Peterson (stylized in all caps) is the eighth studio album by Canadian rapper and singer Tory Lanez. It was released on March 7, 2025, through One Umbrella Records. The album features guest appearances from Davo, Jaquain, King Midas, Max B, Paul McKay, SOS, and various members of Lanez's family, including his son Kai'Lon, his father Sonstar, and his siblings DSTNY, Yoko Gold, and Wolfgang. Production was handled by a variety of record producers, including AraabMuzik, Joe Spinelli, Lex Luger, Roselilah, and Sebastian Lopez, among others. It marks his first album in three years since the release of Sorry 4 What (2022), and is the sequel to his fifth album Daystar (2020).[2] The album was recorded entirely in prison during his current 10-year sentence for the shooting of fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion in 2020, and Lanez has described it as the "first ever in-real-time prison album".[2]
Background
On September 25, 2020, Lanez released his fifth studio album, Daystar, amid criminal allegations that he had shot Megan Thee Stallion in her foot earlier in the year;[3] several songs on that album found him denying the allegations.[4] Due to its surrounding controversy, many critics opted not to review it.[5] Two years later, in December 2022, Lanez was convicted on three felony charges in relation to the shooting, and was subsequently jailed;[6][7] he would be sentenced to 10 years in prison on August 8, 2023, and is currently serving out that sentence in the California Correctional Institution.[8] While incarcerated, he has continued to release music under the "Lost Tapes" and "Prison Tapes" song series, and released a deluxe edition of his album Alone at Prom (2021) in 2023. Lanez has claimed that after "20 [...] to 30 something fuck ups and mistakes", him and his engineer were able to produce "studio-quality material from behind bars".[9]
On February 20, 2025, a phone call from Lanez was shared to social media, in which he outlined plans to record and release a full-length album within the following three weeks, citing fellow Canadians Drake, PartyNextDoor, and the Weeknd as inspirations.[1] A video of him rapping on the prison phone before a riot started behind him would surface on February 24.[10]
On February 28, during a phoned-in appearance on the Full Send podcast, he revealed that the album would be released on March 7, and gave insight into its process.
[...] This is a very crazy task that has never, ever been done. You have to think [about] everybody who's done music from prison or who's done music from jail. Usually, it's like this. Over the phone, shit-sounding, like, 'Yo, this sucks.' That's not what I'm doing here. [...] It's professional. It's going to sound exactly like a Tory Lanez album. But just, the pain is there, the hunger is there. You know, the tears, the cries are there. It's a lot of emotion into it, but it's the first ever professionally recorded prison album. This has never been done before.
On March 4, Lanez shared the album's title and cover art.[2]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Intro" | Daystar Shemuel Shua Peterson |
| 1:03 |
2. | "Free Me" (featuring Jaquain) | D. Peterson |
| 4:42 |
3. | "Sneeze Wrong" | D. Peterson |
| 3:51 |
4. | "White Lightning" | D. Peterson |
| 3:30 |
5. | "Guide Me Through the Storm" (featuring Sonstar and Paul McKay) | D. Peterson |
| 5:38 |
6. | "9$ide x Amethyst" | D. Peterson |
| 3:42 |
7. | "MAWA Interlude x Lunch Tray" (featuring Max B) | D. Peterson |
| 3:35 |
8. | "$ailor Moon" (featuring King Midas and Davo) | D. Peterson |
| 4:34 |
9. | "Verdict Day x Lawyer Fees Interlude" | D. Peterson |
| 4:14 |
10. | "Lawyer Fees" | D. Peterson |
| 2:51 |
11. | "Slipping x Falling" (featuring Yoko Gold and Paul McKay) |
| Rowan | 5:03 |
12. | "Charlie Row x Wishing Well" (featuring Yoko Gold) |
|
| 4:34 |
13. | "Phone Secs x FaceTime" (featuring King Midas) |
|
| 4:28 |
14. | "T.D.F x LA County Jail" (featuring DSTNY) | D. Peterson |
| 3:49 |
15. | "Gangland x Fargentina 4EVR" (featuring Wolfgang Peterson and Kai'Lon Peterson) |
|
| 7:13 |
16. | "I Fxcked a Lady Cop" | D. Peterson | King Midas | 4:32 |
17. | "My Shayla * Spice-Rilla" (featuring DSTNY) |
|
| 6:08 |
18. | "Back Out$ide" (featuring SOS, DSTNY, and King Midas) |
|
| 3:40 |
19. | "TB's Interlude" (live phone recording) | D. Peterson |
| 2:49 |
20. | "Free Tory" | D. Peterson |
| 6:35 |
Total length: | 86:00 |
Notes
- "Gangland x Fargentina 4EVR" contains a sample of "Whoomp! (There It Is)", written by Stephen Gibson and Cecil Glenn, and performed by Tag Team.
Charts
Chart (2025) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[12] | 38 |
UK Album Downloads (OCC)[13] | 74 |
US Billboard 200[14] | 25 |
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[15] | 11 |
See also
- Thank You for Using GTL (2020) by Drakeo the Ruler, a mixtape entirely recorded over Global Tel Link phone calls
References
- ^ a b Andrews, Elias (February 20, 2025). "Tory Lanez Plans New Prison Album To Compete With Drake And The Weeknd". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
- ^ a b c Blake, Cole (March 4, 2025). "Tory Lanez Finally Reveals Title & Artwork For His New Album". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
- ^ Bloom, Madison (August 21, 2020). "Megan Thee Stallion Says Tory Lanez Shot Her". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
- ^ Willman, Jem; Aswad, Chris (September 25, 2020). "Tory Lanez Denies Megan Thee Stallion's Account of Being Shot in a Highly Defensive Surprise Album". Variety. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Tory Lanez dropped a 17-track album denying he shot Megan Thee Stallion". Mic. September 25, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
- ^ Begert, Blanca; Coscarelli, Joe; Morino, Douglas (December 23, 2022). "Tory Lanez Found Guilty of Shooting Megan Thee Stallion". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
- ^ "LA jury convicts Tory Lanez of shooting Megan Thee Stallion". AP News. December 24, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
- ^ "Tory Lanez sentenced to 10 years for shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the foot". NBC News. August 8, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
- ^ Horvath, Zachary (July 24, 2024). "Tory Lanez Announces New "Free Tory Playlist" Via Prison Phone Call". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
- ^ Andrews, Elias (February 24, 2025). "Tory Lanez Accidentally Captures Prison Riot During Recording Session". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
- ^ Reeves, Mosi (March 7, 2025). "Review: Tory Lanez Goes to Prison, Gets Mad, Finds God on Peterson". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 10, 2025. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
- ^ "Tory Lanez Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
- ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
- ^ "Tory Lanez Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
- ^ "Tory Lanez Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
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