Tory Lanez

Tory Lanez stands out as one of the leading figures who shift fluidly between rap and R&B while merging the two styles. After issuing a string of mixtapes, taking part in numerous guest spots, and handling the direction of his own videos, the rapper, singer, and songwriter progressed steadily toward wider recognition throughout the opening half of the 2010s, evolving from rapid, hard-edged street verses to polished, emotive bedroom hooks. His debut proper album, I Told You (2016), served as the breakthrough, landing inside the Top Ten in both his native Canada and the U.S. while supplying two multi-platinum singles: the slow jam "Say It" and the Grammy-nominated, dancehall-flavored "Luv." Each of his following commercial mixtapes and albums through Daystar (2020) reached the Top Ten on the Canadian and U.S. charts. Alone at Prom (2021) entered the Top 20 in Canada and was succeeded by Sorry 4 What less than a year later.

Born Daystar Shemuel Shua Peterson in Brampton, Ontario, Tory Lanez lived segments of his childhood across Toronto, Montreal, Miami, Atlanta, and New York. Although already recognized in underground circles well before turning 20 and receiving early support from Sean Kingston, he executed some of his most significant steps in 2014. That year brought a feature on "Me & My Bitch," taken from YG's Top Five album My Krazy Life, while among his own releases gaining traction was "The Mission," the first track of his to appear on Billboard's Twitter Emerging Artists chart. In July 2015, following an Interscope-affiliated agreement with Benny Blanco's Mad Love label, he issued "Say It," an R&B slow jam that incorporated a sample from Brownstone's mid-'90s hit "If You Love Me," climbed to number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100, and later attained multi-platinum status. Several further tracks, among them "Luv"—his second platinum single as lead artist—paved the way for the full-length I Told You. Released in August 2016, the album reached number five on the Billboard 200. "Luv" subsequently earned a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Song.

A series of singles that included the Future collaboration "Real Thing" surfaced across 2017 and the start of 2018, leading to Tory's second album, MEMORIES DONT DIE, which registered another Top Five placement on the Billboard 200 and topped the chart in Canada. Just seven months afterward he returned with Love Me Now?, spotlighting the platinum Rich the Kid collaboration "Talk to Me." Chixtape 5, positioned as his fourth studio album—the prior four installments of the related series, released between 2011 and 2017, had been categorized as mixtapes—appeared in 2019. Featuring credited appearances by Lil Wayne, Mýa, T-Pain, and the-Dream, it debuted at number two on the Canadian and U.S. pop charts. The commercial mixtape The New Toronto 3 marked his final Interscope release in April 2020 and became his second Canadian number one, while entering at number two in the U.S.

He reentered the upper tier of the charts four months later with the self-released album Daystar, composed and tracked as a direct response to the alleged shooting of Megan Thee Stallion. The following March, while the criminal proceedings continued, Tory released the Playboy tape. Alone at Prom arrived that December, at which time he faced assault and weapons possession charges tied to the same incident. The full-length debuted at number 19 on the Canadian album chart. His seventh LP, Sorry 4 What, surfaced in 2022 and included guest appearances by A Boogie wit da Hoodie and Yoko Gold. It reached the Top Five in Canada and number ten on the Billboard 200. That same year Lanez was convicted of shooting Megan Thee Stallion, and in August 2023 he received a ten-year prison sentence.