Less than two years after the success of his debut album I Told You, Tory Lanez releases his sophomore album. On MEMORIES DON’T DIE, he features: Future, Wiz Khalifa, 50 Cent, Nav, Fabolous, Paloma Ford, and Mansa. The 25 year old is known for his intermix of various sounds in music. He has built the anticipation for this album on his social media pages by doing free album release shows, FaceTiming fans, and teaser clips on Instagram. Does MEMORIES DON’T DIE live up to the hype?
Tory Lanez has always been the type of artist to blend different sounds together. When he’s not raping, he’s singing and when he’s not doing R&B he’s doing Dancehall. When he raps, he’s on fire. He presents rhymes, wordplay, double entendres and metaphors when he’s flowing on a beat. Those elements are heard on: ‘Old friends x New Foes’ Pieces’, ‘Hate to say’, ‘B.B.W.W x Fake show’ and ‘Benevolent’.
It’s almost unbelievable how the Grammy nominated artist can go from spitting heavy bars in his rap verses to delivering melodious sounds. ’48 Floors’ is like a full course dinner with the first verse as the appetizer and the second verse as the main dish. The change in the beat after the 2nd verse introduces Mansa’s verse which is a great dessert. ‘B.I.D’ is a melodic track! He provides a high pitch often to add a creative touch to this track. His vocals on ‘4 Me’, ‘Dance For Me’, ‘Real thing’ and ‘Hypnotized’ are outstanding. His vocal mesh With Paloma Ford on ‘Connection’ is an auditory delight.
The production on this album is noteworthy. From bass-heavy, hard-hitting beats on ‘B.B.W.W x Fake show’ to dancehall sounds on ‘Skrt Skrt’ and ‘4 Me’ there is a little bit of every sound on this album. The production is so flexible it allows Tory to display his versatile sound.
The appraisal of this album would be incomplete without mentioning his enthusing lyrics. His lyrics are real, deep, freaky and thought-provoking. Similar to the bullets fired on the intro of ‘Hate to say’, he shoots some words of fire at Eric Bellinger, haters and Sean Kingston. Also rapping on his verse, on ‘B.B.W.W x Fake Show’ he says:
“Key close, gotta keep hoes by the G code
Got three hoes in a G4
Got A, B, C, D, E, F, G, X, Y and Z hoes
I’m still balling like D. Rose ”
His lyrics on ‘Pieces’ which features 50 Cent are poetic and intriguing. On a lot of tracks on this album, he would go off on a the beat in one verse. Those verses contain some of his best lyrics on this album.
However, this album is not without it’s flaws. Most of the freaky songs on the album are the least impressive. The lyrics on ‘Skrt Skrt’ are unfussy. A sensual song is best enjoyed when it’s presented in a creative way and ‘Skrt Skrt’ is the musical version of a bad pickup line.
‘Dance For Me’ is one of the more mediocre songs on this album. With Nav’s verse being the best part of this song, Tory’s chorus is a let down.
On this album, Tory takes us through an auditory experience of two different styles — singing and rapping. His rap songs are interesting and his rhythm goes well with the beat. However, when he’s singing it’s like he’s struggling to reach an acceptable standard lyrically. All things considered, none of this changes the fact that this album was worth the hype.
MEMORIES DON’T DIE is an 18-track album filled with deep lyrics, hardcore rap verses, un-interesting freaky songs, an outstanding production and a glass half full of melodies.
EXCEPTIONAL TRACKS:
Old friends x New Foes, 4 Me, Pieces, 48 Floors and Hillside.
