The 67th Annual Grammy Awards took place on Feb 2, 2025, honoring artists in a multitude of categories. The award ceremony celebrated many achievements, giving many new and small artists a platform. The category Best Rap Album was a tough fight, the category placed many experienced artists on the map once again; Future and Metro Boomin (We Don’t Trust You), J. Cole (Might Delete Later), Common and Pete Rock (The Auditorium, Vol. 1), Doechii (Alligator Bites Never Heal) and Eminem (The Death of Slim Shady).
Doechii became the third women since the introduction of the category 36 years ago to win Best Rap Album for her album “Alligator Bites Never Heal.” A historical moment for both women and Doechii who has faced struggles in the past as an artist. In her short speech on stage, Doechii touched on many different topics, but began with thanking God for rewarding her sobriety. Doechii also extended her thanks to her mother, label, engineers, producers and her fans which she affectionately calls “The Swamp.” Her final point was to other black girls and women, urging them to never let anyone diminish who they are, that their success is possible and it exists, noting that her success is a testimony to anything being possible. Doechii’s journey to the Grammy stage as an award winner made her speech so much sweeter, it reflected her rejection throughout her career into the successful musician she is today.
“Alligator Bites Never Heal” was released on the last day for the 2025 Grammy award cut off, Aug 30, 2024. The album itself has 19 songs, which collect a total run time of 47 minutes, short but packed full of iconic rap songs. Her top song in the album was “DENIAL IS A RIVER”, which reflects the personal growth of Doechii and her challenges that brought her to where she is today. It features a less typical style of rap where she raps with a spoken and storytelling like dictation, and an additional character that helps tell her story within the song. Another notable song in Doechii’s album is “NISSAN ALTIMA” which leans back into the quick rap style present in most rap songs. It is fast paced, an easy feel good song that will quickly get anyone feeling confident in themselves and anything else they might be doing. This song leans into themes of women empowerment and feeling unafraid about being who you are, which leads right into Doechii’s grammy speech about her and other black women and girls. Another significant song is “ALLIGATOR BITES NEVER HEAL” which brings up a much more somber theme, relationships and their lasting affect on you. The song itself is a stark contrast to “NISSAN ALTIMA,” softly sung and with a melody that branches away from harsher rap beats and themes. The song itself is a discussion about being stuck in yearning for a past relationship or maybe what feelings it brought to you that you miss.
Doechii’s path to the 2025 Grammy Awards proves that rejection is not the end, it simply proves that there is redirection. Her historical win marks her as the third female winner of Best Rap Album, places her music on the map and brings attention to her story and accomplishments as a black woman.
