A Track-by-Track review of Tory Lanez's new EP 'Prison Tapes'

Tory Lanez, who is currently serving his 10 years sentence at North Kern State Prison, dropped two new singles last week as part of an ongoing mixtape series titled Prison Tapes.

The project will reportedly distribute a new single every week on his official mixtape Instagram account (@thetorytapes). This was confirmed in the announcement post made over the weekend where the rapper stated:

"Dropping every week on @thetorytapes"

Tory released two singles last Friday, which were distributed to all major DSPs (Digital Streaming Platforms) via One Umbrella Records. These two songs follow up on Girls In The Room (Lost Tapes), that released almost two weeks ago, on July 19, 2024.

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Breaking down Tory Lanez's new EP 'Prison Tapes'

Leading up to the rollout of Prison Tapes, the rapper took to Instagram to reveal to his fanbase that he and his engineer had worked out an effective way to record and release music consistently.

"Quick update 2024. I got a lot of good news, man. First and foremost, I want to talk about the music. After about 20 to 30 something f--k ups and mistakes, me and my engineer have finally figured out how to record music over the jail phone and still keep the quality as professional as I had it on the streets." - Tory Lanez mentioned in his post.

Notable themes Tory's new tracks appear to delve into include incarceration, success, faith, love, relationships, and status.

Disclaimer: This review is rated explicit. Reader discretion is advised.

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Cell 245

(Production Credits: FortyOneSix, Tory Lanez, Play Picasso, DRTWRK, Edsclusive, and Jay Century)

On Cell 245, Tory introduces his audience to the Prison Tapes with an intro that plays a recorded message from a jail phone, indicating the rapper was on the other line. Listeners are then introduced to a fast-paced blend of hip-hop and R&B, with Lanez effortlessly jumping between singing a ballad and delivering hard-hitting bars.

The title of this track appears to reference Tory's jail cell number, with community members on Genius highlighting Cell 245 as the record that helped the artist "crack the code" in how music could be released via his jail phone recordings.

"Shootouts gave me PTSD, that's thе damage that it did / I'm talkin' hammers at the crib / I'm talkin' hammеrs at my grandma's house / She in the kitchen, cookin' finer hammers in the counters / Real stepper, they can't stand us, when we pull up, they can't manage / We be duckin' paparazzi and all the cameras" - Tory Lanez's verse on 'Cell 245'

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Wish I Never Met You

(Production Credits: Tory Lanez)

Tory Lanez's second single off his Prison Tapes series is the record titled Wish I Never Met You, which blends Afro-drum progressions into ecstatic trap hit-hat sequences. The rapper floats back and forth between singing and rapping, all while delivering melodic vocal performances.

The record heavily revolves around themes of love, relationships, heartbreak, loss, and intimacy, with several lines that depict Tory's mental spiral after ending a relationship.

Some of the "anime" bars on this track appear to allude to his relationship with Megan Thee Stallion, who is a known anime fan-girl, with the rapper explaining how he can no longer watch popular Japanese animations because they remind him of Megan. The following lines could potentially be Tory hoping to find closure with what transpired between him and the WAP rapper:

"You always been my good lovin', I always knew / If I leave, find someone new, I'd still end up right back with you / An-anime, we watched anime 'til we can't watch / I can't watch no more / It remind me of you way too much / We came way too clutch / Didn't know losin' you'd be way too much"

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With Tory Lanez confirming that new songs will be added to his Prison Tapes series every week, stay tuned for future breakdowns of records included as part of the mixtape's official tracklist.