Here we have the 4th full-length LP from Houston, Texas rapper & singer/songwriter Don Toliver. Catching my attention in 2018 off his debut mixtape Donny Womack along with being featured on “Can’t Say” off his mentor Travis Scott’s 3rd album ASTROWORLD signing to Cactus Jack Records literally the very next day, his full-length debut Heaven or Hell is a bit underappreciated since it came out when the pandemic started in my opinion & the sophomore effort Life of a Don was solid yet not as good. Lovesick received mixed feedback a year & a half ago although I appreciated that it was more conceptual & had a feeling Hardstone Psycho could reach if not surpass the bar that Heaven or Hell set.
“Kryptonite” is this eclectic choice of an opener from the electric guitar instrumental from Bugz Ronin to the beat drop during the 2nd half explaining that he got what you need whereas “Tore Up” samples “Industry Sets In” by She Died Real Pretty talking about the fast life. “Brother Stone” featuring Kodak Black sees Diplo taking the psychedelic trap vibe instrumentally saying the birds in the trap gon’ stink by tomorrow prior to “Attitude” flipping “Beautiful” by WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg with tresillo-styled drill hi-hats & counter snares thanks to Cash Cobain, redeeming himself from giving us the worst J. Cole feature of all-time on “Grippy”.
Vanguard Music Group in-house producer ReidMD mixes trap, southern hip hop, pop rap, rap rock, rage & experimental hip hop on the lead single “Bandit” couldn’t have been a better choice for a track to begin the LP rollout doing legitimate damage leading into Tommy Parker shooting for a soulful vibe on “Glock” sampling “Exhale (Shoop Shoop)” by Whitney Houston talking about letting the hammer off when he come around the block. “Ice Age” featuring Travis Scott with co-production from BNYX of Working on Dying has a trippier trap flare to it comparing themselves to H-Town vet & Ice Age Entertainment founder Mike Jones since these hoes know their numbers, but then the 2-parter “4×4” talks about being back for more.
“Purple Rain” featuring Future feels like it was made during the We Don’t Trust You/We Still Don’t Trust You sessions from the Metro Boomin’ beat that Honorable C.N.O.T.E. & Zaytoven both had an additional hand in to the codeine inspired lyricism that fits better in the context of Hardstone Psycho while “New Drop” talks about falling in love with 2 bitches in the cut over a dance inspired instrumental from Wheezy & Dez Wright. The stripped back “Backstreets” tells the story of a chick that he met last week in the minor street remote from a main road just before “Deep in the Water” fuses new jazz, alternative R&B & trap publicly addressing Kali Uchis’ pregnancy with their son.
Travis returns on the synth/hi-hat crossover “Inside” to start the final quarter of the album Promise Land with him & Don getting romantic with their partners while “5 to 10” up about his love for Harley motorcycles on top of a sample of “Drugs You Should Try It” off his mentor LaFlame’s 2nd & to date final mixtape Days Before Rodeo. “Last Laugh” nears the end of the LP by letting Vendr, Toom & Pilgrim give off the Internet Money Records sound since Vendr’s an in-house producer for the label talking about his success & “Hardstone National Anthem” ends the album with an ode to his new label Hardstone Records.
“Rockstar Girl” starts the deluxe run for a dedication to all the women out there living the rockstar life over synths & hi-hats while “Love is a Drug” has a bit of a psychedelic trap edge to it provided by both Rio Leyva & Taz Taylor boasting about putting his girl straight to sleep like it was melatonin. “Donny Darko” featuring Lil Uzi Vert goes full on rage so both of them can laugh their ways to the bank not giving a fuck what everyone else thinks & the final bonus track “Geeked Up” featuring Yeat gives trap metal a shot talking about being unable to sleep for that specific reason.
Even since the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic began the day Heaven or Hell, I had it regarded as his best & the singles that Hardstone Psycho made it seem as if he was going to surpass that debut we got from him over 4 years ago. Lo & behold: He has come into his own artistically & given us what a lot of people including myself thought would be the crown jewel of his discography. We still get the experimentally southern trap/pop rap/alternative R&B stylings of before except he additional treads the waters of new jazz, trap soul, rage, sample drill & rap rock.
Score: 4/5
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