The question is as old as the (rap) internet: ‘Is this a mixtape or an album?’ Mark Foster lookalikes have been throwing the accusation at each other since GTA IV that they, as TikTok or YouTube personalities, can’t make ‘real’ hip-hop. Let’s get one thing straight, guys: social media has long since replaced the youth centre. Doechii, a 24-year-old Floridian born in ‘98, also grew up in the virtual rehearsal room. With her major debut “Alligator Bites Never Heal”, she is only the third woman ever to win a Grammy in the category “Best Rap Album”, making her a piece of history. Call it a sell-out, a starting signal or a summer fairytale.
‘And if I died today, I’d die a b*stard/TikTok rapper, part-time YouTube actor,’ the Don Diva had previously prophesied her own status on “Stanka Pooh”. Because this is where she comes from. A few such self-deprecating mixtape limericks between influences from Tyler to Lauryn would have been enough for the three quarters of an hour. But instead, the Swamp Princess mixes Doug E. Fresh tracks, Muggsy Bogues references and Isaac Hayes samples with sometimes comical, sometimes tragic deep dives for a 45-minute rap wow effect.
»Alligator Bites Never Heal« is a lyrical FMA-reel about the ups and downs of a 20-something’s everyday life. »Life is just like a bike, it don’t move unless you pedal/ Less about who is better and more ‘bout who blessing them«, she purrs on »Wait«. Sensitive yet combative, more Bahamadia than Cardi B, Doechii’s music is refreshingly unobtrusive. This is another reason why the SZA/Kendrick comparisons of her label Top Dawg Entertainment are likely to appear in the press almost every hour. Maybe Doechii won’t save hip-hop, but she will save the music year 2025. And the mixtape format along with it.
