via. High Snobiety / Riot Muse

Let’s take it back to the summer of 2018. Everyone was waiting patiently for Travis Scott’s highly anticipated album Astroworld. I remember when it came out, my friends and I were on our way up to the Poconos for a trip. We were way too hype for it to finally be out, after a long 2 and half years of waiting. The album is a favorite all around, spawning hits like Sicko Mode and No Bystanders. However, one song that really stood out to me was Can’t Say. At first, it was a favorite, but I couldn’t put my finger on who the feature was. I figured out that it was none other than Don Toliver, a Houston native just like Travis himself.

via. “Look Mom I Can Fly”

Travis goes as far as to pin Donny as the new “young Houston legend”, and honestly I think Travis is doing a good job in passing the torch to a new artist. Before he was signed onto Travis’s Cactus Jack label, he was a part of We Run It Ent., which he released his first and only (as of now) album Donny Womack in 2018. While this album isn’t necessarily the main reason as to why he is blowing up today, it is the reason why he caught the eyes of Travis and Mike Dean. The album can be considered as the essence of what southern Hip-Hop has mutated into. The album uses many elements that resemble the subgenre, like the pitched-down hi-hat patterns that you can find on songs like Backend & Run Up. Along with these surprisingly refreshing new sounds he is working with on this album, he pays homage to the late soul singer Bobby Womack, proving that he is a melodically-driven artist on every song the album has to offer. In an interview with The Fader, Toliver says “Bobby had like a tendency of making records that have a lot of souls, a lot of feeling and emotion, but he always comes on the track hot”.

‘Donny Womack’ Album Cover

Toliver has a new album coming out in 2020, although it is unclear as to when it will come out. He has been putting out all-new singles for his fans in 2019 which has helped to build the hype, as fans claim that some of the recent music he’s put out has been his best work. His single No Idea which came out in May has been blowing up recently due to Tik Tok. The single has reached #43 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart as of the week of December 28th. The single also has over 64 million plays on Spotify. He has also worked recently on the Cactus Jack collaborative album JACKBOYS with his fellow labelmates Travis Scott and Sheck Wes. It is unsure as to how Don Toliver’s year will be, but if he keeps going at this rate he will prove to be an artist who will run the rap game.