The New Toronto 3 concludes Tory Lanez’ five-year deal with Interscope records and symbolizes the return of the young, hungry and out for blood Tory we saw in tapes like ‘I Told You’ in 2015 and 2017’s The New Toronto 2. Tory’s stint with Interscope is to be considered nothing less than successful after securing top 5 placements on the charts with all 4 of his albums released under the label. Tory has been at the forefront of the new E-show fad that has started due to the world pandemic, his show “Quarantine Radio” will surely help the album get the recognition it deserves.
Tory seems to be filled with excitement to leave Interscope as he took to Twitter this week stating “Literally a free man, free to do and drop the music I want!” and it is easy to see why as Tory goes back to his roots of bar heavy, hard-hitting tracks on The New Toronto 3. The brand-new Tory album consists of 16 tracks with 3 previously released tracks being on the tape (Broke In A Minute, Who Needs Love and Do The Most). TNT3 also includes 2 features, rising New York superstar Lil Tjay on ‘Accidents Happen’ and Lanez signee Mansa included on ‘10 Fucks’. The feature load on this tape is a drastic change compared to Tory’s last album ‘Chix Tape 5’ which had over 10 features on it. The difference in the number of features could indicate that Tory is trying to showcase that he can hold his own and have another successful tape with minimal big-name help.
It is evident why Tory was so hyped to drop The New Toronto 3, after the release of Chix Tape 5 which was just 5 months ago, Tory fans were still left longing for a rap heavy album from the Toronto native. TNT3 delivers that, with most of the album being filled with bars and that signature Tory flow which compliments the classic samples that he spits on. The hungry Tory is on show straight from the get-go with the intro named ‘Pricey & Spicey’, this song embodies Tory’s distinctive style and is what the fans have been waiting for, with the classic piano and high-pitched singing leading into a drop that will get any room bumping. Tory glides over beats with ease on tracks like ‘Accidents Happen’ and ‘Do Not Disturb’ while also mixing it up on some more mellow tunes like ‘10 Fucks’ where he shows his versatility by jumping back and forth between different flows.
Track 3, named ‘Stupid Again’ features a sample from the Irish phenom Connor McGregor screaming “I’d like to take this chance to apologize to absolutely nobody!” before leading into a beat and flow which are very similar to the production on “Broke In A Minute”, the hit that was released as a single beforehand. ‘MSG 4 Gods Children” is Tory’s outro for the album and is filled with non-stop bars, Drake-Esque some would say, Lanez uses this outro to display his ability to carry a track with no chorus and goes back to his roots of freestyling outside schools in Brampton for this one.
Overall New Toronto 3 is a fresh reminder of Tory’s talent when it comes to straight rapping, which some forget because of all the R&B he releases nowadays. It was nice to hear the old Tory Lanez style come back in songs like ‘Pricey & Spicey’ and ‘Accidents Happen’ while mixing in some of his new style on ‘10 Fucks’ and ‘Do The Most’. I have a feeling Tory is not done for 2020, especially since parting ways from Interscope which gives him the freedom to release what he wants. Definitely look out for Tory this year, it seems an old flame has been lit.
