StonesJournal

Don Toliver swims ashore with OCTANE, his first drop of 2026. Let’s dive in and see how it shapes up on this year’s album rankings.

Written By: AJ Stone (1/30/26)

This project starts with some elite energy on the intro track; E85 grabbed my attention immediately and maintained it. Amazing guitar riffs and standout production always pair well with Don Toliver’s provocative vocals.

The follow-up track, Body, is a new take on the energy that Don Toliver often exudes in his music. Known for his infamous style of bouncing back and forth between druggy beats and mumbled bars to loud head-banging rage rap, he puts a new spin on it here. The production is catchy again, and he keeps the vibe going the entire song.

The next highlight comes on Secondhand. This beat sounds like a Drake throwaway. A Drizzy feature on here would’ve fed families, but Don does well enough on his own. The development of his flow and the beat play to each other’s strengths. His vocals shine on this infectious beat. After Secondhand comes Tiramisu. A classic Don Toliver song on a classic Don Toliver beat. It’s nothing special, but it does add to the project. Unfortunately, this is where we start our pitfall.

Tiramisu marks the beginning of the end for OCTANE. As we continue down the tracklist, songs like Long Way To Calabasas and OPPOSITE completely derail the album’s vibe. This album goes from experimental to a complete mess.

The front half of the project carries the load, and without it, this would be his biggest miss yet. It felt like he exhausted his creative process in the early stages of the album and then just filled the rest of it with boring, so-so tracks. This album is very indicative of where hip-hop lives right now. Artists look to capitalize on their name rather than their skills. I would never listen to most of these songs if they weren’t by Don Toliver.

This album has a place in Don’s discography, hopefully, as a building block. His vocal range and fun style have such a high ceiling, and I hope that going forward, he explores new avenues rather than sticking to a dumbed-down science for clicks.

TRACKLIST RATINGS:

1. Secondhand (8.5/10)
2. E85 (8/10)
3. Tiramisu (7.5/10)
4. Call Back (7.5/10)
5. Body (7.5/10)
6. Excavator (7/10)
7. All The Signs (7/10)
8. Long Way To Calabasas (7/10)
9. Sweet Hoe (7/10)
10. Rendezvous (6.5/10)
11. Rosary (6.5/10)
12. Tuition (6/10)
13. Pleasure’s Mine (6/10)
14. K9 (6/10)
15. ATM (6/10)
16. TMU (5.5/10)
17. Gemstone (5/10)
18. OPPOSITE (4.5/10)

Album Rating: 6/10