Heaven or Hell (album)

For the David and the Giants album, see David and the Giants. For other uses, see Heaven or Hell.

Heaven or Hell
Studio album by
Don Toliver
ReleasedMarch 13, 2020 (2020-03-13)
Recorded2018–19
Studio
  • Cactus (Honolulu, Hawaii)[1]
Genre
Length36:30
Label
Producer
Don Toliver chronology
Donny Womack
(2018) 		Heaven or Hell
(2020) 		Life of a Don
(2021)
Singles from Heaven or Hell
  1. "No Idea"
    Released: May 29, 2019
  2. "Can't Feel My Legs"
    Released: December 13, 2019
  3. "Had Enough"
    Released: December 27, 2019
  4. "After Party"
    Released: June 23, 2020

Heaven or Hell is the debut studio album by American singer and rapper Don Toliver. It was released on March 13, 2020, by Cactus Jack Records, Atlantic Records and We Run It Entertainment. The album features guest appearances by Travis Scott, Kaash Paige, Quavo and Offset from Migos, and Sheck Wes. It also contains production from high-profile record producers, mainly from WondaGurl and Mike Dean, as well as Sonny Digital, Frank Dukes, and Cubeatz, among others.

Heaven or Hell was supported by four singles: "No Idea", "Can't Feel My Legs", "Had Enough" and "After Party". "No Idea" became his highest-charting single on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 43. The album received generally positive reviews from music critics and was a commercial success. It debuted at number seven on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 44,000 album-equivalent units in its first week.[2]

Background

[edit]

In 2018, after guest appearing on Travis Scott's third studio album Astroworld, Toliver signed onto the former's record label Cactus Jack Records, along with Atlantic Records and We Run It Entertainment.[3]

In May 2019, Toliver stated the album's original title as "Resurrection".[4]

In December 2019, Toliver was featured on the Cactus Jack compilation album JackBoys.

On March 10, 2020, Toliver announced Heaven or Hell on social media alongside the album's artwork which was created by illustrator Matthew McCormick.[5][6]

Recording

[edit]

In March 2020, American record producer Sonny Digital said on Twitter that he was part of the project, while also confirming songs "Cardigan" and "After Party", both which he co-produced.[7] Other producers include Canadian record producer WondaGurl, who co-produced "Can't Feel My Legs"[8] and American record producer TM88, who co-produced "Had Enough".[9]

Promotion

[edit]

A snippet of the song "After Party" was previously featured on Scott's Netflix documentary Look Mom I Can Fly, which spread hype around the song. It originally featured a verse from Travis Scott which didn't make it to the final version. He later performed a portion of the song at the 2019 Astroworld Festival. Another version of the song, without Scott, was leaked featuring a different beat and outro.

Singles

[edit]

On May 29, 2019, the album's lead single "No Idea" was released and was accompanied by a music video.[10] On December 13, Toliver released the album's second single "Can't Feel My Legs", which was also accompanied by a music video.[11][12] On December 27, Toliver released the third single "Had Enough" featuring American rappers Quavo and Offset from the hip-hop trio Migos, which was also on the Cactus Jack compilation album JackBoys, released on the same day, as the second single of that project.[13] On June 23, 2020, "After Party" was released to urban contemporary radio in the United States, making it the fourth single.[14]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Clash7/10[15]
HipHopDX4.2/5[16]
Rolling Stone[17]
Pitchfork6.1/10[18]

Heaven or Hell was met with generally positive reviews from music critics.

Commercial performance

[edit]

Heaven or Hell debuted at number seven on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 44,000 album-equivalent units (including 3,000 copies as pure album sales) in its first week.[2] This became Toliver's first US top-ten debut on the chart.[2] On February 22, 2023, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over 1,000,000 units in the United States.[19]

Track listing

[edit]
Heaven or Hell track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Heaven or Hell"
3:03
2."Euphoria" (featuring Travis Scott and Kaash Paige)
  • Sonic Major
  • Dean[a]
3:36
3."Cardigan"
2:39
4."After Party"
2:48
5."Wasted"
  • Toliver
  • Cassio Lopes
  • Jocelyn Donald
  • Simon Plummer
  • Donny Flores
Cássio2:51
6."Can't Feel My Legs"
  • Toliver
  • Oshunrinde
  • Dean
  • Hans-Michael Dary-Nereus
  • Charles Ocansey
  • WondaGurl
  • Freakey!
  • Forthenight
  • Dean[a]
3:01
7."Candy"
  • Toliver
  • Oshunrinde
  • Dean
  • Webster
3:56
8."Company"
  • Toliver
  • Oshunrinde
  • Feeney
  • Dean
  • WondaGurl
  • Frank Dukes
  • Cash Passion[a]
  • Dean[a]
3:25
9."Had Enough" (featuring Quavo and Offset)
2:37
10."Spaceship" (featuring Sheck Wes)
  • Frank Dukes
  • Sonny Digital
  • Dean[a]
3:05
11."No Photos"
  • WondaGurl
  • Cubeatz[a]
2:55
12."No Idea"
  • Toliver
  • Oshunrinde
  • T. Gomringer
  • K. Gomringer
  • WondaGurl
  • Cubeatz[a]
2:34
Total length:36:30

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies a co-producer
  • ^[b] signifies an additional producer
  • ^[c] signifies an uncredited co-producer[20][21][22]
  • ^[d] signifies an uncredited additional producer[22][23]
  • "Heaven or Hell" was originally released as "Heaven or Hell Intro".

Personnel

[edit]

Musicians

  • Nkenge 1x – additional keyboards (track 7)

Technical

  • Jimmy Cash – recording (tracks 1, 2, 7), mixing assistant (tracks 1–8, 10, 11), mixing (track 12)
  • Travis Scott – recording (track 2)
  • Zach Steele – recording (tracks 3, 4, 10)
  • Trevor Coulter – recording (tracks 5, 6, 8), engineering (track 9)
  • Nate Alford – recording (track 12)
  • Colton Eatmon – engineering (track 9)
  • Shawn Morenberg – engineering assistant (track 9)
  • Sage Skolfield – mixing assistant (tracks 1–8, 10, 11)
  • Sean Solymar – mixing assistant (tracks 1–8, 10, 11)
  • Mike Dean – mixing (tracks 1–11), mastering (all tracks)

Charts

[edit]

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[44] Gold 10,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[45] Silver 60,000‡
United States (RIAA)[19] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Fu, Eddie (March 23, 2020). "Three Songs On Don Toliver's 'Heaven Or Hell' Are From Travis Scott's 'Astroworld' Sessions". Genius. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d Caulfield, Keith (March 22, 2020). "Lil Uzi Vert's 'Eternal Atake' Spends Second Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  3. ^ Mckinney, Jessica (December 7, 2019). "Travis Scott's Cactus Jack Records: What You Need to Know About Each Artist". Complex. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  4. ^ @DonToliver (May 7, 2019). "Resurrection" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. ^ Toliver, Don (March 10, 2020). "HEAVEN OR HELL. 3/13. STORY TO TELL🌹 🖼 @mattrmccormick 🖼" – via Instagram.
  6. ^ @DonToliver (March 10, 2020). "HEAVEN OR HELL. 3/13. STORY TO TELL🌹" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. ^ @SonnyDigital (March 11, 2020). "Don Toliver dropping heaven or hell this Friday. I produced Cardigan and Afterparty" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ^ "CAN'T FEEL MY LEGS - @DONTOLIVER OUT NOW". December 14, 2019 – via Instagram.
  9. ^ "HAD ENOUGH". December 28, 2019 – via Instagram.
  10. ^ "No Idea - Single by Don Toliver". iTunes Store. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  11. ^ TV News Desk (December 16, 2019). "Don Toliver Returns with 'Can't Feel My Legs'". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  12. ^ "Don Toliver - Can't Feel My Legs (Official Music Video)". December 13, 2019 – via YouTube.
  13. ^ "Had Enough (feat. Quavo & Offset) - Single by Don Toliver on Apple Music". December 27, 2019 – via Apple Music.
  14. ^ "Urban/UAC: Future Releases". All Access. Archived from the original on June 17, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  15. ^ Ijaduola, Debbie (March 18, 2020). "Don Toliver – Heaven Or Hell Good trip, bad trip, and a solid solo debut..." Clash. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  16. ^ Draughorne, Kenan. "Don Toliver Steps Into the Spotlight on 'Heaven or Hell'". HipHopDX. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  17. ^ Ihaza, Jeff (October 13, 2021). "Don Toliver Charts Familiar Terrain on 'Life of a Don'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  18. ^ Pierre, Alphonse (March 19, 2020). "Don Toliver: Heaven or Hell Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  19. ^ a b "American album certifications – Don Toliver – Heaven or Hell". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  20. ^ "afterparty + no idea + no photos w. wondagurl + sonny" – via Instagram.
  21. ^ "there is NOTHING more important that has happened in the history of music than the debut @jayelectronica album that was released tonight. ALL praise is due to Allah. also, i co-produced "Candy" on @dontoliver 's new 🌵🔥 album. shout out @cash_passion for the opportunity to serve 🤲🏿" – via Instagram.
  22. ^ a b "heaven or hell. big debut album for @dontoliver and the gang. mixed by @cash_passion and @therealmikedean. "candy" and "company" produced by @cash_passion and @wondagurl. "had enough" produced by @tm88 with additional production by @cash_passion. 💵📈" – via Instagram.
  23. ^ "Brought sth to the Afterparty 🎺" – via Instagram.
  24. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Don Toliver – Heaven or Hell". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  25. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Don Toliver – Heaven or Hell" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  26. ^ "Ultratop.be – Don Toliver – Heaven or Hell" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  27. ^ "Ultratop.be – Don Toliver – Heaven or Hell" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  28. ^ "Don Toliver Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  29. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Don Toliver – Heaven or Hell". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  30. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Don Toliver – Heaven or Hell" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  31. ^ "Don Toliver: Heaven or Hell" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  32. ^ "Lescharts.com – Don Toliver – Heaven or Hell". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  33. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Don Toliver – Heaven or Hell" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  34. ^ "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  35. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Don Toliver – Heaven or Hell". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  36. ^ "Charts.nz – Don Toliver – Heaven or Hell". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  37. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Don Toliver – Heaven or Hell". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  38. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Don Toliver – Heaven or Hell". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  39. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Don Toliver – Heaven or Hell". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  40. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  41. ^ "Don Toliver Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  42. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  43. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  44. ^ "Danish album certifications – Don Toliver – Heaven or Hell". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  45. ^ "British album certifications – Don Toliver – Heaven or Hell". British Phonographic Industry.
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