joining her record label and deeper aspects of her life while maintaining a spunky and spooky self-importance.

“STANKA POOH” works almost as an introduction to the story of “DENIAL IS A RIVER”. Like her break into fame “Yucky Blucky Fruitcake,” she reintroduces a high-pitched character that represents her inner dialogue. 

She tells the story of how she got signed to Top Dawg Entertainment in 2022, how her music blew up on TikTok, and how her self worth is low due to drugs and Hollywood. 

Favorites

This was a no-skip album for me, with five favorites immediately on repeat.

“BULLFROG” has a steady bass beat that Doechii’s braggadocious lyrics dance all over. A lot of this album I imagine in the background of a deep conversation and the smoke from a joint fogging a room, leading me to “BOILED PEANUTS.” 

Raspy saxophone trills and heavy percussion make this track seem evil to the core. The maniacal laugh and the line “The gang’s all heeerrre,” I could see quoting for the foreseeable future. The track introduces her problems with drugs and the fast life while keeping a sassy, light tone. 

“HIDE N SEEK” was an unexpected favorite for me, with haunting stacked harmonies starting off the track and fluttering throughout the chorus. I would compare this song to rap legend Kendrick Lamar, with her percussive, pensive flows- especially the falsetto singing on the prior track “SKIPP.” 

Tracks like these on the album have a vintage feel that are heavy on the lyricism, wordplay and motifs. Old Tyler, the Creator, Odd Future and even artists like Pete Rock feel reinvented through her cadence and flow. 

Probably the sharpest turn of the project, single “BOOM BAP” starts with a satirical expression of scatting, blowing raspberries and being goofy. She speaks in tongues about halfway through. Doechii asks the audience a rhetorical question, “Is this the ‘real rap’ what you want?”

The March 2023 release of her single “What It Is (Block Boy)” was Doechii’s first song to enter the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number 29, according to Billboard. “BOOM BAP” makes fun of the commercialization of her music while proving her versatility and unique talent in the music industry. 

“NISSAN ALTIMA” is a pop-rap catwalk and super fun bop that is waiting to be played at gay clubs across the country. In this breakout single (the crown jewel of the project) Doechii shouts out bisexual female musicians Madonna and Grace Jones. 

 

Final Thoughts

She also samples Doja Cat’s “Love Life” on “DEATH ROLL,” both songs about loving yourself.

“GTFO” by Doechii with hip-hop/rap artist KUNTFETISH is the only feature on the album, interpolating Ludacris’ 2000s hit “Move Bitch”. Being brought into Doechii’s “narcinassistic” world, this project feels personal, true to herself and doesn’t feel the need for features in classic Swamp Princess fashion. 

The title track “ALLIGATOR BITES NEVER HEAL,” and the last song on the project, is the most singer-songwriter vibe we get with the strum of an acoustic guitar. With melodic singing, she speaks of her ex, like the previous song “BEVERLY HILLS,” and how she’s better off alone. 

The rest of the album goes from villainous to braggy to psychedelic to hip hop to, of course, rap. Doechii has proven herself as a standalone artist who can make anything from rage music to afrobeats, like how I first discovered her with her 2022 single “Crazy” and recently her 2024 single “ROCKET.” 

Overall, I think this album is a moment in time for Doechii. “Alligator Bites Never Heal” has yet to gain as much traction as her singles, but will stand as a career high that shows how far she has come.

Alligators are the apex predator of the swamp, and Doechii has proven she has bite. 

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Rating: 4/5 STARS

By Julia Chie