HARDSTONE PSYCHO by Don Toliver | Album Review
Houston’s Cactus Jack star ignites the rap scene with switch-up
LISTEN TO HARDSTONE PSYCHO:
Ever since I found Don Toliver on the JACKBOYS joint album, I’ve been a huge fan and believer in his talent. Lovesick, his previous record, received excessive criticism, mainly because of its narrow-minded production, themes, and mediocre performance from Don. However, it still had noteworthy highlights that are being overlooked, such as “Let Her Go”, “No Pole” and others. However, despite my defense of that album, it quickly got old for me and fell out of my rotation.
So whenever I was in the mood for Don Toliver, I usually picked Life of a DON, Heaven Or Hell, or his features on the Heroes & Villains. Although it seems like this time, Don wants to change things up and avoid repeating the negative feedback of Lovesick with a new style and approach.
To be honest, the rollout of this album has been a big rollercoaster for me.
I absolutely loved the sample and delivery on “BANDIT,” the album’s first single. It got me so excited about the project with its bombastic delivery. However, the second single, “DEEP IN THE WATER,” was just okay. Maybe I thought so because of the contrast that “BANDIT” created, but my perception of the upcoming album strongly deviated after “ATTITUDE”.
It was the first track that completely disappointed me. In terms of the sound and performance, Don’s presence on the track was such an underwhelming experience, and the beat simply did not pique my interest.
That left me questioning what the album generally sounds like, and what should I expect.
Especially my interest got even more heightened when I found out that Don has 4 discs on one album giving us already something that we have never seen from him before.
So did anything live up to my expectations, and does it have a place to stand near Life of a DON/Heaven Or Hell?
First, what I liked so much about those records is diversity.
On Life of a DON, for example, the rapper could range from hype to melodic songs to even personal ones with ease. The unique diversity and atmosphere that it created is key to having a good-sounding Don Toliver project.
I guess you understand where I am leading. HARDSTONE PSYCHO gives you the most polished Don Toliver sound ever.
The album kicks off with powerful tracks like “KRYPTONITE” and “TORE UP,” followed by “BROTHER STONE,” which hits hard with dark influences, intense production, and the bass that Don had avoided in his earlier work.
In HARDSTONE PSYCHO, Don gives a much stronger focus on BOTH sides of his persona, whether it is a boastful rapper millionaire or a sensitive human being. Don’s new style is a complete departure from his previous project, focusing on biker and rock aesthetics with some darker elements to it.
Stepping into something new is a tremendous artistic leap for him, but these leaps are rare here. Let me explain.
Towards the latter part of the album, Don returns to a more melodic style, completely abandoning the rock influence he initially emphasized. I found his sudden shift towards the more laid-back tracks a bit jarring, especially after exploring new soundscapes a few tracks ago.
To quickly break down the album, let’s go through each DISK:
- DISC 1 attempts to capture the aesthetic of Don’s new style, even if it occasionally falls short, as seen in “ATTITUDE”.
- 2nd DISC slightly starts combining Don’s symbolic vibes with a bit of fresh style.
- However, DISC 3 and DISC 4 both seem to forget about this HARDSTONE aesthetic, which is a kind of sad. I think that mostly on the tracks where Don tries something new; he sounds the best.
It would be dishonest to say that other parts sound mediocre, or unoriginal, but they don’t feel like the same album. In that second half, the singer tries himself on the more dance jams that feature epic parts of the production with a laid-back feel to it. This project certainly screams about the quality of production on each track. It’s impossible to play the track, where production feels like a secondary or minimal endeavor.
Some instances, like “ATTITUDE,” simply lack essence while others, like “HARDSTONE NATIONAL ANTHEM”, sound grandiose but suffer from overshadowed vocals by the bass in the background.
If on the Lovesick, you could get some half-baked performances like on “Do it Right” or “4 Me” Here, the artist seems to be the most interested in what he is doing ever. On most tracks in this project, Don showcases a distinct feature — his determination to push himself and his delivery. With songs like the epic “4X4” and the upbeat “BACKSTREETS” featuring Teezo, Don weighs his approach and delivery. This is something that comes with experience and here is certainly the most skillful yet.
Looking from the audience’s perspective, I realize how important is the production for a guy like Don. Let’s take, for example, both tracks produced by Cash Cobain like “GLOCK” and “ATTITUDE”. Both delve into completely different styles, despite having the same producer, Cash Cobain, who did not leave me impressed with “ATTITUDE”, but opened Don’s strengths with “GLOCK”.
Even when we take Metro’s accompaniment every time they collaborate and group up for joint work, it is always a wonderful song, and “PURPLE RAIN” is an additional example of that.
I certainly think that the album has some drawbacks, such as its consistency, some vocals, and mastering issues. It is still a pretty great album. This album has a pretty significant factor of replayability, so I believe it won’t leave my rotation as fast as Lovesick did.
Would it replace Life of a DON as my favorite project from him?
Time will show, but for now, I feel a 7.8
FINAL RATING: 7.8/10 ( GREAT )
FAVORITE TRACKS: “4X4”, “ICE AGE”, “GLOCK”, “BANDIT”
LEAST FAVORITE TRACK: “ATTITUDE”
Scores guideline:
0–2 (dramatically bad)
2.1–4.5 (bad)
4.6–6 (mediocre/mid)
6.1–6.9 (Ok)
7–7.5 (good)
7.6–8.6 (great)
8.7–9.9 (amazing)
10 (perfect)
