Tory Lanez – The New Toronto 2
Released: 1 January 2017
Tory Lanez dropped The New Toronto 2 and Chixtape 4 at the same time on New Years 2017. Chixtape serves as the 4th installment in Tory’s R&B series, while The New Toronto 2 serves as a majority rap album.
Use of autotune/voicebox
Tory continues to experiment with autotune heavily here like on his debut album I Told You. Songs like “DopeMan Go” and “Bal Harbour” are drenched in autotune and deep, rolling bass. This is a theme in Tory Lanez’s rap music, which gives his music a unique grandiose, cinematic feel. The use of autotune and voice boxes doesn’t seem to hold Tory back, he’s able to experiment with the tool in different ways like on “Set It Off” where he serenades a smooth R&B tune with the help of a voicebox. He’s also able to remove it completely and sing or rap like on this project’s outro “Wraith Talk“.
The best part of this album is the chemistry between Tory Lanez and producer Play Picasso
Tory Lanez & Play Picasso – artist/producer chemistry
It’s important that I talk about the relationship between Tory Lanez and Play Picasso, the producer who handles most of the production on The New Toronto series. “Badmon Song“, produced by Play Picasso, is without a doubt the standout song on The New Toronto 2. Tory delivers an R&B serenade with Hip-Hop influence in a Patois-laced accent – a various mixture, yet this is where he sounds most comfortable.
Play Picasso’s more trap-inspired beats like “Dancin” are a tight fit for Tory Lanez’s autotuned rap braggadocio, and Tory seems to find his pocket over Picasso’s instrumentation. The intro track “Talk To Me / Fargo Season” is a near 7-minute exhibition of different flows and vocal deliveries – Tory begins the latter part of the song, “Fargo Season“, with a slow, leaking swoon which quickly develops into a rapid-fire braggadocio rap, then subsequently falls into a sweet serenade. Their chemistry is uncanny.
This project has a distinct “feel” that aids its replay-ability factor, and this is largely due to Play Picasso providing vibes through his production. The best part of the The New Toronto series is the chemistry between Tory Lanez and producer Play Picasso.
Standout songs: “Badmon Song“, “Dancin”
Sidenote: I was SO lit when Tory used Riff Raff’s “I done shook dice with Larry Bird in Barcelona” line from Riff Raff’s song “Larry Bird” on “DopeMan Go“. Like…you don’t understand.