Tory Lanez : The One Man Army
By: Hernando Sierra
I believe it was Kendrick Lamar who said “Instagram is the best way to promote some p***y”. But it seems as though females are not the only ones using social media as a cash grab. Over the past few years we have seen that very same method of promotion being used amongst all fields of entertainment. Some of the most captivating artists have attained their success through platforms such as twitter, instagram, and snapchat. It’s a phenomena that has allowed musicians to reach their fans as well as their contemporaries in a matter of seconds, which has increased media consumption and changed the way we as an audience dissect all that revolves around the music itself. Rappers can now reveal more about their personalities, which allows people to become entangled in their daily lives, and develop a stronger personal connection. But on the flip side, social media has been the host of miscommunications, tension, and altercations, within the rap community. We’ve seen artists use these platforms to instigate and feud with other artists, which seemed to be the case in the beef between J. Cole’s Dreamville label, and Rapper/Singer Tory Lanez.
In October 2018 the Toronto born rapper, Tory Lanez posted a thread of tweets challenging several up and coming artists to battle rap against him, in order to create more buzz for himself and all parties involved. Rappers such as Joyner Lucas, Dax, and Don Q took the time to create a response but were ousted by Tory’s witty lyricism and revealing punchlines.
About 2 months in, Tory seemingly raised the stakes by challenging J. Cole, and a few other heavyweights. When Cole didn’t respond to Tory’s public challenge, Tory later proposed that he’d be willing to take on the entire Dreamville label if that’s what it’d take to garner a Cole response.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev8aSIemyuQ
While Tory is no stranger to beefing with other artists, it’d beinteresting to analyze how he weighs up against the Dreamville label which has recently added a number of artists, all of them having put forth solid efforts within the past two years. With all the recent hype around the Dreamville label, it makes you wonder if Tory has Bitten off more than he can chew, or if he still has a few more diss tracks left in him. But until the day comes, us Hip-Hop heads can only wait and analyze. So that’s exactly what I’ll begin to do.
COZZ VS. TORY LANEZ
First up to bat we have Los Angeles rapper Cody Osaige, better known by his stage name Cozz. The 26 year old rapper emerged onto the scene with his breakout single “Dreams” which released in 2014 and gained the immediate attention of J.Cole’s team. Cozz was offered a record deal with Dreamville the following year. While he doesn’t have all that much pedigree in the field of battle raps, his second studio album Effected was a project that further displayed his braggadocious style, which counts for something when going up against Tory Lanez.
Out of the entire Dreamville roster it’s easiest to make the comparison between these two rappers because of their similar punchlines over style approach. Both Tory and Cozz are more rappers than they are artists which is why I feel Cozz would have some success in the battle rap scene. But when it comes down to it, Tory is the winner here due to his pedigree. While Cozz may be able to float on any instrumental, we have yet to see how he can rock the mic when he’s trying to outdo someone other than himself. And as far as Tory Lanez is concerned, he has held his own against some notable artists (Don Q, Joyner Lucas) giving him a clear advantage in this one.
BAS VS. TORY LANEZ
Next we have one of J. Cole’s earliest signees. An artist who’s been with Dreamville since he was attending St. John’s university in 2005. The french born rapper, and Queens native Bas has been making waves as an underground artist since 2014 with the release of his debut studio album “Last Winter” which was released April 2014. Since then Bas has dropped two studio albums “Too High to Riot”, and “Milky Way” which have both gained recognition for their spacey, atmospheric production.
While Bas has a more compelling discography than Tory Lanes, it’s hard to make a case for him as a battle rapper because he doesn’t have a malicious bone in his body. Tory Lanez has proven that he can dish it out on several occasions, which ultimately gives him the slight edge over Bas.
EARTHGANG VS. TORY LANEZ
In the case of the rapping tandem Earthgang, Tory has his work cut out for him. The duo comprised of East Atlanta creatives Johnny Venus and Doctur Dot gained mainstream recognition after the release of their 2017 single Meditate, featuring Dreamville signee JID. Earthgang signed a record deal with Dreamville in early 2017, and since then they’ve been relatively quiet. But their projects leading up to the record deal solidified their talent, and make a worthy case for the pair in a rap battle. While the group is recognized for their eccentric and alternative approach to what has become more or less of a one dimensional genre, they’re also great storytellers, which allows them to seamlessly navigate a specific concept through an entire project. However, in the field of battle rap, intellect is an attribute that can be easily overlooked if not paired with defamatory banter. Earthgang’s artistic identity has painted itself as far too passive to engage in a rap beef purely for sport. There’d need to be a motive other than clout in order for Doctor Dut and Johnny Venus to write a diss record worth listening to. The Edge in this battle would most likely go to Tory Lanez because he has proven that he can diss his peers with no underlying cause, where as Earthgang might need a little push to stand a fighting chance.
JID VS. TORY LANEZ
Arguably the most technically skilled rapper on the Dreamville roster, and the only one that has had a public exchange of words with Tory, JID is the soldier standing on the frontlines of this battle. The two went at it on twitter, and from the looks of it, both artists seemingly willing to go bar for bar and battle it out. The images below are screenshots of the full conversation had between the two, as well as a thread of tweets JID shared regarding the alleged beef.
The East Atlanta rapper gained recognition after being discovered by J. Cole during 2016 a studio session with Earthgang. While his 2015 EP, Dicaprio didn’t garner any mainstream attention, his debut solo album The Never Story gave him the push he needed as an up & coming artists. Since then, JID has freestyled on a number of radio shows, and even made an appearance on 2018’s XXL freshmen cypher where his verse served as a high watermark for the artists in attendance. He released his sophomore studio album Dicaprio 2 which was recieved well by critics, and rated among the top rap albums of the year. Since then JID has only been trending upwards. His technical flow, and wordplay trump that of Tory Lanez’ making a battle against Tory a cakewalk. While Tory’s bars can easily be taken at face value, JID brings intricacy and most importantly an aggressive and ambitious pen which gives him the edge over Tory in a rap beef.
J.COLE VS TORY LANEZ
And lastly, we have the man standing at the top of the ladder. The rapper that Tory Lanez placed on a pedestal, and challenged for his throne. While J. Cole shows no genuine interest in competing with Tory, him doing so would most likely result in one of the most disproportionate L’s in Hip-Hop history. Cole has been an active member of the hip-hop community for over a decade, and has proven himself through his consistency, and effort. While the 34 year old Veteran has never gone back and forth with another artist, he’s definitely fired his fair share of shots aimed at the current generation of rappers. In the 2016 single “Everybody Dies”, Cole takes some shots at the “mumble” genre which he feels lack any real talent and put’s little to no emphasis on lyricism. While Tory is in no way a pushover or walkthrough, going up against a veteran like Cole would be career suicide.
Rap beef has been a cornerstone of Hip-Hop since its conception. The industry is based around competition, and deciding who is worthy of holding the crown. It’s one of the only fields in which quality can’t be quantified. They bring the hip-hop community together and create dialogue based around free thinking and interpretation. And a beef of this caliber would turn the industry on its head. . It’d create the kind of dialogue that allows the culture to evolve and progress, which is the most important factor of keeping a movement like Hip-Hop alive.
