Heaven or Hell (album)

Last updated

Heaven or Hell
Don Toliver - Heaven or Hell.png
Studio album by
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.

Contents

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

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

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

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

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

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Clash 7/10 [15]
HipHopDX 4.2/5 [16]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [17]
Pitchfork 6.1/10 [18]

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

Commercial performance

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

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
  • WondaGurl
  • Dean [a]
  • Travis Scott [b]
  • Cash Passion [b]
  • Nkenge 1x [c]
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

Personnel

Musicians

Technical

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [44] Gold10,000
United States (RIAA) [19] Platinum1,000,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

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References

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  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. 1 2 "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.
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