Tory Lanez – MEMORIES DON’T DIE Reaction

2.7

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Despite it being 2 years since his debut album, Tory Lanez has still managed to keep a respectable amout of buzz up surrounding his career. Most new acts would have long since faded but you can attribute his staying power to the evident amount of talent he possesses. And he does have talent. As a singer, a rapper, and a songwriter, he’s strong and versatile in all areas. Yet, his sheer amount of talent hasn’t quite grabbed me as it should. I thought that might have finally changed since his last double offering of mixtapes but MEMORIES DON’T DIE has had the opposite effect and has been a regression of sorts. For most of his career he’s been widely called a Drake clone or as I put it, Drake-lite, and it’s hard to argue that when his whole project feels ripped out of the 6 god’s own play book. Albeit, even heavier on the R&B and singing than his counterpart. When he does actually rap, the production and subject matter just isn’t all that compelling, with the exception of an inventive tale towards the end of the album (“Pieces”) and a Drake-like 6am joint (“Hate To Say”), complete with ’90s R&B sampling. Even the more R&B/pop singles don’t have much soul to them and are by-the-numbers creations. MEMORIES DON’T DIE feels like it fell to the problem most artists face going into their sophomore albums. What do you talk about after you’ve put your entire life’s experiences into your debut? It’s a difficult problem and one that Tory Lanez was unable to solve, resulting in a largely unmemorable album, despite the immense amount of musical talent he possesses.

1

Black Panther The Album Reaction

Black Panther The Album's greatest strength is that it can both stand on it's own and work in the context of the movie it's connected to, and much like Black Panther will undoubtedly change the movie scene I expect this to do the same for soundtracks.

4.6

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2

Culture II Reaction

My general feeling after listening to the Migos' latest was that I heard this all before from them, and much better. Whereas Culture felt fresh and radical in it's trendsetting ways, Culture II feels regressive and safe. This time they're going to have a hard time distinguishing themselves from the many clones they've spawned over the years.

3.5

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3

SYRE Reaction

I was more than ready to write off Jaden Smith but he utterly surprised me with a highly enjoyable project full of incredible production, surprising flow, and impressive versatility. It's often hard to take him seriously, but his music needs to be.

4.2

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“The attention in the industry started shiftin’ to me
Lord forgive ’em, Lord forgive ’em, I was trippin’ all the time
I spit subliminal dissin’, just tryna rip shit
Not realizin’ if I took the time to kick it and me and Drake mendin’ bridges it’d probably equal to winnin'”

Have you heard MEMORIES DON’T DIE? What’d you think about it? Do you think Tory Lanez fell to the sophomore slump? Let me know in the comments below and be sure to leave your own ratings and reactions to the album.

Tory Lanez – MEMORIES DON’T DIE Reaction

Conclusion

MEMORIES DON'T DIE feels like it fell to the problem most artists face going into their sophomore albums. What do you talk about after you've put your entire life's experiences into your debut? It's a difficult problem and one that Tory Lanez was unable to solve, resulting in a largely unmemorable album, despite the immense amount of musical talent he possesses.

Fuego!!!

Hate To Say

B.I.D

Pieces

4 Me

2.7

Stars

Apple Music