Don Toliver Steers Into the Fast Lane
The results are clear, at least off of the first few spins: Don’s dexterous versatility, his different musical zones, are represented at their best and sharpest here, from tender crooning (on “Rosary,” his vocals sound so vulnerable it’s almost as if his voice is faltering) to spaced-out Texas swang with crazy double-time sing-songy flows and earworm hooks (“Opposite,” which went over especially well live.) Don points to a more reflective track called “Pleasure’s Mine” as his favorite, because “it’s very new and fresh, but it has a certain nostalgic melody,” calling back to the sounds on earlier tapes like Donny Womack, released when he was just getting on. “I just kind of put my twangs on that whole vibe.”
Despite quietly being one of hip-hop’s most malleable hook men at the moment, Toliver goes light on guests this time around. One of the few is Teezo Touchdown, whose standout verse about relationship woes on “Up and Down” is spirited in the Teezo trademark way (animatedly drawn-out syllables, croons that bleed into yodels, r’s rolled for dramatic effect.) Teezo, who’s working on his own album here in LA, was on hand at the track to watch Don shut it down. Don says the artist he’s looking the most forward to getting back in with is Gap Band legend Charlie Wilson, who’s assisted Don on everything from the soulful “If I Had” to the sexy drill banger “Attitude.”
Fans of the Cactus Jack collective as a whole won’t find label boss Travis Scott anywhere on Octane, at least on this first collection of tracks. Still, Don won’t rule out the possibility of a collab album between the two. “Sooner or later,” Don says. “Travis is a very busy, mysterious cat. But I’m going to tell you, when we both get to sit and link, it’d be incredible. We both bounce off of each other [every time] and it’s amazing.”
For now, Don is focused on Octane, the purest distillation of his real-life interests and aesthetics to date. The surreality of being able to call a Porsche racetrack one of his go-to sanctuaries—and then being able to bring his fans into that world—is not lost on him. “We just making dreams come true,” he says with a smile.
