Week 3 Hip-Hop Release

Love Sick – Don Toliver(ALBUM)

Don Toliver has been no stranger to making hits these past couple of years. In 2020, his track with Internet money & Gunna, Lemonade made its way into every TikToker’s rotation. 

Don Toliver has proven that his soft vocal inflictions and ability to float on any beat he’s handed are exactly what the Pop-Rap scene wants. His 2021 project, Life’s a Don, with the likes of Travis Scott and Baby Keem, could very well be viewed as Don’s best release thus far, setting a high bar for Love Sick. 

That being said, Don Toliver accomplished creating a relatively cohesive melodic album that brings interesting features and solid overall performances. 

The production techniques, specifically the transitions between tracks, is reminiscent of Lil Yachty’s Let’s Start Here (Previously featured on HipHop Hillbillies) or last year’s Heroes and Villains by Metro Boomin’. 

Unfortunately, Love Sick is relatively generic. This project is best described as a seductive and melodic compilation of some of Don’s extras. The writing is repetitive and lazy, and the concept fits in easily with the current pop trends. Although Don seems content in the pop-rap lane, I would have liked to see him extend to something outside of his comfort zone.

As an album, Love Sick isn’t anything special, but TikTok and pop stations will definitely love what Don brings here. 

Sam Westerman’s country perspective: 

Similar to Lil Yachty’s recent album, Let’s Start Here, Love Sick conveys an “otherworldly” vibe, which from what I’ve observed, is becoming popular for producers in the hip-hop genre. Although I wasn’t a fan of the extent of psychedelic rap in Yachty’s album, Love Sick, creates a similar feeling that I don’t mind. In a heartfelt album with features that I like to listen to, Lil Durk and Atlanta-born Future, this is my favorite rap project of 2023. Yachty, Don Toliver, and others yet to release continue to leave “MANSION MUSIK” in the dust.

Highlights of the album

• Leave The Club (feat. GoRilla & Lil Durk)

Leave the club starts off as a light, mostly instrumental track with Don floating over the beat. My one gripe with this song would be the chorus, as it sounds poorly mixed and repetitive. That being said, getting past three screechy, whiny choruses is worth it because we get an awesome beat switch halfway through, introducing GoRilla and Lil Durk to the track. I wish the switch lasted longer, though, because it’s the best-sounding verse across the album and changes up the melodic and sometimes whiny vocals from Don. 

• Go Down (feat. TisaKorean)

Leave the Club and Go Down are similar in that they both have incredible beat switches to production that far surpasses the rest of the album, but only for about 30 seconds. Go Down has the best product choices of the entire album, and the song flows very well. TisaKorean’s feature was excellent too, and with the beat switch I mentioned earlier, it makes for a nice duality between Don and TisaKorean. 

• If I Had (feat. Charlie Wilson)

The slow tempo and delivery Don brings to this track is a nice change from the rest of the album. In my opinion, this is also Don’s best performance across the album. His vocal inflections and voice control aren’t perfect but make for a song that’s easy listening. Charlie Wilson’s feature comes in at a nice time to change up the soundscape, preventing it from sounding too monotonic. 

Artist Performance: 5/10

Production: 7.9/10

Replay Value: 6.7/10

Overall: 6.5/10