Upon first hearing Don Toliver's verse on Travis Scott's "CAN'T SAY", it was hard not to be instantly hooked and incredibly intrigued. Who was this uncredited artist with the unique vocal tone, dynamic inflections and range of creative flows? Even after you did some searching and discovered that it was none other than Don Toliver - a Houston artist signed to Travis' Catcus Jack Records - he probably still remained a mysterious figure. You'd think after having one of the standout verses on the critically-acclaimed and commercially-success ASTROWORLD, he would quickly start buzzing, but not much was heard from him. You listened to his sole project on streaming services, the 2018 mixtape Donny Womack, and realized his potential. If you stayed tuned in to Donny T in 2019, you would be bumping two excellent singles he put out, "Situation" and "No Idea", which largely flew under the radar.
Now, Travis Scott has released the first Cactus Jack Records compilation tape, JACKBOYS, and it's finally Don Toliver's time to shine. He knocks all three of his performances on there out of the park. "WHAT TO DO?" is a dramatic duet between him and Travis. They both effusively sing about still being fucked up the morning after. It's the kind of grandiose ode to banal events that Travis thrives at making and Don Toliver proves to be a perfect companion for that endeavour. There's an ominous synth breakdown and washed-out guitar solo that takes a page out of the Mike Dean playbook (unless he's responsible for it) to render "WHAT TO DO?" a drug rap masterpiece.
Quotable Lyrics
I woke up on the seventeenth
Drunk as hell, you tellin' me
I was in the club, full of jealousy
Damn near caught a felony
- Don Toliver
