Born Jaylah Ji’mya Hickman in Tampa, Florida, Doechii was always a creative force. She grew up doing many extracurriculars in her youth and got her start in music as early as 2016 when she made a song titled “Girls,” that was uploaded onto SoundCloud.
Three years later, in 2019, she dropped her first project, “Coven Music Session, Vol. 1,” which included the song “Anxiety,” that samples “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye and Kimbra. It was officially released in March of this year due to its increasing virality on social media.
Doechii made content on her YouTube channel, where she documented her life. She would start to gain traction on the social media app TikTok in 2021 due to the popularity of her 2020 song “Yucky Blucky Fruitcake” off of her debut EP “Oh the Places You’ll Go.” Her talent caught the attention of label executives, and Doechii end up signing to Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in March 2022.
After being signed to TDE that same month, Doechii released a song titled “Persuasive,” which would get a remix that included TDE label mate SZA fourth months later in July 2022. After releasing her second EP, “She / Her / Black Bitch” in August 2022, Doechii went straight to the top, with her performing at Coachella the following year and touring with rapper Doja Cat on The Scarlet Tour as an opening act.
Doechii’s artistry and sheer, raw talent had fans and celebrities glued to her, including Tyler, the Creator. In an interview with Nardwuar, Tyler explains that he came across Doechii from his YouTube recommended, describing her as “an alien” and “pretty as hell.” After clicking on a Doechii video, he was blown away and kept clicking on more videos.
Doechii end up collaborating with Tyler on a song titled “Balloon” (my favorite Doechii feature) on his “Chromakopia” album. Not only did a song collaboration came out of Tyler’s discovery of Doechii, but this led to Doechii performing with Tyler on stage at his Camp Flog Gnaw music festival last year and performed with him once again at his Los Angeles show at the Chromakopia Tour back in February of this year.
Witnessing the rise of Doechii was an interesting experience for me. The first time I’ve heard of Doechii was two years ago at work, when “What It Is (Block Boy)” was playing throughout the store. Working in retail, you’ll always hear the corporate playlist replaying the same 10 to 20 songs, old or new, and most of them aren’t great. However, I liked “What It Is (Block Boy)” for a couple of reasons.
For one, the song title and the chorus reminded of me of this hilarious Vine I saw when I was in middle school of this older Black woman saying, “What it is, what’s up? Got your n—- in the cut?” and the person recording her vibing along to it, repeating “What’s up?” and “Goddamn.” I’m not sure if Doechii got the idea of it from that Vine, because further research showed me that the chorus is an interpolation of the chorus in the track “Some Cut” by Trillville.
A second reason why I liked “What It Is (Block Boy)” is because of the “No Scrubs” by TLC sampling. It goes well with the song sonically and the meaning of the song. I know that sampling is a major discussion topic in music, with some saying that it is very lazy for an artist or producer to do, while others not having any issue of it. In my opinion, I don’t necessarily have an issue with song sampling. As long as the sampled song is interwoven in the artist’s song is good sonically and the reason(s) why the song is being sampled in the first place (e.g. the sampled song amplifies the message of artist’s song or tells a deeper meaning), sampling isn’t a problem in my eyes.
Now back to the main topic, “What It Is (Block Boy)” is one of Doechii’s first entries in the Billboard Hot 100 and is certified platinum. Doechii would go on to achieve more success with her critically acclaimed second mixtape “Alligator Bites Never Heal” in August 2024, winning her first Grammy for Best Rap Album earlier this year. It made her the third female artist to win the category, after Lauryn Hill and Cardi B.
I remember watching her emotional speech live, and it resonated with me a lot, most notably when she said, “So many Black women out there, that are watching me right now, and I want to tell you, you can do it. Anything is possible. Anything is possible. Don’t allow anybody to project any stereotypes on you, to tell you that you can’t be here, that you’re too dark, or that you’re not smart enough, or that you’re too dramatic, or you’re too loud. You are exactly who you need to be to be right where you are, and I am a testimony right now.”
Doechii’s heartfelt yet powerful speech showed me that she truly cares about the music she puts out and as well as her craft. You can also see it through her live performances and music videos too, as she electrifies and demands attention from those who are watching.
With that being said, going into “Alligator Bites Never Heal”, I did not have much expectations. I try not to do that whenever I’m about to listen to a new song or album, regardless if it’s from one of my favorite musicians or someone I’ve never heard of before.
However, I knew that upon looking at the mixtape cover, which is an ode to her “Swamp Princess” aesthetic as she is from Tampa, Florida, the alligator being the official state reptile of Florida, and the cover being in reference to the late Minnie Riperton’s album, “Adventures in Paradise,” this mixtape would be a deep one.
After listening to this mixtape for the first time a few weeks ago, I was upset at myself that I didn’t listened to this sooner, let alone when it first dropped last August. It has been on heavy rotation for me since. This mixtape exudes authenticity and real rap, as Doechii spits out witty and unique wordplay, cutthroat punchlines and Doechii playing around with different voices that reminded me of Nicki Minaj with her alter ego Roman Zolanski and Doja Cat.
Doechii’s storytelling is detailed and layered, discussing serious topics like drug addiction, relationships, confidence, and self isolation. The vulnerability of it all is upfront and straightforward in this entire mixtape. It shows how with alligator bites, while they never heal, it reveals how the alligator fights back and survives, gaining resilience, which Doechii has shown and is going through now.
“Alligator Bites Never Heal” has heavy amounts of old school 90s hip-hop influences throughout the mixtape with some R&B flair. This is displayed in multiple tracks such as “CATFISH,” which is reminiscent of Busta Rhymes and “SKIPP,” that interpolates “25 Lighters” by DJ DMD. I can also hear a dash of Kendrick Lamar in this mixtape as well, especially in the track “HIDE N SEEK.”
The production takes you on a journey through the different emotions of the mixtape, from somber and melancholy from the first track “STANKA POOH,” to more braggadocious and playful in other tracks such as “DENIAL IS A RIVER,” and “NISSAN ALTIMA,” and even laid back and relaxed through tracks like “WAIT” and “GTFO.”
All in all, “Alligator Bites Never Heal” is a great body of work, a mixtape that is missing in the hip-hop/rap genre in this age of microwave music. It showcases Doechii genuinely putting her everything, and I can’t wait for what else she has next this year.
Rating: 10/10
Favorite Tracks (in no particular order; tracks that are bolded are in my top five):
DENIAL IS A RIVER
CATFISH
HIDE N SEEK
BLOOM
WAIT
BOOM BAP
NISSAN ALTIMA
GTFO