Toronto's other rapper/singer-hybrid, the indomitable Tory Lanez, recently shared his second studio album, Memories Don't Die, featuring guest appearances from Future, Wiz Khalifa, 50 Cent, and Nav among others. It also gave Lanez another opportunity to reflect on his past feud with fellow Toronto native Drake, who he beefed with while coming up in The Six. And while Lanez still has a long way to go if he wants to catch Drizzy, he's made some big strides as of late. The latest comes in the form of the brand new video for his Future collab "Real Thing."
The moody, low-lit clip suits the forlorn but aggressive tone of the track perfectly. Lanez clearly realizes that if he wants to stand with the greats, his music video game needs to be on point—especially when guys like Drake and Kendrick are doing things like this and this.
As for where he sees himself in today's rap landscape, Lanez clearly has his own unique vision. The 25-year-old upstart recently sat down for an interview with The Breakfast Club, talking at length about his rise and his own distinct sound. He also justified being called Donkey of the Day by Charlamagne Tha God, explaining what happened when he spent $35,000 at a store that racially profiled him.
It seems everyone wants a piece of Lanez these days. He also sat down with HotNewHipHop, and revealed why Nicki Minaj didn't end up on his album, even though she recorded a verse for it. Minaj was originally supposed to appear on the track "Shooters," but as Lanez explained, a badly worded text cause the collab to fall through.
"I was telling her something about the verse. I wasn’t saying it was bad or anything, her verse was incredible, and I’m also like a super-Nicki fan. But I was telling her something, and it may have came off… Cause I was texting her, and it may have came off in a different way, she probably read it in a different way than I said it," he explained.
According to Lanez, he's the one at fault for coming off "a little bit arrogant," and Minaj isn't to blame. "I kinda said something I shouldn’t have said about her verse, and she was like, ‘Well, [if] it’s not that serious, take my verse off the thing.’ We was like, ‘Aight.’ I love Nicki Minaj when it comes down to her music and the whole thing, but I’m not a reacher."
Watch Tory Lanez's "Real Thing" video above.
