At the helm of one of the biggest controversies of the year, Toronto rapper Tory Lanez has been under heavy scrutiny for allegedly shooting Megan Thee Stallion. This weekend, Lanez has returned with his independently released surprise album DAYSTAR. With most mainstream music outlets completely blackballing him for his devious actions, the record has been clowned, disrespected, and projected to have the worst first week sales of his entire career. With the weight of the world on his back, will Tory be able to silence his haters or keep them in their enraged frenzy?
While attempting to clear up his name, Tory Lanez ends looking shadier than ever. With songs like “Money Over Fallouts” and “Freinds Become Strangers”, Lanez acknowledges the Megan scandal but fails to explain what happened. Instead, he just rambles about the relationship they had and his feelings towards her now. Knowing the circumstances around the record, this is incredibly frustrating, and it only gets worse as he lashes out on some of his biggest scrutinizers. From attacking Los Angles Lakers shooting guard J.R. Smith for not receiving playing time to calling Chance the Rapper irrelevant, the comebacks he uses feel like something that would be iterated by an angry middle schooler during recess. On “Sorry But I Had To…”, the most prevalent of disses is aimed at Southern legend, and 1/2 of UGK Bun B as Tory claims he has no place to talk on his situation. Backing this statement up, he says Bun and his deceased running mate, Pimp C, used to shame women in their music videos all the time. Even though he brings up a logical thinking piece, nam dropping one of hip hops fallen heroes disputes this as naive and disrespectful. Dragging out the record, the abundance of unnecessary rnb and fake woke songs sink Tory into an even-deeper hole. From talking about ex-lovers on “Look How GOD Works” to telling fans his allegations are being made up and dictated by the Illuminati to hurt black unity on “Life”, Tory seems to have reached a new level of insanity with these eye-rolling claims. By attempting to clear the smoke, all Tory Lanez did was show the blatant ignorance that got him on the verge of cancellation in the first place.
Behind the boards, the production makes DAYSTAR seem like a complete and well-rounded project from the surface. Whether it’s the hard-hitting trap beats on cuts like “Money Over Fallouts” and “The Most High” or the psychedelic toned moments in “Sorry But I Had Too…” and “Solar Drive @ Night”, this is one of Tory’s best-sounding records to date. Despite what he’s actually saying, Tory’s vocal delivery and style is a joy to unpack as he switches between his melodic singing and well-delivered rapping often and accordingly. Songs like “Bittersweet” and “Jokes On Me” are evidently well crafted as the little details of jazzy instruments and soulful vocals are embedded in the background to create the most captivating experience possible. As a whole, the sonic direction taken here manages to capture themes of chaos, misunderstanding, and corruption way better than Tory can even imagine.
In conclusion, DAYSTAR is a mess of a record that miserably fails to execute on its goal. In the sole attempt he had at explaining his faults and winning fans hearts backs, Tory comes off more narrow-minded and bitter than ever. It’s truly a shame because this is one of his best-sounding records on every front aside from its aggravating subject matter. As we advance, I don’t know what will happen with Tory Lanez and this whole situation, but I’m assuming this will be the beginning of the end when it comes to his career as a mainstream recording artist.
Rating: 3.8/10
