Despite quickly climbing the charts upon its release, Don Toliver’s OCTANE remains polarizing months after its initial drop. The rap artist took various creative gambles in his fifth studio album, featuring samples from Malcom Todd and Justin Timberlake.
While some fans praised the shift towards the R&B genre, others felt that it lacked the energy and inspiration from prior works like HARDSTONE PYSCHO.
When Skyline students were asked for comments related to the album, they shared the same ambivalence seen on the internet.
Outside Don Toliver’s Concert taken by Nila Natarajan
Nila, a junior who attended a live concert, sides with those who enjoy Don Toliver’s musical innovation.
“I really love how each album experiments with a new aspect of music,” she says. Although she appreciated the metal elements on HARDSTONE PSYCHO, on his previous album, Nila still found OCTANE highly replayable, noting the samples as an interesting addition.
From a critic’s perspective, however, Don Toliver’s risks in his new songs fall flat.
Skyline junior Neha remarked that the album is just “Alright. “Some of the songs are definitely skips, and a lot of them sound really similar.”
When asked what made them so alike, Neha called out the need for commercial success in artists. Musicians hoping to gain fame are willing to pump out what will be memorable, even if it is not always quality. For instance, the beginning of “GEMSTONE” is overplayed on platforms like TikTok due to its hype nature, but it’s not very listenable as an entire piece.
The divide around OCTANE displays Don Toliver’s willingness to take risks with his music even if it jeopardizes the comfort of his fan base. Regardless of whether listeners view the album as a musical genius or money-oriented, it is difficult to deny the impact the work has had.
OCTANE has passed one billion streams, the fastest rap album of the year to hit this milestone. As he takes these contentious songs along with him for his tour, critics and fans will finally get to see how these tracks transform when performed live.
When he reaches Seattle at the end of June, fans from the area will have to decide whether they believe the album is a hit or a miss.
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