Making memories
Canadian singer and rapper Tory Lanez makes his own way.
Canadian singer and rapper Tory Lanez has big plans. Currently at the beginning of a five-month tour supporting his March release “Memories Don’t Die,” the Grammy-nominated 25-year-old artist has worked with everyone from Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez to Future and 50 Cent and recently released a new single, “Pa Mi,” from a forthcoming Spanishlanguage album.
Lanez talked with The Oklahoman about ambition, hip-hop as a contact sport and what it means to be swavey. He’ll perform at The Jones Assembly Wednesday with Flipp Dinero and Davo.
Q: This is a really long tour. How’s it going so far?
Tory Lanez: I’m used to this type of stuff. I’ve done 110 shows in a five-month span. I like being around my fans and giving them something to watch.
Q: Do you think you prefer performing to recording?
Lanez: They’re hand-in-hand. I like to record, but I like to see the outcome of what the songs mean to people.
Q: You’ve called your style of music “swavey.” What does that mean?
Lanez: Swavey is a genre of music that I named. It means multi-talented in different genres. You can embody any kind of genre of music that you want that isn’t your primary genre and still make it your own sound. That’s what swavey is. There are a lot of artists who are rappers and singers, rockstars and pop stars. There are just so many different crossovers in music, I thought that was a good word for it.
Q: Is there any style of music you haven’t touched yet but know you want to in the future?
Lanez: Definitely. There are a lot of kinds of music I want to do, but I don’t want to do it until I’m musically ready. I don’t anything to come off corny, or like I’m forcing it. I want it to come naturally.
Q: How do you think being from Toronto made its mark on you as an artist?
Lanez: Toronto is a very multicultural place, and I think that because of that, it’s helped me to always make music that was cultural, music that felt good with multiple different races of people.
Q: I watched an interview where you called hip-hop a “contact sport.” What do you mean by that?
Lanez: It’s a competition. It’s a ruthless competition where people will go to the ends of the earth to pull you down to get up. You have to constantly defend your relevancy at all times. It’s not like everyone’s just friendly. For me personally, it’s a contact sport, even if the contact is verbal.
Q: For all that competition, hip-hop is also very collaborative. “Memories Don’t Die” has at least eight other artists on it. Why is bringing those other people in important to you?
Lanez: I’ve done so much solo music, I feel like I’ve established that I know how to make good records by myself. Sometimes records will be bigger if other people’s fanbases get to experience the records, as well. At the end of the day, I needed to step out of my shell and start recording with other people, so maybe someone would be like, “Damn, OK, this guy is good. He’s messing with my favorite artist, so it’s OK in my book.” I’m going to be the biggest artist in the world someday, and to do that, I know I have to connect everywhere.
Q: That leads into my next question, actually. You come across very ambitious but also really confident. Where does that confidence come from?
Lanez: My dad. My dad always told me that if you have a desire in your heart, it’s real, and you should always go after it. If it’s in your heart, there’s a reason it was put there. I realize that if I put in the work, I can do anything. That’s been a key part of what’s going on in my life.
Q: Let’s say someone likes a couple of your songs, or they’ve heard your records. Why should they come see you perform live?
Lanez: I have the best live show. Period. Point blank. No single artist can come onstage, talentwise, energy-wise, sound-wise. I take a lot of pride in that. I could put my live performance head to head with anybody. I would love to prove myself.