On Jan. 12, 2020, Doechii uploaded a YouTube video sharing that she was fired from her job. Doechii didn’t care. Misdirection was her redirection. She needed to be redirected, in order to begin the journey down her one, true path. It was as if the universe was tired of Doechii ignoring what she truly needed to do. Doechii needed to stop hiding. Stop losing herself in the haze of momentary peace the drugs, alcohol, and other circumstances provided her and face the music.
Healing Through Music
ROCKET single cover provided by Spotify.
This mixtape, Alligator Bites Never Heal, is Doechii’s therapy. The mixtape is about her processing her traumas and not letting her past choices and experiences stop her. The title “Alligator Bites Never Heal” is symbolism for the traumas that Doechii has faced, specifically highlighting Florida, her home state. It tells us that Doechii is still working through the damages and is finding, through making music, a path to healing. But, despite what we might predict, Doechii isn’t ready to fully open up. In an interview with Rolling Stone, it is shared that in her song “DENIAL IS A RIVER” she purposely doesn’t get deep into her past. Why?
The lyrics vividly portray her ignoring her ‘alter ego’ asking Doechii to open up about the past. In the track, the alter ego says “…I just feel like this is the perfect opportunity for us to just take a second and kind of unpack what’s happened to you…you know this guy cheated on you and…” To which Doechii responds “Nah.” This is showing that the "alligator bites" are still very prominent in her life and she will constantly be working through her painful past. This is relatable to her audience. It’s common to not want to face your issues and through the song she connects with her fans by telling them that it’s okay if it takes time to heal.
Audience Understands
With the mixtape, Doechii had to fight hard with her label to actually create what she wanted. As said above, this mixtape was her therapy, and you can’t force therapy. You can’t put therapy in a box with a bow and sell it to millions of greedy consumers. Therapy is raw. Therapy is messy. Therapy is a momentary bona fide human expression of how your past traumas meet the person you’ve matured into. The question is what will this encounter of past and present-self create? For Doechii, this mixtape was the end product.
This authenticity is felt and appreciated by her audience. This is why the mixtape is so successful. It is a common misconception that hip-hop and rap don’t produce emotional, "deep" music. Doechii is actively fighting those false ideas with her raw lyrics and stimulating, passionate instrumentals and vocals.
Be More Like Doechii
How can you learn from Doechii? You need to be true to yourself. It’s not about what sells the most or looks the prettiest, it's about what you feel while creating the work. It’s about how you can meet the emotions of others. It’s about understanding each other through tapping into the shared feeling the art creates. It’s about making the audience feel. Doechii’s story tells us to stop blending in. It tells us to be true to ourselves because that is the only way we’ll find meaningful success.
Sources: Spotify, Youtube, Spotify, Youtube, Spotify
Photos: Spotify, Spotify, Spotify
Contact Hannah Seipel with comments at hannah.seipel@bsu.edu
