Doechii has grown up with an alligator named Coconut, or Coco to friends. The two have been through a lot together: music videos, mixtape covers, and now, a new campaign with Samsung for their Galaxy S25 Edge. “I love Coco,” Doechii, the newest member of team Galaxy, tells ELLE. “We’ve developed a relationship. She’s used to me.”
Together in the campaign video, music’s hottest star and Coco take a rare day off, showcasing how the slim Galaxy S25 Edge can be used day-to-day. The phone is available for pre-order now, fully dropping on May 30. To celebrate the collaboration, the Grammy winner will also perform at a VIP event at Edge NYC in Hudson Yards on drop day, which will also stream on Samsung’s YouTube channel. “The setting is going to be beautiful,” Doechii says. “I’m experimenting a little bit and trying something different. I just want to show up in a different way that’s still familiar.”
Doechii has had quite a year, and this campaign is just another notch under her belt. With a win at the Grammy Awards for Best Rap Album and a nomination for Best New Artist, all eyes on her. She gave a highly acclaimed performance at the Grammy Awards, decked out in Thom Browe, and then walked the steps of the Met Gala in Louis Vuitton. The star clearly has a stylish eye, and Samsung’s newest phone is the latest addition to her bag of tricks.
Prior to the event, the star sat down with ELLE to discuss the collaboration, her upcoming music, the success of “Anxiety,” and what her For You page looks like.
In honor of the new phone, how do you bring the edge?
I think for the campaign, having Coconut on set was definitely bringing the edge. I think that I’m probably the only artist that would be doing that, having a live alligator on set. I love Coco.
How I bring the edge to my career is finding gaps and spaces to disrupt. I enjoy being a disruptor in music and in art, pushing the limits, and trying things that have never been tried before.
Is Coco the same alligator used in your album art for Alligator Bites Never Heal too?
Absolutely. Me and Coco have been working together since my first music video called “Crazy.” She was on set, and she’s grown a lot. We’ve kind of grown together.
What is it like when an alligator comes to set?
The first time I worked with Coco, she was younger and a bit snappier. It took a little bit more precaution, but I was really adamant about petting her so that she could get used to my scent, touch, energy, and my vibe. I asked a lot of questions from the handlers so that I could understand her behavior. Now, she’s calmed down a lot. Alligators are not really as aggressive as a crocodile would be, but they’re a little bit more calm when they’re cooled off, like actually iced out versus when they’re hot, they’re a little bit more agitated. They’re very similar to us.
Have you always had that daredevil energy? I can’t think of many people who’d bring in a live alligator to work.
I think so, yeah. It’s crazy because I’m not scared of alligators, but I’m terrified of bugs. Like, yeah, I’m a daredevil, but am I really though?
You talk a lot about boundary pushing. Were you like this as a little kid too, where you were testing the waters, pushing boundaries?
One hundred percent. I get riled up by people saying you can’t do something or people placing limitations. I have always just wanted to push things a little bit further. I displayed that a lot when I was younger, pushing buttons and trying things. If somebody says, I don’t know, “Birds aren’t supposed to be fucking diamond studded,” I’ll be like, “Yes, they can.” I’ll make a bird with diamond studs. I don’t know why I’m like that. I want to see everything be possible. I want to see my dreams and my realities come to life, and I think that’s always been my motto throughout my art. Anything is possible, and you can create anything.
In the video for the campaign, you’re having “a light day.” When is the last time you had a light day?
I had a light day yesterday. It’s been a while since I had one, but a typical light day for me is actually doing nothing. And when I say nothing, I mean bed rot. Just eating ice cream and cheesecake and watching really bad reality shows. That’s my light day.
Which reality shows? I have to know.
I like to do the old ones. The really raunchy, just horrible. Flavor of Love, really bad.
On Alligator Bites Never Heal, you don’t have any collaborations. I’m wondering if there’s someone you would welcome onto a Doechii track?
I would say this is kind of a curve ball, but Solange. She’s so experimental and limitless creatively. I just think we could do something very cool together. It doesn’t even mean that she has to actually be vocally on the track. She also produces, so we could collab in that way too. She’s really cool.
“Anxiety” is so high on the charts and in all of our brains. It’s huge on TikTok. What were your conversations like with Gotye and Kimbra for releasing this?
I didn’t get a chance to actually speak with them directly. They’re super off-grid, living their best lives in the mountains. That’s the goal.
That’s the literal goal.
They did give us permission and rights to use the record. They support it, and they were cool with it, which is great.
Did you expect this song to be this big?
Not at all. I always find it fascinating, how digital footprints can just come up out of nowhere. That’s a record that I made so long ago, and I made that freestyle and completely forgot about it. I wasn’t even thinking about that song. For it to kind of come back up the way that it did and become this massive hit, I did not expect it. I’m extremely grateful. It’s very cool to show how, even the early stages of my talent, I was onto something, and I didn’t know.
Are there any other songs you would love to freestyle right now, or will you ever drop your “America Has a Problem” freestyle?
Oh my god, that’s crazy, because that freestyle has actually come up in conversation recently.
Good. It should.
I can’t give away too much, but yeah, I’ll probably do another freestyle in the future.
How do you deal with anxiety and nerves when you’re performing? Do you get nervous?
Every now and then I do. I definitely deal with anxiety. I think we all do, and it manifests itself in different ways. Recently, I’ve been into therapy and taking more care of myself than I ever have before because I'm working a lot. Now, I kind of have my own routine that manages my anxiety. There are things that I do in the morning, like breath work, to manage myself before I even start my day. One of the things that has been transformative for me is loving myself before I go out and start giving to other people. I literally do not pick up my phone until I have done my full routine for myself, because if I start catering and emptying my cup before I fill it, it's not going to be a good day.
I hate that the first thing I do most mornings is look at my phone.
It took me a while, but once you get into it feels good. Not every day is perfect. On my light day, I’m picking up that phone.
Is there anything you can tease for fans to expect from your upcoming music?
They can always expect a lot of intention, but it’s going to be wrapped in a different way that I think we haven’t experienced.
I saw that you are a big reader. I think you read 30 minutes to an hour a day. What are you reading right now?
I just got a new order of books. I am currently—and by currently, I mean I haven't even started the first chapter—reading The Myth of Sisyphus. I don’t really know what it’s about yet, but this girl on TikTok recommended it. I don’t want to promote this book, because I don’t know what it’s about yet, but that’s what I’m reading.
Is that what your For You page is, BookTok?
BookTok and InteriorTok. I’m super into interior design, home décor, and books.
Are you designing a house right now?
I am. I just got this mid-century modern home. So, I just feel fab, and now I want to make it even more fabulous.
As you said in “Denial Is a River,” you like pills, you like drugs, you like getting money, so on and so forth. What are you really liking and living for currently?
This is going to sound so mushy but it's true. Sobriety and self-care. That’s the vibe. I’m about to be 27, and I kind of think I’m exiting that era of myself. That perspective that I was speaking of from “Denial Is a River?” I did the thing. You live the life, you do the parties, you do the thing, and then you just find yourself one day on BookTok and loving interiors.
In honor of Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge, I want to know if you are more in your “Edge of Glory” by Lady Gaga moment or “Edge of Seventeen” by Stevie Nicks moment.
Come on. “Edge of Glory.”
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
