Don Toliver Artistfacts

June 12, 1994
Don Toliver was born Caleb Zackery Toliver in Houston, Texas. The rapper/singer-songwriter has music in his blood; his dad was a rapper who went by the name Bongo in the early 2000s when Michael "5000" Watts was breaking new ground in Houston's rap scene with his Southern hip-hop label Swishahouse. Bongo notably sang on the chorus of Swishahouse rapper Archie Lee's "Swang Wide."

The junior Toliver became a performer in his own right, releasing a handful of solo singles before landing a breakthrough guest appearance on Travis Scott's Astroworld track "Can't Say," which dropped a day after Toliver issued his sophomore mixtape, Donny Womack. Toliver subsequently signed to Scott's Cactus Jack label, which was the beginning of his longtime partnership with the rapper.
Donny Womack, the namesake of Toliver's seminal mixtape, is Toliver's alter-ego - a nod to R&B legend Bobby Womack. The character resurfaced on Toliver's debut album, Heaven And Hell, delivering a soulful falsetto on the chorus of the viral hit "No Idea."
Womack is just one in a long list of Toliver's musical idols. His penchant for '70s soul via artists like Marvin Gaye, Teddy Pendergrass, and Charlie Wilson influenced the concept of his 2023 R&B rap album, Love Sick. Wilson even guested on the track "If I Had" and showed up again on "Attitude" on Toliver's subsequent album, Hardstone Psycho, the following year.
Toliver's interest in motorcycles turned into a full-on obsession after his uncle gave him a Harley, so much so that he was determined to combine his two loves - bikes and hip-hop - on his 2024 album, Hardstone Psycho. The album is structured into four different segments to simulate a motorcycle ride through some of the rapper's favorite haunts, but he's careful not to get too specific - he doesn't want fans showing up at his hangout spots!
Unlike many of his peers, Toliver tries to avoid recording on tour unless absolutely necessary to preserve his energy and his voice. "If there's an emergency or something that needs to be done recording-wise, we'll manage to get it done, but in a perfect world, it's really kind of hard for me to possibly even just focus on music when I'm on the road," he told Clash in 2022. "I really need to preserve my voice as much as possible. I give the studio a lot of energy and sometimes you need to save that energy for those moments on that stage when you're on tour."
He entered a relationship with R&B singer Kali Uchis ("Igual Que Un Ángel") - his duet partner on "Drugs n Hella Melodies" - in 2020. They welcomed a baby boy in 2024.
Toliver entered the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time when he performed on Internet Money's "Lemonade" alongside rappers Gunna and Nav.
Toliver reached a milestone in 2025 when all four of his albums earned a billion-plus streams on Spotify. Heaven And Hell took the lead with 3.9 billion.
Atlanta rapper Ken Carson incited a feud with Toliver after seemingly throwing a jab at him during his set at the Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash festival in 2025. Toliver had just ended a performance with Yeat (whom Carson supported on "Geek High" in 2022), when Carson expressed disgust over the partnership, quipping, "F--k you talking about, ain't no duos." The beef spilled over onto social media, with Toliver claiming his baby mama makes more money than Carson.
Toliver is a big gamer and even brings a console on tour to get his fix of Grand Theft Auto and Call Of Duty. As part of his marketing campaign for Hardstone Psycho, the rapper launched a biker-themed game called "Hardstone Biker Wars" within Fortnite featuring tracks from the album.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

More Songfacts:

Theme From ShaftIsaac Hayes

When "Theme From Shaft" won an Oscar in 1972, Isaac Hayes became the first African American to win in the Best Song category.

Ain't NobodyRufus & Chaka Khan

"Ain't Nobody" by Rufus & Chaka Khan was one of the first big hits to use a sequencer, which is how that distinctive keyboard loop was created. The song almost landed on Michael Jackson's Thriller album, but the group decided to keep it.

Gangnam StylePsy

The K-pop hit "Gangnam Style" became the most-viewed video in YouTube history months after it was released in 2012, a title it held until "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa overtook it in 2017.

Feel It StillPortugal. The Man

"Feel It Still" by Portugal. The Man deals with lead singer John Gourley becoming a "rebel just for kicks" after having a daughter and settling down. "It's hard to be a punk when you're thinking about your baby daughter at home," he says.