Don Toliver has spent a career constructing woozy, melodic atmospheres that bridge the gap between Houston rap and expansive pop. When the chart-topping artist sat down with singer Malcolm Todd for Rolling Stone’s Musicians on Musicians cover story, the conversation turned away from traditional industry networking and toward an unexpected primary source for modern musical earworms: the algorithmic sprawl of Instagram.
How Instagram Feeds Replaced Traditional Music Discovery
Toliver revealed that his search for fresh inspiration rarely involves active crate-digging anymore. Instead, the Texas-bred artist relies on his social media feed to surface forgotten sonic textures.
“I don’t really go out there to search too much anymore, but where I find the craziest music is Instagram. Stories, Reels, photos. I’m like, ‘Damn, thanks. Give me that.’ I’ll take it from wherever it comes. If I hear it, I need it,” Toliver explained during the interview.
He noted that dedicated retro music pages frequently populate his feed with vintage tracks and archival footage. Those fleeting digital encounters often spark creative directions for his multi-genre approach, which spans hip-hop, house, and drum-and-bass.
That digital connectivity is precisely how the cross-generational collaboration between Toliver and Todd materialized. Long before they met face-to-face on a sweltering Los Angeles set for Rolling Stone, Toliver discovered Todd’s music online. He repeatedly heard fragments of the 22-year-old’s indie-pop and R&B tracks circulating across social media platforms, drawn immediately to a sound that felt suspended in time.
The Shared Toll of Online Visibility and Modern Disconnection
Beneath the creative exchange, the two artists found common ground regarding the psychological weight of maintaining a public profile in the digital age. Todd addressed the underlying anxiety of navigating online feedback and public scrutiny.
Everyone has an opinion, and everything’s on the internet. How much did you stay in and out of that? I’ve learned to disconnect from it, but reading sh*t about yourself is the most unhealthy thing.
Toliver echoed those sentiments, revealing that reaching a higher tier of commercial success forced him to drastically scale back his digital footprint. After earning his first No. 1 album with Octane, making his BET Awards mainstage debut, and selling out the first leg of his tour in 2026, the artist chose to step back from the overstimulation of multiple platforms.
“I disconnected. When I got to a point in my career, bro, I just hated everything. I hated whatever somebody said. I just disconnected. I stopped getting on those apps. All I got is Instagram, literally,” Toliver shared, emphasizing that keeping only a single platform helps maintain boundaries between his art and the noise of public commentary.
Staying True to Proven Creative Instincts
As Toliver prepares to close out one of his most commercially dominant years, his approach to songwriting remains anchored in audience reaction and personal authenticity. Rather than chasing fleeting trends, the Houston artist leans into the foundational instincts that brought him to national prominence following his breakout appearance on Travis Scott’s 2018 album, Astroworld.
“Whatever feels the most authentic to me,” Toliver noted of his creative process on Octane. “I’ve been making music for a little while now. I kind of know what my fans react to and what I react to, so I try to stay in that world.”
Meanwhile, Todd continues supporting his latest release, Do That Again, maintaining an international tour schedule across Asia, Europe, and Australia while navigating the rising visibility accompanying his own breakthrough.
