Review of Don Toliver's 'Octane'

We are back with another review; and this time we will be analyzing Don Toliver's fifth studio album, "OCTANE".

Is the album gas, as the name suggests? It can be; that depends on how you’re listening to it. I've never done a review on any of Don Toliver's music before and I must say: the way that I've listened to Don Toliver was never about his lyrics and purely about the production and "vibes" he creates through his music.

Don Toliver in 2026.

This is the same reason I listened to Travis Scott. Unfortunately, he lost me after ASTROWORLD. Funny enough, Don Toliver’s feature on "CANT SAY" off of Travis Scott’s ASTROWORLD really pushed him into the scene and assisted the major success he received on the making of "Heaven or Hell".

This era is when we truly see the artist bring a fresh blend of contemporary trap and R&B. If I'm enjoying a late night drive or maybe I'm spending time with friends while having a few drinks, Don Toliver is the type of artist I would listen to.

Let's say we are pregaming the main event or it's a night where we know drinks and dancing will be involved. That is when songs such as "Body", "ATM", and "Call Back" come into play. I just wouldn’t say I want to hear rap or something lyrically impressive and put on Don Toliver.

There’s no reason that because I didn’t lock in with listening carefully that I hear "I came to goon, 4’10, the biscuits loose, china wing, peanut butter house’’. If you’re unfamiliar with that reference, sleep for about 45 minutes, allow yourself to be violently disrupted by an alarm clock, and then immediately listen to "Too Many Nights" from Metro Boomin’s album "Heroes & Villains", or even better, allow the song to be the alarm that wakes you up. At that point is when you should hear the perceived lyrics mentioned prior.

Metro Boomin and Don Toliver.

I would hope from my thoughts so far, you would understand that I strongly believe the highlights of his music come from how they’re put together; the production is what grabs attention and keeps it as well, but again, that’s if you’re listening to it in that way.

Don Toliver is another creative artist who’s managed to use autotune to his advantage; he created his own signature sound with this tool, as he uses heavy compression and seems very specific and consistent with the speed and effects used on his voice. This kind of calculation in his sound, mixed with the crazy production, is what has created an impressive fanbase for Toliver over the years — and it appears to be bigger with every drop.

Next, I want to get into how Teezo Touchdown and Yeat are featured on this album. I’m not sure why, but every song that has Don Toliver with either of these artists, it always works. I personally hope these artists will always be featured on a Don Toliver album or vice versa, because for some reason it just doesn’t fail.

Yeat in 2026

Teezo Touchdown in 2026

Yeat (pictured left) featured on Track 3 of Don Toliver's 'Octane', titled 'Rendezvous.' Teezo Touchdown (pictured right) featured on Track 9, titled 'All The Signs'.

It was a lovely surprise to also hear Rema and Sahbabii on this project as well; their features elevated the songs "Secondhand" and "K9", and Toliver could not have found better artists to apply pressure. I don’t know how I personally would feel about Sahbabii basically owning the song I invited him onto — but I would still put the song out anyway and I’m glad Don Toliver did exactly that.

Rema

Sahbabii

Rema (left) featured on Track 4 of 'Octane', titled 'Secondhand'. Sahbabii (right) featured on Track 12 titled 'K9".

Another thing I appreciate: the project is put together very cohesively. The music sounds similar across the board but still has its distinctive presence. The transitions are smooth as well; the album as a whole creates a sound thats unique to the assumed theme being space-like, dark and strangely inviting.

The project is hard-edged and definitely can change the vibe in a room to feel fun and sexy while still being rich in

intensity and mystery. An album explicitly made to be listened to after hours.

From an album like "HARDSTONE PSYCHO" to "OCTANE", is there any way we can predict the next era? Probably not, and that’s what’s keeping us engaged as we await the next set of vibes.

Don Toliver.

Rating: 7.3/10