In his Peterson album review, Kevin Bourne says Tory Lanez’s latest project is among his best and most personal, albums yet.
When Tory Lanez was sentenced to 10 years in prison, we were forced to think about what a decade without his music would be like. He was in the middle of enjoying his newfound independence as an artist. He was exploring new ways selling music. With Lanez behind bars, it was a big “What if?” If he hadn’t gone to prison, what heights would he have reached in the industry? What boundaries and new ground would he have broken as an innovative, independent artist? And when he is released, would fans and the industry still want to hear what he has to say?
But we will never know because Tory Lanez, ever the innovator, has found a way to record and release quality music from prison; something we’ve never seen before. The closest was Johnny Cash’s live album recorded at Fulham Prison in 1968. As a result, Lanez not only makes history, but he provides us with an unparalleled, firsthand glimpse into prison life; not a recounted post-release glimpse, but a present day glimpse with the raw emotions to match. But what else would we expect from an innovative mind who has used technology to separate himself from the pack, bringing us Quarantine Radio and NFT albums?
“I’ll be in front of everyday dollar like my name was Creflo.” – Tory Lanez, PETERSON
Now, while Tory has given us singles and features like “Handling Business” alongside DDG from prison, this has to be the first album in the history of music, not just hip-hop, recorded while someone is incarcerated. Imagine the music we would’ve received from artists like Tupac if this technology existed back in the 90’s. Are first day out releases even going to be a thing anymore?
The album opens with an intro where he hear the media coverage of Lanez’s arrest, including him receiving Donkey Of The Day on The Breakfast Club, before he reaffirms his faith in God, something we hear throughout the album. While he gives us lyrical songs like “Sneeze Wrong” with four syllable rhymes schemes as he narrates his experience in county jail, R&B songs like “White Lightning”, “$ailor Moon”, and “9$IDE x Amethyst”, and melodic hip-hop songs like “Free Me” which has become synonymous with the current Toronto street hip-hop sound, the album has a soulful and inspirational sound to it, whether through its use of vocals, samples, and other production elements. There’s “Guide Me Through It”, where Tory asks God for help on top of Gospel elements, including a choir, and an inspirational message from his preacher father,. There’s “Slipping x Failing”, “T.D.F”, “TB’s Interlude”, and “Gangland” where he blesses us with three syllable rhyme schemes and a feature from his son Kai’lon where he defiantly says “Free my daddy, fuck nigga”. That kid is definitely Tory Lanez’s son.
Overall, the album is really Tory chronicling his regular life in jail, from his people falling back, whether industry and personal friends, his girlfriend having sex with his friend while he’s behind bars, fighting with other inmates, longing for phone sex (“I’ve been in the yard waiting all day”), maintaining his innocence, having sex with a Correctional Officer (telling her to take her uniform off), leaning on God, trying to better himself, and his inability to access his money early on because he’s Canadian. Tory is in the middle of the fight of his life and he’s given us a front row seat, with prison related song titles like “Verdict Day”, “Lawyer Fees”, “Phone Secs”, “Free Me”, and “Free Tory”.
He also recalls the day of his sentencing, including his father speaking to a crowd outside the court, Roc Nation coming for him, and how he should’ve countersued on “Back Outside”. He also paints a picture of what will happen when he’s out of jail.
He ends the album with the aptly named track “Free Tory”. On the song, he talks about Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), including wanting to have sex with Doechii, predicts his 2025 release, and even speaks in tongues, before trying to manifest what things will be like when he’s released. He recalls his late nights crying, and takes some time to be thankful, shouting out his loyal fans (his Umbrellas), and Chris Brown, who gave him money when he needed it.,
“I guess taking me from my 7 year old son wasn’t enough for you to breathe
The day I got sentenced my dad stood on them courts’ steps and screamed
And niggas laughed and turned it into a meme
But what they ain’t know he was conceiving
The prophecy and seeing all of the things he was saying are starting to be…
Roc Nation coming for Milagro, that’s really funny
Even more, they tryna find ways to relate it to me.”-Tory Lanez on “My Shayla”
With hip-hop being an artform and musical expression that leans heavily on stunting and lying, Tory is forced to take a different approach. After all, there isn’t much to brag about behind bars. As a result, PETERSON is some of the most authentic hip-hop we’ve heard in a long time, not only in the subject matter, but in the lack of big features and the rawness of the recording. While it sounds good, you can tell it wasn’t recording in a booth or on proper equipment. But we don’t need that. PETERSON is Tory Lanez’s real life, set within the context of person life. It’s almost like a time capsule of this season of his life. In a time where hip-hop has been dominated by either emptiness, beef, and artists sounding like each other, Lanez and this album stand out from the pack. It will be interesting to see how the album performs with no major label support and traditional marketing. If it does perform well, it would be an big indictment on the major label system.
In the end, this album shoes us why Tory Lanez has been missed in the musical landscape. With “Slipping x Failing”, “$ailor Moon”, “Phone Secs”, “Verdict Day”, and “Gangland” among the standout tracks, PETERSON is among Lanez’s best, and most personal, albums yet.
Kevin Bourne is SHIFTER’s Toronto-based editor and Senior Entertainment Reporter focusing on Black film & TV and music. He was named one of only 340 voters in the world for the 81st and 82nd Golden Globe Awards and a Tomatometer-Approved Critic by Rotten Tomatoes.
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