Malik Peay
Malik Peay
Don Toliver reminds Los Angeles why he is lightyears ahead. At Spotify's RapCaviar NBA All-Star Weekend extravaganza, the Houston-raised rapper performed tracks from his number one album, OCTANE.
Hip hop and basketball have a mutual understanding; one can’t simply exist without the other. The modulation of bass in a beat and the vocal rhythm inside a rap cadence is as uncanny as when a Herculean NBA player towers over you to make a slam dunk. Rappers and NBA players share a connection of knowing what is needed to perform in colosseum-sized arenas like gladiators of rival kingdoms. NBA player Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons hosted an All-Star weekend event with headliner Don Toliver.
In Los Angeles, NBA All-Star weekend events transformed the city into an international gymnasium where the sport of basketball took on its biggest courts in the United States. Spotify’s RapCaviar partnered with NBC’s Peacock to put on an elite event where Don Toliver performed tracks from his most recent album, Octane, with rapper Veeze as his opener. Toliver, donning an all-white astronaut-inspired garb, slid off a live rendition of “FWU.” The room filled with Toliver and NBA fans was vibrating over the fact that they saw the Don in the flesh, coming off the steam of his first-ever number one album, Octane. His tracks astral project listeners into an otherworldly, spacey realm where gravity is defied, and electrifying hype is always condoned.
He rapped the opening track of Octane, “E85,” for the very first time. Under blue lights and a mic pressed firmly against his mouth, Don Toliver entered a rap flow state, and the crowd matched the energy of the maestro, who is seemingly capable of turning any static room into a pulsing space. The speedy verses of “ATM” followed after, the Houston-artist crossed over into another mental zone, winding his arms up and down; energizing that Don Toliver fervor — he truly loves performing his music.
RapCaviar mutated a corner of Hollywood into a warehouse of play where sport and sonics transfixed oncomers. The LED half-court next to the stage was an opportunity for those with a competitive spirit to win goods through a jump-shot contest. The activation mirrored the All-Star weekend events that professional NBA players fight to be victorious in to highlight the years of dedication and perfection of their craft. Attendees could secure a jersey at the design shop on-site while servings of caviar (on a chicken drumstick) were passed around.
Don Toliver is the musical champion of the week. And, NBA All-Star Weekend is all about spotlighting basketball champs in motion as they showcase their specialized skills. For the weekend, the most famous streets in Los Angeles were grounds for the power of sport and the influence of music to come together to put on a show for the ages.