Life of a Don

Life of a Don
Studio album by Don Toliver
Released	October 8, 2021
Recorded	2020–2021[1]
Genre	Hip hop R&B
Length	51:30
Label	Cactus Jack Atlantic We Run It
Producer	1Mind Allen Ritter Blair Taylor Broadday Bryvn Cardo Chase B Corbett David x Eli Dez Wright DJ Dahi Dougie F FKi 1st Fabefocused Frankie XY Go Grizzly Hit-Boy Jahaan Sweet London Cyr Loshendrix Mario Winans Metro Boomin Mike Dean Moonraccoon Motif Alumni Mustard Mirela Mu Lean Omar Grand Pas Beatz Peter Lee Johnson Saint Mino Sam-E Lee Jones Sonny Digital Sir Dylan Sool Got Hits The Loud Pack Travis Scott
Don Toliver chronology
Heaven or Hell (2020) Life of a Don (2021) Love Sick (2023)
Singles from Life of a Don
"What You Need" Released: May 4, 2021 "Drugs n Hella Melodies" Released: June 18, 2021

Life of a Don (also abbreviated to L.O.A.D.) is the second studio album by American singer and rapper Don Toliver. It was released on October 8, 2021, through Cactus Jack Records, Atlantic Records, and We Run It. The production on the album was handled by multiple producers, including Mike Dean, Mustard, Metro Boomin, Allen Ritter, Hit-Boy, Cardo, and Sonny Digital, among others. The album also features guest appearances from Travis Scott, Kali Uchis, Baby Keem, HVN, and SoFaygo.

Life of a Don was supported by two singles: "What You Need" and "Drugs n Hella Melodies". The album received generally positive reviews from music critics and was a commercial success. It debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 68,000 album-equivalent units in its first week.[2]

Release and promotion

On February 2, 2021, Don Toliver cryptically announced Life of a Don via Twitter.[3] Toliver's Cactus Jack Records label boss, American rapper and singer Travis Scott, teased his excitement and involvement in the album in a tweet on April 9. Toliver had previously planned to release the album in July 2021.[4] On September 28, Toliver announced the release date of the album and revealed its cover art a few hours later.[5] He also teased the opening track, "Xscape", in a trailer video of the album.[6] To support the album, Toliver went on tour with American rapper Bia, serving as a special guest.[7]

Singles

Two singles preceded the release of the album. The lead single, "What You Need", was released on May 4, 2021.[8] The second single, "Drugs n Hella Melodies", featuring Toliver's girlfriend, Colombian-American singer Kali Uchis, was released on June 18, 2021.[9] Both music videos were filmed in Colombia and released alongside the songs on their respective release dates.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	73/100[10]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[11]
Clash	8/10[12]
HipHopDX	3.2/5[13]
NME	[14]
Pitchfork	7.2/10[15]
Rolling Stone	[16]

Life of a Don was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 73, based on six reviews.[10]

Commercial performance

Life of a Don debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 68,000 album-equivalent units, (including 18,000 copies in pure album sales) in its first week.[2] This became Toliver's second US top-ten debut on the chart and highest-charting album to date.[2] The album also accumulated a total of 64.13 million on-demand streams from the album's songs.[2]

Track listing

Life of a Don track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Xscape"	Caleb Toliver Michael Dean Chase Benjamin Shivam Barot Patrick Rosario Simon Kirechely Douglas Ford	Chase B Mike Dean The Loud Pack Mirela Dougie F	2:36
2.	"5x"	Toliver Ronald LaTour, Jr. Mino Drerup Ford	Cardo Saint Mino	2:12
3.	"Way Bigger"	Toliver Sonny Uwaezuoke Bryan Yepes Francisco Bejar Dylan Wiggins	Sonny Digital Bryvn Frankie XY Hayden Vecere Sir Dylan	3:16
4.	"Flocky Flocky" (featuring Travis Scott)	Toliver Jacques Webster II LaTour Dylan Cleary-Krell Ciaran Mullan	Cardo Dez Wright Mu Lean	3:03
5.	"What You Need"	Toliver Chauncey Hollis, Jr. Dustin Corbett Wiggins	Hit-Boy Corbett Sir Dylan	3:38
6.	"Double Standards"	Toliver Kevin Price Rasool Diaz Dean Wiggins Fabian Johnson Jocelyn Donald	Go Grizzly Sool Got Hits Dean Sir Dylan Fabefocused	3:11
7.	"Swangin' on Westheimer"	Toliver Leland Wayne Peter Lee Johnson Mario Winans	Metro Boomin Johnson Winans	4:48
8.	"Drugs n Hella Melodies" (featuring Kali Uchis)	Toliver Karly-Marina Loaiza Dacoury Natche Carlos Muñoz Wiggins	DJ Dahi Loshendrix Sir Dylan	3:19
9.	"2AM"	Toliver Jahaan Sweet	Sweet	2:45
10.	"Get Throwed"	Toliver Dijon McFarlane Omar Perrin	Mustard Omar Grand	2:35
11.	"Company, Pt 2"	Toliver Wayne David Ruoff Elias Klughammer Josh Gottmanns Dennis Jüngel	Metro Boomin David x Eli	3:31
12.	"Outerspace" (featuring Baby Keem)	Toliver Hykeem Carter, Jr. Cleary-Krell James Cyr Dean Sweet Linda Kopera	Baby Keem Dez Wright London Cyr Dean Sweet Moonraccoon	3:46
13.	"Smoke" (featuring HVN and SoFaygo)	Toliver Giovon Edwards Andre Burt, Jr. Sebastian Lopez Duprie Monroe Samm Niingungo	1Mind Broadday Sam-E Lee Jones	3:19
14.	"You" (featuring Travis Scott)	Toliver Webster Allen Ritter Dean	Ritter Dean Travis Scott	3:33
15.	"Crossfaded"	Toliver Trocon Roberts, Jr. Dean Blair Lavigne	FKi 1st Dean Blair Taylor	2:39
16.	"Bogus"	Toliver LaTour Marcus Rucker Pascal Leroy	Cardo Motif Alumni Pas Beatz	3:19
Total length:				51:30

Notes

• "Xscape", "Outerspace", and "Bogus" are stylized in all caps.

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Life of a Don Chart (2021) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[17] 17 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[18] 21 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[19] 16 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[20] 6 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[21] 13 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[22] 16 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[23] 40 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[24] 32 Irish Albums (OCC)[25] 29 Italian Albums (FIMI)[26] 53 Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[27] 10 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[28] 13 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[29] 9 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[30] 77 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[31] 46 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[32] 3 UK Albums (OCC)[33] 26 US Billboard 200[34] 2 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[35] 2

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Life of a Don Chart (2021) Position US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[36] 82

References

1. "The Making Of Don Toliver's "Flocky Flocky" With Mu Lean | Looproad Breakdowns EP01". Retrieved 27 January 2022 – via YouTube.
2. Caulfield, Keith (October 17, 2021). "Drake's 'Certified Lover Boy' Bounces Back to No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
3. @DonToliver (February 2, 2021). "L.O.A.D" (Tweet). Retrieved September 28, 2021 – via Twitter.
4. Blistein, Jon (May 19, 2021). "Don Toliver's Album 'L.O.A.D (Life Of A DON)' Set For Release In July". Uproxx. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
5. Mamo, Heran (September 28, 2021). "Don Toliver Announces Sophomore Album 'Life of a DON,' Teases New Track 'Xscape'". Billboard. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
6. "Don Toliver - Xscape [Official Album Trailer]". September 28, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2021 – via YouTube.
7. Mamo, Heran (August 23, 2021). "Don Toliver Reveals Schedule for Life of a Don Tour With BIA". Complex. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
8. Shifferaw, Abel (May 4, 2021). "Don Toliver Shares New Track "What You Need"". Complex. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
9. Renshaw, David (June 18, 2021). "Don Toliver and Kali Uchis Team Up on "Drugs n Hella Melodies"". The Fader. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
10. "Life of a Don by Don Toliver Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
11. Kellman, Andy (October 8, 2021). "Don Toliver - Life of a DON Review". AllMusic. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
12. Murray, Robin (October 10, 2021). "Don Toliver - Life Of A Don - A fantastic album that reinforces his status..." Clash. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
13. Ritchie, Matthew (November 9, 2021). "Review - Don Toliver 'Life Of A Don' Sounds Gorgeous But Also Like Lazy After-Party Vibes". HipHopDX. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
14. Williams, Kyann-Siann. "Don Toliver – 'Life Of A Don' review: Texan rapper explores new depths". NME. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
15. Pierre, Alphonse (October 13, 2021). "Life of a Don - Don Toliver Pitchfork Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
16. Ihaza, Jeff (October 13, 2021). "Don Toliver Charts Familiar Terrain on 'Life of a Don'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
17. "Australiancharts.com – Don Toliver – Life of a Don". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
18. "Ultratop.be – Don Toliver – Life of a Don" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
19. "Ultratop.be – Don Toliver – Life of a Don" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
20. "Don Toliver Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
21. "Danishcharts.dk – Don Toliver – Life of a Don". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
22. "Dutchcharts.nl – Don Toliver – Life of a Don" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
23. "Don Toliver: Life of a Don" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
24. "Offiziellecharts.de – Don Toliver – Life of a Don" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
25. "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
26. "Italiancharts.com – Don Toliver – Life of a Don". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
27. "2021 41-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. October 15, 2021. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
28. "Charts.nz – Don Toliver – Life of a Don". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
29. "Norwegiancharts.com – Don Toliver – Life of a Don". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
30. "Discos Más Vendidos en España". El Portal de Música. October 17, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
31. "Swedishcharts.com – Don Toliver – Life of a Don". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
32. "Swisscharts.com – Don Toliver – Life of a Don". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
33. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
34. "Don Toliver Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
35. "Don Toliver Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
36. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2021.