Peak
21
Weeks
19
Score
2,207
Chart Year
2025
Doechii released two trailers for the official music video in December 2024,[11][12] the first of which used the theme song of the sitcom Family Matters, "As Days Go By".[11] The video premiered on January 2, 2025. Co-directed by Carlos Acosta and James Mackel, it stars Doechii in her own autobiographical sitcom.[13] It opens with a title sequence parodying that of Family Matters as Doechii enters the house. She catches her boyfriend (played by Zack Fox) cuddling with a man (played by Rickey Thompson) on her couch and throws him out of the house in the same manner as Jazz from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. After that, new decor is added to the living room; Doechii hangs a photo of herself, Top Dawg Entertainment founder Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith and label president Moosa Tiffith on a wall. The room is full of her friends and intruded by music industry executives, who are driven out by Doechii and her group. In the next scene, the green walls of the living room have been painted red and the room is now furnished with more expensive-looking items, including a line of plaques on the back wall.[14] The clip transitions from old to modern style cinematography[14][15] and zooms out to show Doechii on set, with previous sets as seen in the trailers besides it, and being watched by a studio audience. Later, her nose bleeds and the set of her new living room explodes, leaving Doechii alone in the wreckage.[14] The video features cameos from Baby Tate, DJ Miss Milan, Earl Sweatshirt, H Wood, Schoolboy Q, SiR and Teezo Touchdown
"Denial Is A River" is phrase popularized by the talk show host Wendy Williams, who was addressing a caller who caught her husband cheating on her... with a guy. The caller was clinging to the hope that her husband was merely bisexual, but Wendy set her straight, telling her, "Denial is a river in Egypt, your husband is gay." That clip became a meme and got Doechii's attention. She used it as the title of this song, where something similar happens to her: She finds out the guy she was dating was DL, with a guy on the side. Doechii says it's a true story, although embellished a bit. It happened back in 2019; she used her journal entries as source material when she wrote this song about it a few years later. The song is structured as a therapy session, with Doechii playing the part of both the therapist and the patient. She often assumes various personas in her songs; in her viral hit from 2020, "Yucky Blucky Fruitcake," she's both the student and teacher. The song is a showcase for Doechii's sharp wit, honed from lots of writing and delivered with an array of dextrous flows. Her wry sense of humor comes through as she raps about substance abuse, creative blocks, and a laundry list of exes who seem to have been sent by the devil, including one who trashed her home, racking up $100,000 worth of damage in the process. "Whoopsie, made a oopsie," she raps, somehow turning the catastrophic into comedy gold. "One-hundred thousand dollar 'oops' made me loopy." In a Rolling Stone interview she confirmed the story was true. "Man, people act crazy," Doechii said, with the weariness of someone who's seen enough for two lifetimes. Doechii admitted to Rolling Stone the song was a challenging one to write. "I went through a period where I was afraid to be vulnerable in my music, which is odd for me because that's all I usually do," she said. "All I feel is sadness. I feel anger. I'm upset with everything and everybody. And my fans don't want to hear that." It was her engineer who pushed her to confront those feelings, reminding her that, sometimes, the best art isn't for the audience - it's for the artist." Still, she found a way to temper the darkness of the song with humor. "I think I made it funny so that it could be a bit easier to process," she explained. The song's crisp production, courtesy of Ian James Beats (his first major placement), complements Doechii's storytelling with a beat that, like the lyric, has a lighthearted, jovial feel. Report This Ad The music video - co-directed by Carlos Acosta and James Mackel - presents the track as a sitcom episode, complete with a star-studded cast. Comedians Zack Fox and Rickey Thompson add their brand of chaos, while guest appearances by artists like ScHoolboy Q, Teezo Touchdown and Baby Tate bring extra star power. The song is part of Doechii's third album, Alligator Bites Never Heal. It was showered with critical acclaim, landing on Rolling Stone and Stereogum's Top 10 albums of 2024 and earning a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album. The track "Nissan Altima" also got a nom for Best Rap Performance, and Doechii for Best New Artist. Doechii signed to Top Dawg Entertainment in 2022 and had a big hit with "What It Is (Block Boy)" a year later. On that one, she sings, but she's primarily a rapper, as heard on "Denial Is a River." At the end of the song, Doechii's therapist character suggests a breathing exercise to calm her down. When Doechii came up with this idea, she decided to put the breathing exercise into the song, but turn it into beatboxing, a nod to the classic hip-hop she loves. She admits she's not much of a beatboxer, but was trying to sound like Doug E. Fresh - she watched his old videos to see how he did it. The line, "She didn't know about me and I didn't know about Sue" was originally "She didn't know about me and I didn't know about you." Doechii changed it to give it more flavor. The name Sue comes from a common saying in her home state of Florida, where a common greeting is "What's up Sue?" It's the equivalent of "What's good?" Doechii sang "Denial Is A River" at the Grammy Awards in 2025, where Alligator Bites Never Heal took the prize for Best Rap Album. She was nominated for Best New Artist, which went to Chappell Roan.
Hey, I thought it was all over What's up, Doechii? Hey, girl You know, it's been a lil' minute since you and I have had a chat? Has it really? Probably since, like, your last EP, Oh The Places You'll Go Oh, wow, it's been a minute, yeah? I've been gettin' some calls, people are a little bit worried about you Not worried, okay And I know that was kinda that outlet for you, so You were Why don't you just tell me what's been goin' on? Okay Remember old dude from 2019? Nice clean nigga, did me dirtier than laundry (than laundry) Took a scroll through his IG Just to get a DM from his wifey? (What the fuck?) I was so confused, what should Doechii do? She didn't know about me and I didn't know 'bout Sue I opened up the messages then had to hit the zoom Turns out the girl was really a dude? (Goddamn) Nigga think he slicked back 'til I slipped back Got my lick back, turned a nigga to a knick-knack (to a knick-knack) I moved on, dropped a couple of songs And then I went and got signed, that was 2021 Okay, 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- Mm, nah, (oh) fuck it Platinum record this, viral record that I'm makin' so much money, I'm all over the 'net I'm movin' so fast, no time to process And no, I'm not in a gang, but I'm always on set Wrist watch, drip drop, label want the TikToks Now I'm makin' TikTok music, what the fuck? I need a cleanse, need a detox But we ain't got time to stop, the charts needs us (and they do) Fast forward me, 2023 I'm stackin' lots of cheese and makin' money My grass is really green and Honestly, I can't even fucking cap no more This is a really dark time for me I'm goin' through a lot By a lot, you mean drugs? Um, I wouldn't- Drugs? No, it's a- (no?) it's a natural plant No, I'm not judging I'm not an addict I'm just saying I don't think- You wanna talk about it? Uh I mean, fuck, I like pills, I like drugs I like gettin' money I like strippers, I like to fuck I like day drinkin' and day parties in Hollywood I like doin' Hollywood shit, snort it, probably would What can I say? The shit works, it feels good And my self-worth's at an all time low And just when it couldn't get worse My ex crashed my place and destroyed all I owned Whoopsie, made a oopsie One hunnid thousand dollar "oops" made me loopy I ain't a killer, but don't push me Don't wanna have to turn a nigga guts into soup beans Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa Rurr Okay, Doechii, we don't wanna revert back into (sorry) our old ways Okay So, we're gonna try a breathing exercise, okay? Alright, word When I breathe, (okay) you breathe Alright? Let's go Uh, uh, uh Uh, uh, ah Uh, uh, uh, ah Uh, uh, uh, uh, ah Uh, uh, uh, uh, ah Woo-sah
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jan 18, 2025 | 76 | 50 |
| 2 | Jan 25, 2025 | 65 | 61 |
| 3 | Feb 1, 2025 | 56 | 70 |
| 4 | Feb 8, 2025 | 55 | 71 |
| 5 | Feb 15, 2025 | 27 | 99 |
| 6 | Feb 22, 2025 | 21 | 105 |
| 7 | Mar 1, 2025 | 32 | 94 |
| 8 | Mar 8, 2025 | 25 | 101 |
| 9 | Mar 15, 2025 | 23 | 103 |
| 10 | Mar 22, 2025 | 31 | 95 |
| 11 | Mar 29, 2025 | 33 | 93 |
| 12 | Apr 5, 2025 | 34 | 92 |
| 13 | Apr 12, 2025 | 35 | 91 |
| 14 | Apr 19, 2025 | 35 | 91 |
| 15 | Apr 26, 2025 | 42 | 84 |
| 16 | May 3, 2025 | 47 | 79 |
| 17 | May 10, 2025 | 60 | 66 |
| 18 | May 17, 2025 | 73 | 53 |
| 19 | May 24, 2025 | 97 | 29 |