RESPECT. Album Review: Tory Lanez ‘I Told You’

If you didn’t know who Tory Lanez was before, then you most certainly will get to know his life story from his debut album ‘I Told You.’ It’s been a week now since ‘I Told You‘ dropped and there has been a lot of chit chat on what the world thinks of it. I’m here to give readers my 100% opinion on the album whether or not you agree. Now, I understand where people are coming from when they say its as if he’s copying other artists styles or sounds. Many people have compared Tory’s style to the likes of Trey Songz, Fetty Wap, Bryson Tiller or even his nemesis – Drake. However, for those who’ve been listening to the New Toronto singer/rapper for a long time now, know that he has always sounded this way. The 24-year-old artist dropped an unlimited amount of music over the years with a handful of mixtapes and a selfless amount of freebies. Now that his debut albums out, Tory specifically titled it ‘I Told You,’ for all those who doubted him.

If you streamed ‘I Told You‘ on Spotify or Apple Music, you will instantly notice that the album listed 28 tracks. To clarify, there are 14 tracks on the album along with 14 skits to go with each track. If you’re someone who could care less about skits, then just skip it. But for those who want to get a deeper understanding of what Tory Lanez is about, then I’d suggest listening to the whole album through. The album begins with “I Told You/ Another One,” it’s 2008 and Daystar Peterson (Tory’s birth name) is getting kicked out of his grandma’s crib. He opens up to the world about how he slept in basements, backseat of cars, his girl’s crib and pretty much everywhere he was able to be when he was dead broke. The album is a timeline of his life starting when he was 16 years old and all of the experiences he went through when it came to crime, sex, tragedy and success.

Aside from his notable singles such as “Say It,” and “Luv” which close out the album, there are many other gems on the album. One that may stand out is “4am Flex,” Tory’s been sharing his music dream with his crew and is looking for some cash money. Him and his boy are on a mission to break into a house in which they escape but simultaneously are getting shot at riding in their Honda Accord. A track like this is not a new topic when it comes to hip-hop. Some of the tracks may remind listeners of Kendrick Lamar‘s debut album “good m.a.d.d city,” when it comes to content.

Tory doesn’t just touch base on all of the trouble he gets into though, he shares his relationships he has had with ex-girlfriends and/or “girl-friends.” His songs “Friends With Benefits,” “Cold Hard Love,” “High,” “Question Is,” and “All the Girls,” all take very different approaches in explaining his trial and errors with females in his life. Some of them such as “Friends With Benefits” and “High” take you on a more trippy, lustful ride. Whereas, “Cold Hard Love” and “All the Girls” are both more uptempo tracks that you could imagine the ladies blasting and singing along to. But the track out of those that hit a very deep heartstring is “Question Is,” in which Tory mentions the abortions his lady (ladies?) had… not only once. When Tory comes in, the first line he spits is “My shorty had an abortion for me like three times / as hard as that is to say to y’all, I think it’s much harder to keep it silent.” He goes on to recognize his selfish ways in which he’s been out in the streets selling drugs in order to make money for himself and not realizing the health concerns of his girl. He says “Cause if I never have a kid again / I’d be pissed, but I deserve it, I’ve been cursed with all these man made ways in this earth that I been living in.”

Towards the latter half of the album, Tory brings us into his “Loners Blvd,” in which he describes meeting a guy named Sasha talking about management. Tory gets booked for his first show ever in Houston at the Warehouse Live, which apparently wasn’t a good one. He says “It was my worst show ever / n***as damn near got booed off stage,” not to mention “bad enough n***as let Bun B watch but I felt like I let Sasha down.” I’ve seen Tory Lanez perform twice now, and hearing this story, after seeing him is so surprising. This guy is the most live performer I’ve seen. He can sing live and he can also turn his whole venue into a jungle gym. The skit just after this track goes into Tory getting a call from Interscope in which his music spoke for itself.

I could go on and on about every single track on this album, but if you’re someone who wants to listen to a good album, I’d say that this is a solid debut album from the New Toronto. Tory’s been making his rounds doing interviews at multiple radio stations recently and in his Big Boy TV interview, he explains growing up in Toronto is a very multi-cultural experience. That he could have a best friend that is of Asian descent and/or Indian descent. That due to that type of surrounding, he hears the sounds of various groups of people and the music that everyone listens too. I think out of everything people say about him “copying” sounds, I’d say he’s an artist that knows how to adapt and evolve. He has always had his own sound if you listen to his old stuff. He’s just been influenced over the years by amazing artists and experiences in which helped him grow and learn more about his craft. He even makes a joke about copying artists and taking their s**t on the Breakfast Club. Tory’s out here to win the gold medal and will not stop until he becomes “the best version of himself.” He also mentions on The Breakfast Club how he is working on a short film, which we will expect to see soon.

If you haven’t already listened or copped ‘I Told You,’ go get it and listen to it. It’s definitely worth checking out if you want to hear some new good music. Congratulations to Tory Lanez on his debut album (that has no features), and his rise to fame!

You can also check out his interview on Big Boy TV and The Breakfast Club below.