If you’ve followed this site for the last two years, you know that I think Tory Lanez had one of the best debut albums in years with “I Told You.” I felt like it was such a dynamic project in which Tory gave us everything he had, doing his best to sum up the struggle it took for him to successfully make it into the hip hop game. With that heartfelt story off of his chest, I think it’s imperative that Tory continues to find a way to let the listeners know that the hunger he had on his first album is still there. If we were judging by his instagram posts as of late, I seriously doubt it is, but hey, I don’t mind being wrong!
TOP 5
HONORABLE MENTION. PIECES
If you loved the age of rap in which 50 Cent and his G-Unit fam was running the rap game, then you will absolutely love “Pieces.” On the track, Tory shows the world he can do a little bit of storytelling, diving deep about two individuals that became savage after experiencing some f–ked up s–t in the past . The track has Tory spitting some pretty tough bars, while giving us this enchanting hook.
50 killed this s–t! he definitely should’ve been on it a bit more.
5. SHOOTERS
Over the last couple of months, I’ve really began to enjoy this “Shooters’ track. It’s catchy, has this jubilant sound to it that is hard to ignore, and contains that version of Tory that is carefree. I also think Tory successfully finds a way to make this dull/slow paced instrumental come alive, combining this numbing sound on part of the hook with this roaring one on everything else.
I know it’s hard to believe, but this is one of Tory’s most dynamic efforts on the album.
4. REAL THING
Do you know how long I been waiting for this collaboration? Literally my whole useless life!
The first thing that comes to my mind when I see a collaboration between Future and Tory Lanez is that the two have similar approaches when it comes to making club tracks. No, they don’t quite sound similar vocally, but I do feel like they both focus heavily on melodies, simplistic hooks, and raw content. On “Real Thing,” that is exactly what you get, a track in which two horny rappers obsess with letting the listeners know all about their late night rendevous’s through some passionate singing and unapologetic bars. No one will call the track a duet, but I personally think that their chemistry is impeccable on this song.
I don’t care if its the real thing or the fake thing, as long as she shaves her armpit hair, I’m down to hang!
3. SKRT SKRT
Tory Lanez x Caribbean vibes is always a win.
I think ‘Luv’ off of Tory Lanez’s ‘I Told You’ album was such a big record for him that he decided that Caribbean vibes would be a major player in how he released music moving forward. With that being said, On ‘Skrt Skrt,’ Tory goes full blown Riddim, dropping this highly infectious DanceHall track that I’m sure you can receive a pretty decent lap dance to.
Who else can have a high pitched voice like this and still have their music bumped out of the killers cars like Tory can?
2. DANCE FOR ME
Nav and Tory Lanez absolutely murdered this track!
I’m not gonna lie, I’m in love with the vibes of this song! It’s mellow, but at the same time has this low-key crank to it. Both Nav and Tory approach the track exactly how I wanted them to — sly, dropping verses that are both lyrical and gritty.
Doesn’t this track have this ‘underdog’ feel to it? It almost feels like Nav and Tory are discussing their experiences going back to a club they were denied from in the past on their verses. I’m sure it happened, so why not talk about it?
I think Nav’s verse on this song is the best on this album.
1. B.I.D.
Tory Lanez swags his way through the melody-heavy “B.I.D.”
“B.I.D.” is lots of fun! It has this club vibe attached to it, which prompts Tory to brag about his reckless ways when it comes to dealing with women. In every line he drops, you can hear this excitement from him that will resonate with the side of your brain that is down to party. In every note Tory drops, you can hear this laidback version of him that will let you know that he’s no longer looking for your approval when it comes to how he goes about having a good time. The two styles combine for a perfect marriage on this song.
Only dudes with money can ask a girl to bust it down. If us regular people do it, I’m sure we will have Crime Stoppers called on us.
SONG BY SONG BREAKDOWN
1. MEMORIES (N/A)
2. OLD FRIENDS X NEW FOES (4.8/5)
3. SHOOTERS (4.9/5)
4. 4 ME (4.5/5)
5. SKRT SKRT (5/5)
6. BENEVOLENT (4/5)
7. REAL THING (5/5)
8. HATE TO SAY IT (4.1/5)
9. B.I.D. (5/5)
10. 48 FLOORS (4.9/5)
11. B.B.W.W. x FAKE STORE (3.9/5)
12. DANCE FOR ME (5/5)
13. PIECES (4.8/5)
14. CONNECTION (4/5)
15. HILLSIDE (4/5)
16. HYPNOTIZED (4.9/5)
17. HAPPINESS X TELL ME (4/5)
18. DON’T DIE (4.6/5)
OVERALL RATING
(7.8/10)
You know what I found dope about listening to this album on Apple Music? The good people there were willing to literally decipher its R&B tracks from its Rap ones. I thought that was a very appropriate approach to take this time around, as the separation is very evident this time around. Tory makes sure both of his personas don’t quite cross paths, something that tells me he is all the way comfortable in both genres.
While there might be a strict divide between rap tracks and R&B tracks on this album, there is also a difference between passionate ones and album fillers, too. Some tracks have that hungry Tory that we all fell in love with on his last album, but a couple has him experimenting with sounds that don’t quite maximize his potential. For example, on “B.B.W.W x Fake Show,” Tory was able to put together this riveting track that is hood emotional and very lyrical, but ultimately, he ends up rambling on it. It’s almost like he had a point to prove that he is a good rapper, proved it, but still continued to try and prove himself. I would say a good 6-7 tracks on this album doesn’t have the Canadian trying as hard to impress, and those happen to be the best on the album
In my opinion, “Memories Don’t Die” sounds like a really good compilation album. You get so many different sounds on it, which means Tory finally got a chance to showcase all of his talents to the people. It doesn’t quite flow like the first one, which results in a bit of an inconsistent sound throughout. Overall, I think it has an abundance of hits, but it certainly doesn’t live up to the potential I placed on it.
Let me know your top 5 from this album in the comment section!
Quincy is the creator of Ratings Game Music. He loves writing about music, taking long walks on beaches, and spaghetti that fights him back.
