We’re two weeks off of the release of Don Toliver’s newest album Hardstone Psycho and I’ve had time to digest more of the songs which has led to another heavy presence for Toliver in this week’s Campus Tracks joined by his mentor Travis Scott.
Don Toliver “Love is a Drug” – Toliver released a small deluxe of 4 extra songs mid week which included this one so I couldn’t find a clean version that was out yet so that’s the original version linked above. Just when I thought I had figured out the album more songs were added which I’m not upset about at all because of how well this album has been received so far. This one stuck out to me on first listen with a catchy chorus over the heavy hitting melody from the beat. The stretching of the lyrics on the “I’m in looooove” might be my favorite part of the song. I can’t decide what the instrument is that’s being used throughout the chorus if it’s a piano or some sort of synth, but the song has only grown on me from the first listen.
Don Toliver “Ice Age” ft. Travis Scott – This has been one of the best performing songs off of the album so far which isn’t surprising due to the Travis Scott feature. I thought his verse was a little lazy to start but it’s really grown on me with his word play with plastic, bombastic, and dynastic. There’s a line about someone named Mike Jones, I’m not sure who that is, but it was a bit of a put off for me because it doesn’t really fit in with the flow of the song and it’s a big part of the hook that doesn’t rhyme or connect with much. Other than that one line the rest of the song is really solid. My favorite part of the song though is Don Toliver’s verse when he takes over after a brief transition and beat switch. The beat switch is super groovy and perfect for Toliver’s flow. When the beat drops on the handle bars line is more specifically my favorite part of the song. It took some time but I’m seeing the hype around the first of two features by Scott on the album.
Mustard “Parking Lot” ft. Travis Scott – Mustard is on a roll for the summer with his work on Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” and now this one which isn’t much of a surprise as his production is known for being perfectly upbeat for summer vibes. I really enjoyed this song off of first listen, but man it is so vulgar I wasn’t sure how much I would come back to this one (don’t worry I’ve linked the clean version). The sample saying “away awayyyyy” seems so simple but combines perfectly with Scott’s 5am in the parking lot line for a chorus that dragged me back into more listens which made it enough to enter Campus Tracks for the week. This is song comes about a month ahead of Mustard’s expected album on July 26th so if it stays with this kind of vibe I’m going to be really excited for the album.
