Pops Culture

By: Papa Minnow

Tory Lanez has a claim to fame as one of the most polarizing hip hop artists of today’s generation. His artistry has gotten him recognition amongst the mainstream of hip hop, but his talent has been overlooked in other pockets of the genre.

Fans who have followed Lanez from his onset have felt a sense of disappointment when it comes to the 26-year old’s first two major releases. Those releases still shine light on Lanez’s ability, but his talent is sprinkled sparsely throughout each project, mostly found on his single release tracks.

With those releases Tory seemed to venture into different lanes rather than sticking to the one he’s found the most success with. However, Love Me Now, the latest project by the Toronto rapper, appears to be the antithesis to his sophomore and junior albums.

Lanez has found the formula between hit singles that are packaged into a cohesive body of work that isn’t overbearing.

While there is much to praise about this album, it does have it’s fair share of flaws. The subject matter from song to song is not only shallow, but also repetitive as it mostly focuses on women and Lanez’s relationships with them. Tory does manage to sprinkle in some of his hardship from the past; nothing that we haven’t heard before, and how he’s improved, but it’s under the guise of “I’m flexing on you now that you missed out on my glow up.”

The majority of the album does not shine lyrically, but you can find some substance in songs like Why DON’T You LOVE me?  and MiAMi in which Lanez touches on various subjects with some depth. Off MiAMi, he mentions how he feels most at peace when he’s under the influence of drugs.

Apart from the lacking lyrical content, some listeners may also find reproach with Tory’s delivery. Specifically, on songs where he’s managed to turn his cough into a type of ad-lib. Whether Lanez is suffering from Bronchitis or smoked one too many prior to entering the booth, that boy’s cough needs some codeine ironically enough.

Additionally, every song title looks like it was written as an MSN Messenger handle or comes from the most recent Spongebob mocking meme.

However, there is a lot more to big up on Love Me Now than not. This album is FULL. OF. HITS. From top to bottom, of the 15 songs, five of them are certified hits. And the songs that aren’t hits are still good. There’s only a handful of tracks that can get skipped on a play through which largely depends on your mood.

Song structure is impeccable on this album as well. Lanez gets in his bag when it comes to the mixture of singing and rapping, his flow is on point, his delivery is strong, and he finds the Midas touch with the lengths of his verses and the length of each song which translates well for the album by not making it a chore to listen to.

That same gold touch and care is applied on the production side, along with features. The beats sound crisp and have impact, and while some features aren’t that great, none of them subtract from their songs. They all bring flare in their styles and find solace in a sonic equilibrium.

As a whole, Love Me Now is a good mix of concise hits packaged into an album that’s adequate in length and falls far from monotonous. It’s one of Tory Lanez’s best studio albums with a lot of appeal a mainstream audience but it still delivers to hardcore fans.

13-out-of-15.