Bandit by Don Toliver | Song Review

The Houston MC samples Tame Impala for his latest single off of his upcoming studio album.

Listen to “Bandit”: Apple Music | Spotify

Just shy of the first anniversary of Love Sick, Don Toliver has dropped his newest single “Bandit”, the latest track off of his upcoming album supposedly titled Hardstone. Cactus Jack had a pretty big 2023 with the release of Travis Scott’s Utopia and the aforementioned Love Sick, but it looks like they’re going to keep this train moving with more new music from Don.

Booming bass and trap drums are frequent throughout, sampling Tame Impala’s “One More Hour” gives the song a psychedelic feel and adds more “oomph” in comparison to a handful of Don’s tracks from last year. It’s a slight steer away from the generic trap that Don seemed to have found himself in, and you can thank producer ReidMD for that. While it’s still a tried and true Don Toliver song, the Tame Impala sample elevates it and makes it just a tad bit unique.

Lyrically Don is flexing to the fullest. Kicking off “Bandit” with lines like: (“Why my house look like Army Plus? Walk in the strip, she gon’ make it bust.”) sets the overall vibe that he’s on top of the world. He’s spending money, he’s dressed all fly and he’s probably fucking your girl. Material-wise, it’s nothing really “new” that we’ve heard from Don, but at this point, it’s what I’ve come to expect.

I should note that Don’s signature woozy/atmospheric vocals take a backseat for more rapping. Perhaps a sign his next album will be a more rap-heavy project? His flows on “Bandit” sound great and show off his abilities as an MC quite well

I’ve spoken about my disdain for Toliver’s music in the past, but I can say that “Bandit” is a step in the right direction musically at least, that I’d like to see Don in more. While sure, lyrically it’s not as different as the rest of his music, the production and his flows are a sign that maybe, just maybe he might break the mid-allegations and deliver something with real substance on his next album.

For my final rating, I’m giving Don Toliver’s “Bandit” a 7/10. I thought it was a pretty solid track from Don, and it got me a little more interested in his upcoming album. The accompanying music video also dropped with some pretty sick visuals, a surprise appearance from Kali Uchis, and a little snippet of a new song towards the end.