"Why isn’t it on iTunes???" — Internet reacts to Tory Lanez dropping 'Peterson' that he calls 'the first in-real-time prison album'

Tory Lanez, born Daystar Peterson, released his eighth studio album, Peterson, from prison on March 7, 2025. He is currently serving his sentence at the California Correctional Institution after being convicted of shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the foot. The Canadian rapper announced that this new project is a sequel to his 2020 album, Daystar, in an Instagram post on March 5, 2025.

Furthermore, Lanez dubbed Peterson as "the first in-real-time prison album" during his recent phone interview with the Full Send podcast on February 28, saying:

“This is the first-ever in-real-time prison album. An album that’s recorded in prison, for prisoners, by a prisoner in real time as a prisoner is going through his real-time sentence. And 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."

Tory Lanez's fans welcomed the rapper's new album, his first since his 2022 LP, Sorry 4 What, which came out just months before he was convicted of shooting Megan Thee Stallion in December 2022. On X, one fan called the new album "no skips" but wondered why it was missing from iTunes.

"No skips but why isn’t it on iTunes???"

Several netizens praised Tory Lanez's new album, claiming it was fire and that "real music" was back.

"The album is (fire emoji)," one person tweeted.

"Real music back," another person added.

"Big ups to Tory Lanez, rex till we die. Keep that fire coming, brother. Nothing but respect," someone else commented.

"Wow the song am on track 4 but am gagged it's so good and emotional," another user posted.

Others called for Tory Lanez's freedom while commenting on the rapper's ability to create good music while in prison.

"To make this level of art from prison is actually impressive as f**k. FREE THIS MAN," one person posted.

"This Tory Lanez album is fire so far. The engineer deserve a grammy cuz how tf he sound better in jail then most niggas in the studio #FreeTory #FREETORYLANEZ," another person added.

However, several users were critical of the rapper's new album, condemning it due to the legal troubles that landed him in prison.

"This s**t bout to be a**. Also this n***a didn’t get “silenced” he committed a crime and went to jail him acting like he’s some sort of freedom fighter when he just shot an innocent person is honestly the most disgraceful s**t," one user commented.

"N***a think he Nelson Mandela, you shot an unarmed woman you b***h," someone else added.

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Prison guards reportedly seized Tory Lanez's recording equipment in 2024

Peterson is not the first project Tory Lanez has released during his prison sentence. The rapper periodically released The Prison Tapes series; however, the series was discontinued after his recording equipment was allegedly seized from his prison cell.

In September 2024, Ceasar McDowell, the chief deputy on Lanez’s legal team, alleged that the guards raided the rapper's cell and seized his recording equipment. According to HipHop DX, Tory Lanez made the same claim during an Instagram post at the time, which has since been deleted.

“My cell was not raided and trashed because I learned how to record myself in prison or because I created The Prison Tapes. I was shut down because the ‘HIGHER UPS’ figured out what I was really doing with The Prison Tapes, and how many inmates were being helped in a life-changing way because of them," he wrote.

Lanez continued that he was constantly subjected to observing his fellow black people and other minorities suffer abuse while in prison, adding that he was incarcerated "to suffer, to feel, and to witness firsthand the pain and oppression" that people faced to "change this injustice."

He also claimed that all the proceeds from his music released while in prison were dedicated to helping his fellow inmates. He said he aimed to provide legal representation for 472 inmates and assist in reopening 476 cases.

“I would figure out a way to record music and put all the proceeds towards the legal representation of my fellow inmates, giving them a once in a lifetime chance to go home to their families on appeal and resentencing. Although the ‘HIGHER UPS’ have stopped The Prison Tapes temporarily, they were too late to stop my overall plan,” he wrote.

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According to Tory Lanez's website, Peterson has 18 songs featuring artists like Yoko Gold, King Midas, and Sonstar. The LP can be purchased on the website and is available in vinyl variants of green, natural, and black.