“OCTANE” by Don Toliver was released on Jan. 30, 2026, and is the artist’s fifth studio album, which offers a new sound and range of songs from slow and melodic to exciting and hyper. The album hit number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, as well as accumulating around 140 million streams of the album’s songs. Each song offers something different in its own way, showcasing Don Toliver’s musical variety throughout the album.
The first track, “E85,” is a great introductory song with catchy lyrics and an amazing flow. It invites you into the album and excites the listener for the rest of it. The song has a funk-rock beat, which offers a new sound for listeners, and he absolutely crushes it. The song is the most-streamed on the album, with 75 million streams on Spotify, proving it is a fan-favorite track. This is one of the songs I have had on repeat since the album dropped, and I find myself yelling the lyrics in my house because of how memorable they are. I personally rate this song a 9.5/10. It is definitely one of my favorites from the album.
The second track of the album is titled “Body,” which has a high-energy hip-hop trap sound and samples the iconic Justin Timberlake song, “Rock Your Body.” This song is widely considered the best of the album, and is in my top three of the album. It also has the second-most streams of any song on the album, with 69 million on Spotify. The production and flows are amazing, and I could not stop listening to this song when the album first released. This sound is what Don Toliver is great at: hyping up the fans and turning up the tempo. I rate this song a 10/10; it truly is perfect, and I believe this could be anyone’s anthem.
The third track is titled “Rendezvous,” which features popular hip-hop artist Yeat, who has collaborated with Toliver many times before. Each of these first few songs have been amazing, and this one isn’t any different. The production flows well and meshes with Toliver’s and Yeat’s lyrics, creating one amazing sound. I am not sure if they are capable of creating a bad song together, considering their track record. I would rate this song a 9.5/10; it has me going back to listen to it every day.
The fourth track is titled “Second Hand,” which features Nigerian artist Rema, who offers a new, different sound that blends well with Toliver’s sound. This song has an afrobeat trap sound, which is new for Toliver, but he and Rema crushed it. The lyrics and the production are captivating, and I would love more songs from this duo. I rate this song a 9/10. I believe it is a great song, but not as great as the first three; those were generational.
The fifth track is titled “Tiramisu,” which was the lead single for his album released in September 2025, providing fans a taste of what to expect in the album. The beat is warm and feels perfect for a late night. The lyrics, as well as the hook, are super catchy and memorable. I give this song a 9/10; it is still one of the best on the album and was the lead single for a reason.
The sixth track is titled “ATM” and was the second single for the album, released only a week before the album. The production on this one is wavy and has you levitating with its heavenliness. The beat changes about three times, and each one of them is amazing and completed by Toliver’s catchy flows, which leads to the creation of an amazing song that will have fans listening to it every day. I rate this song a 9.5/10. I believe it is right up there with “Body” for the top three on the album.
The seventh track is titled “Long Way to Calabasas,” and I believe this is the only bad song on the album. The track is just slow and boring, and Toliver just repeats the same hook over and over again. It isn’t catchy whatsoever and doesn’t offer anything compared to the other tracks. The production was lazy; he did not seem like he was in the mood to record when he made this song. It’s almost like he has no connection to the song. I rate this song a 3/10. I believe this should’ve just been left off the album together and was Toliver’s only miss on it.
The eighth track is titled “Rosary” and features hip-hop superstar Travis Scott. Scott was the person who discovered Toliver and signed him to his record label “Cactus Jack”; the two have been making many songs together ever since. Every one of their co-created songs is amazing, and this one doesn’t buck the trend. The flows on production are insanely catchy. Both of them have great performances, and have even better chemistry than Toliver and Yeat. This was one of Toliver’s best rapping performances on the entire album, with a great hook. I rate this song an 8.5/10. This isn’t my favorite song of the two artists, but it is still a must listen.
The ninth track is titled “All The Signs” and features Teezo Touchdown, who blends a lot of different genres in his music, such as R&B, rap, and rock. Every time Toliver and Teezo collaborate, it is one of my favorite songs on the album. This one has me feeling the same way. The production is astonishing, the verses by both Toliver and Teezo are absolutely sensational, and this is a slow song done right. The song has been stuck in my head every day since it came out, and I just think it’s perfect. I rate this song a 10/10. It is just as good as “Body,” which is mind-blowing that Toliver can produce two songs that sound completely different and have both of them be perfect.
The tenth track is titled “Call Back” and starts the second half of the album with a bang; the production makes you want to bop your head, and the hook is catchy. The song features some of Toliver’s best rapping on the album, in my opinion, as well as some great flows. I rate this song an 8.5/10, he is just continuing to stick to his sound which works every time.
The 11th track is titled “Tuiton,” which has a nice and calming production, as well as some catchy lyrics by Toliver. However, the hook gets repetitive. He is just repeating it over and over again, which leads to it eventually getting old and a little annoying. That being said, it is still a good song to just chill and relax to. I would rate it an 8/10; it isn’t the greatest song on the record, but it is still a worthy listen.
The 12th track is titled “K9” and has the final feature of the album, up-and-coming star Sahbabii. The production is soothing, and the verses from both Toliver and Sahbabii are memorable. Sahbabii was impressive and complemented Toliver well. It is another catchy song, but Sahbabii brings a new and interesting sound to it, which makes it better. I rate this song an 8.5/10; it is the best on the second half of the album.
The 13th track is titled “Excavator” and features insane production and great flows. The song is criticised by fans for being too long, but I don’t agree with that argument. There is a beat switch in the middle of the song, which serves as a much-needed breath of fresh air. This was the first song from the album to receive a music video for a reason. The hook is catchy and has some of the best production on the entire album; it is an interesting sound and different from the rest of the record. I rate this song an 8.5/10; the critics are crazy since this is a great addition.
The 14th track is titled “Gemstone” and has the greatest production on the entire album. This song will have fans wanting to jump through a wall; that is how energizing it is. The flows by Toliver are ridiculous and mesh with the production perfectly. This is exactly what I was talking about when I was praising “Body” earlier; this type of sound is what he is best at. I rate this song a 9.5/10; this song picked up a much-needed pace in the latter half of the album.
The 15th track is titled “OPPOSITE” and is another song with great production. Most of these songs I can imagine listening to at a concert, such as “Gemstone” and “Body”, but this one is definitely up there as well. The different flows in this song are amazing and complement the beat well. I give this song a 9/10, one of the best on the second half of the album.
The 16th track is titled “TMU” and is a nice, chill song with a catchy hook and a melodic beat. I personally like the more up-tempo high-energy songs by Toliver, but these cool, melodic songs are a fan favorite, and I understand why. There is nothing inherently special about the song, but there isn’t anything terrible about it either. I rate the song an 8/10; it is a good song, but doesn’t stand out or really compare to some of the masterpieces on this album.
The 17th track is titled “Pleasures Mine,” which starts slow and keeps a chill tempo for the rest of the song. This song doesn’t offer anything special either. The beat is pretty nice, but the lyrics aren’t anything crazy, and it doesn’t make you feel anything. This song could’ve easily been left off the album as well, but that being said, it is still a pretty decent song. I rate the song a 7/10, definitely my least favorite besides “Long Way to Calabasas.” I don’t believe Toliver is capable of creating something worse than that.
The 18th and final track is titled “Sweet Home” and is a soothing, perfect ending to this amazing album. I was singing the lyrics of this song at the top of my lungs when it first came out. I usually don’t like the last songs of albums because they are usually boring, but this one is great. The production is angelic, and the song feels like a song you play after you accomplish something and are riding into the sunset. I rate this song a 9/10, such a great way to close the album.
My final rating of “OCTANE” by Don Toliver is an 8.5/10! I believe the album started so strongly in the first half (besides “Long Way to Calabasas”), but dragged on a little bit in the second half with a few highlights in there. My favorites were definitely “Body” and “All The Signs,” with “E85,” “Rendezvous,” and “ATM” rounding up the top five on the album in my opinion. I think he should cut some songs to where it has a total of about 15 tracks, but it is still a great listen, and I 100% recommend everyone to go listen to it.
