Alligator Bites Never Heal

After finding viral success on TikTok with her single "Yucky Blucky Fruitcake" in 2021, Doechii was signed to Top Dawg Entertainment and Capitol Records in March 2022, becoming the first female rapper signed to the former.^[3] In August of that year, she released her second EP and first major-label record, She / Her / Black Bitch, featuring a remix of the single "Persuasive" with TDE label mate SZA.^[4]

While promoting the EP in 2022, Doechii stated in an interview with Rolling Stone that she was working on her debut album, which included studio sessions with Pharrell Williams and Babyface.^[3] After achieving her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 with the single "What It Is (Block Boy)" featuring Kodak Black, she stated in an August 2023 interview with PopSugar that she "just came back from Jamaica finishing [her debut album]," and alluded to releasing it before supporting Doja Cat on The Scarlet Tour.^[5] However, no official release date was announced. She continued to regularly release standalone singles, including the "Pacer" in September and "Alter Ego" featuring JT in March of the following year.^[6]

On July 12, 2024, Doechii began releasing a series entitled Swamp Sessions through social media; these were short songs that were written and recorded in hour-long periods, each accompanied by a music video.^[7] The third Swamp Sessions instalment, titled "Nissan Altima", was released onto Instagram and YouTube on July 27, 2024, and would be released as on streaming platforms almost a week later on August 2.

On August 14, 2024, Doechii's 26th birthday, Alligator Bites Never Heal was officially announced as her first mixtape under a major label,^[1] with the tracklist being revealed six days later on August 20.^[8] Three days later, the sixth and final Swamp Sessions installment, titled "Boom Bap", was released as the second single.^[9]

Doechii described the concept behind the title in a statement posted to Instagram accompanying the mixtape's announcement:

The alligator performs a spinning maneuver known as the "death roll" to submerge and dismember its prey underwater. This past year I've grappled with what felt like a relentless death roll in my life... A dance of drowning in my own vices, battling differences with my label and a creative numbness that broke me. [...] In my research about alligator attacks, I found that a common thread in each survivor was that the main reason they survived is because they fought back. This mixtape is my fight back. I am nobody's prey; I was born to be the predator.^[10]

Additionally, the American alligator is the official state reptile of Doechii's native Florida, and is known to inhabit swamps, thus making the title a tribute to Doechii's home state, and to her nickname, the "Swamp Princess".^[11]

The cover art, which shows Doechii sitting on a chair holding an albino alligator,^[1] was shot by Los Angeles based photographer John Jay.^[12]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Alligator Bites Never Heal received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 79 out of 100 from 5 critic scores.^[13] Doechii's stylistic versatility received particular attention,^[15][16] with Mankaprr Conteh of Rolling Stone identifying boom bap, EDM, and soul elements appearing at various points on the project.^[18] Though many critics felt favorably about this versatility, Clash's Ana Lamond was more reserved in her appraisal, remarking that "the tracklist becomes a victim of its own length" during the more R&B-influenced songs.^[15] Doechii's writing throughout the mixtape was also commended: Conteh stated that she displayed "a wicked pen and brilliant charisma",^[18] and Kyann-Sian Williams of NME described her as a "witty, comical songwriter".^[16] Doechii's attempts to establish a position within the music industry have been identified as among the mixtape's primary themes. Williams noted that she discusses "industry politics and label demands" on the project, and described a "sense of being trapped or feeling inadequate" on many of its tracks;^[16] Lamond remarked that Doechii portrayed herself as torn between "personal relationships, vices, self-worth, and perceived success".^[15]

The song "Denial is a River" was named by multiple critics as a highlight of Alligator Bites Never Heal: Lamond opined that the track "unveils Doechii at her best", and Conteh called it "an immaculate display of her quirks, relatability, and tenderness".^[18] The single "Boom Bap" also achieved praise for its lyrics, in which Doechii was perceived as criticizing traditionalists' views of how hip hop should sound.^[15][18]

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies an additional producer
• ^{^[u]} signifies an uncredited writer/producer