Doechii brought swamp heat, energy and passion to Phoenix

The Swamp arrived in the Valley last night, as rising star Doechii brought her talents to Arizona Financial Theatre in downtown Phoenix amidst the Live from the Swamp Tour. Her 2024 album, “Alligator Bites Never Heal,” won a Grammy for best rap album, and the now-big-time rapper is taking her victory lap around the country. 

The show opened a little after 8 p.m. with a performance from Kal Banx, a Grammy-winning producer and rapper known for collaborations with TDE and Dreamville artists. Banx, of Dallas, Texas, is fresh off an August release of “RHODA,” his debut album, and this tour is his first time in the Valley. 

The theatre became a warm, comfortable place during his set, a healthy mix of energetic partying and breaks discussing male vulnerability and therapy. After his own tracks, Banx and his DJ kept the venue moving with a half-hour DJ set featuring classics from UGK and Lil Wayne before a final extended break leading into the main performance.

The audience got down all the way through this break, with no lapse of energy at all. During just the standard concert interlude music, the balcony seats, led by a pseudo-conductor from the front-center, spread the energy down to the entire arena as the lower seats gazed up, entranced.

Doechii arrived at 10 o’clock sharp, backed by a huge prop record player with flashing speakers on its sides and even functional slides down its exterior. The vinyl split down the middle to reveal her, an entrance and exit she’d use consistently throughout the show. 

The Swamp, as her shows are dubbed, a call to her Florida roots, feels different than most hip-hop concerts. Its high, constant energy, thunderous shaking bass and bright lights are all familiar, but The Swamp is just as much a club as it is a rap concert, and as much a Troye Sivan audience as it is a TDE one. 

Consistently black and white lights and visuals, matching her duotone outfit, kept the Swamp consistent with the Kendrick Lamar GNX aesthetic, a familiar call to many fans in the venue. The stage and performance were also notably education-inspired, with classroom interludes, a quick sex-ed break and a schoolteacher-esque opening outfit from Doechii. 

Early on, Doechii utilized a fair few recognizable samples to rap over, from “C.R.E.A.M” to Nas to N.E.R.D to “BRAT.” “NISSAN ALTIMA” and “Alter Ego” lit up the venue early, with huge breakdowns and crashes that roared throughout the concert hall. 

Doechii’s voice is sharp as a hi-hat, and this pointed command was rapid and constant throughout the performance in what was mostly a one-woman show. She spent nearly as much time in solo choreography as rapping, making further clear the transition to popstar and not just rapper. 

After gaining consistent accolades in a more underground scene, her shift to this current sound feels calculated and strong, and the reception has matched. 

“Persuasive,” “Anxiety” and “Stressed,” rapped cigarette-in-hand, finished off the first distinct half of the set, with the first true musical break and crowd addressing past 10:40.

Transitions for songs prior were faded together, and the music kept roaring even when Doechii was between the lower and upper stages, an all-go mentality that became a bit more relaxed for the remainder. 

Energy was brought back for inspired performances of “Swamp Bitches” and “DENIAL IS A RIVER,” as well as the Tyler, The Creator track “Balloon,” all in which Doechii paraded a fan’s self-crocheted blanket. 

The show ended with a more melodic cut, “WAIT,” featuring a medley into “Human Nature” by Michael Jackson, sung with whom Doechii said were both her sisters and background dancers. A grand and heartfelt outro, it was a pleasant step away from the rapid fire and gave fans a chance to reflect and sing a bit before departing.  

Doechii is still relatively new to music, with her first released single in only 2018, but her rapid rise after this record indicates a need she is filling for fans who love high-energy, braggadocious music that takes them into another place, one that feels like a club or a party, and an all-around good time.