This past week Don Toliver released his 2nd studio album, and fans are excited for the tour and ready to see what Don Toliver has planned for the upcoming year. Don Toliver has been signed to cactus jack records, and since then, he has been on the rise to stardom.
Don Toliver spoke to Apple Music’s Zane Lowe about putting the album together and said, “I’m very proud of the process of putting it together.” The album features productions from Mike Dean, a long-time collaborator of Kanye West and Travis Scott; Dean’s synths are heard all across the album that create a certain atmosphere.
The album opens with the song XSCAPE; while not my favorite track, it serves as a good opener for the album and sets the tone for the album as a slower album compared to Toliver’s 1st studio album, Heaven or Hell that is full of more hype and banger tracks compared to Life of a DON.
The subject matter on the album is nothing special in terms of the lyrics, but the catchy hooks keep the album interesting; the Travis Scott and Kanye West influence is heavily prevalent throughout the whole album.
Toliver’s feature on Kanye West’s DONDA has generated him much deserved recognition, the feature on the track Moon on DONDA is a great display of how his voice can set the setting and mood for a track.
On Life of a Don, songs like “Swangin’ On Westheimer,” “Double Standards,” and “Crossfaded” are songs that use Toliver’s voice to its full potential; his singing on these songs creates a spacy and psychedelic vibe that the album is going for.
Some of my favorite songs on the album happen to be “OUTERSPACE,” “Crossfaded,” “Double Standards,” and “Drugs N Hella Melodies” these are more of the R&B cuts on the album.
Toliver fits the R&B production perfectly and I think he should continue to make songs in this style.
The album does not shy away from club anthems through songs like “Flocky Flocky,” “Get Throwed,” and “Bogus” these songs are great attempts to create something that will get fans off their feet when played in an energy-packed setting like his tour that is currently happening, Life of a DON does not feature as many bangers as Heaven or Hell. Still, these three stand out on the album as they sound much different from the rest, which isn’t a bad thing because the whole album can’t just be a psychedelic synth album, as fans from the previous album would not be happy.
The only song on the album that does not work for me is “Smoke” this song is very repetitive and does not have a great hook like most of the other songs on the album; he says “Smoke” so many times it kind of just sounds lazy compared to the rest of the songs. Overall the album is a significant step-up from Heaven or Hell, and I love the direction he is taking with his music being more R&B focused; some people might not like this direction; I hope he stays in this lane of music. I would have to give the album a strong 9/10 as there is only one song I do not like; I hope fans give this album a chance and let it grow on them after multiple listens and don’t dismiss it because it is a slower album compared to Heaven or Hell.
