Tory Lanez – The New Toronto 2 Review [Rhyme Review]

Tory Lanez is nothing but an energetically charged rapper.

On Christmas day 2015, Tory did something unheard of from a mainstream artist: drop 2 projects on one day. Those projects? Chixtape 3 and The New Toronto. TNT served as a “turnup” car styled project that would lead to Tory’s “rap” sound. Chixtape 3 continued an ever perfecting series that would prove him and Play Picasso’s talent behind the production. Samples, instrumentals, and pure singing. That seems to be the main concept between all of the Chixtapes.

So, what did Tory bring so much differently on TNT2 compared to the first? Not to completely bash on this project, as it was good. However, it was MUCH different than the first TNT. The problem with this is that Tory had an extremely well thought out “rap” sided sound that was different than anything I’ve heard on TNT. This project, however, is a true playlist ready banger approach. Tory’s Fargo Friday series seems to follow this model, and the project is basically a ton of Fargo Friday tracks onto one project.

Fargo Friday tracks are a great addition to Tory’s content drops, and the lookout from Tory to the fans stays pure. Fargo Friday tracks are really good in a sense of a party styled series. Songs to turnup to and get energized for the gym. T-Lanez, dropped a project though, not a compilation album. So, Tory’s loss of direction as a project turned into a jumbled 13-track project. Sure, there were a ton of great songs, but the project didn’t flow as a whole. Listening to tracks as individuals made the process go a little bit smoother, but deciphering the project as a whole was hard.

Looking into the individual tracks themselves, they weren’t too shabby. Like I said, I love the Fargo Friday series, as dropped individually. Tory brought 3 previous Fargo Friday tracks, “Bodmon Song”, “Blue Jay Season”, and “Super Freaky”. All three tracks were great as dropped periodically in 2016, with Tory even adding a few verses on “Bodmon Song” and “Blue Jay Season” (Now “Fargo Season”) on TNT2. “Bodmon Song” served as this Jamaican influenced track that brought some spicy vocals from Tory. Tory brought Jamaican artist Kranium on tour, and I feel he’s been heavily influenced by Jamaican music. A heavy accent proved to show Tory’s versatility on that track.

As a whole, Tory’s lyricism stayed put on the album. There was no central theme with a discombobulated lyrical flow. The themes of women, cars, parties, and dancing were quite unappealing, but I feel he made that up on his second project Chixtape 4. Lyrically, Tory didn’t have much to offer on this project.

Tracks like “Dopeman Go”, “Bal Harbour”, and “$auce Baby” deployed the banger side of Tory, which actually proved to be quite enjoyable. Each track had it’s own sense of direction, though not flowing from track to track. These songs were the higher tier singles that again, didn’t offer much lyrically. The flow within each of these songs were alright, keeping it slim on the 808s. Tory does a great job of using different kit resources to create songs that can classify as “bangers” but stay slight on 808s and bass drops.

Drifting away from hard hitters, Tory shows some skill across tracks like “Dancin'”, “Wraith Talk”, “Set It Off”, and “LICK x Drive You Crazy”. These songs bring a closer touch as seen on the original TNT. Some deep instrumentals and quick kicks were shockingly really good as songs by themselves.

The lower tier songs such as “Came Thru” and “Anyway” still brought a decent flow per track, but failed on the vocal end. As a project, again, it stayed too close to Tory’s comfort zone.