Don Toliver shows he is one of hip-hop’s hottest stars in his first KC show

There are not that many acts that can make the T-Mobile Center feel like it’s about to fall out of place. Hip-hop superstar Don Toliver is one that definitely fits the criteria.

The multiplatinum rapper and singer made his Kansas City concert debut on Wednesday, June 17 as a part of his Octane Tour. He came in during a busy time in Kansas City, with a show was sandwiched between two KC World Cup matches.

Whether the majority of fans were locals or from out of town, Wednesday’s show was one of the most electrifying shows of the year at the T-Mobile Center. It drew a completely sold out crowd.

Don Toliver makes the room shake in his first KC show

It was roughly 9:15p.m. when the lights turned off and fans heard the instrumental intro to Toliver’s hit song “E85.” It didn’t take long for his presence to be felt in the arena. The entire crowd jumped up and down to his song that has over 200 million Spotify streams.

Between the mosh pits and the jumping happening throughout the arena, it was very obvious this was a show that will literally keep you on your toes throughout the night.

Dressed in a hazmat suit, Toliver ripped through multiple songs from his Billboard chart topping album “OCTANE” before throwing things back to his debut album, “Heaven or Hell.” He pulled out fan favorites such as “Cardigan” and “No Idea.”

His performance reminded folks that since his rise to stardom in 2019 when he was featured on Travis Scott’s “ASTROWORLD” album, he’s been one of the biggest hitmakers in hip-hop in the 2020s.

“I love Don. I think not a lot of artists come to KC, so whenever there’s somebody here, I just want to go see them,” said Laiba Ashraf. “With Don, I’ve been listening to him for the longest time. He was such a baby when he first started.”

Toliver recently turned 32 on June 12.

Toliver makes performing look fun

Toliver didn’t have many dramatics when it came to his concert. He did perform over the crowd while on a huge biohazard sign that was raised in the air, as well as bringing out his opener Sahbabii to perform their song “K9.” Besides that, there weren’t background dancers or much else supporting him on stage.

The thing was, he really didn’t need it. If you’ve seen a clip of Don Toliver performing, you’ll know he does some silly dances as the crowd sings his songs for him. That’s what makes Toliver a unique performer. In a world where some artists can just sit back and give a calm and collected performance, Toliver makes performing look fun, even if he isn’t the world’s greatest dancer.

“We like super lit music, and those who like super lit music know Don Toliver is in like the top five,” said Logan Wise, who was with his brother Skyler for the show. The two came to the show wearing hazmat suits, similar to the one Toliver wore on the cover of “OCTANE.”

Toliver ended the show how he started, with another performance of his song “E85.” Fans were as loud for this rendition as they were for his first. He then walked off the stage as his “OCTANE” outro track, “Sweet Home,” plays. The crowd still sings and dances to the song as if he’s still on stage, a fitting way to display the superstar status Don Toliver continues to grow in his musical career.

One gripe that Kansas Citians can have about Don Toliver’s performance was that he kept referring to the crowd as “Kansas,” when in fact, he was performing on the Missouri side. He did say that he won’t let this be the last time he’s in Kansas City, so let’s hope next time he’ll get that figured out.

It was his first KC show, so I guess we can give him a little grace.

What songs did Don Toliver perform?

Don Toliver performed the following songs at his Kansas City concert:

• “E85”
• “OPPOSITE”
• “Secondhand”
• “Rendezvous”
• “ATM”
• “Call Back”
• “Cardigan”
• “No Idea”
• “You”
• “Body”
• “Gemstone”
• “Excavator”
• “TORE UP”
• “K9 (with SahBabii)”
• A snippet of an unreleased song
• “TMU”
• “Tiramisu”
• “Tuition”
• “No Pole”
• “KRYPTONITE”
• “CAN’T SAY”
• “BANDIT”
• “E85”
• “Sweet Home”

During an intermission, Toliver’s DJ, Dr. McDaniels, played these songs:

• “Lemonade”
• “Private Landing”
• “I Can’t Save You (interlude)”
• “ATTITUDE”
• “FIELD TRIP”
• “Bus Stop”
• “NEW DROP”
• “3am”

Rashad Alexander

The Kansas City Star