Tory Lanez's stage name arose from two very different sources. Neither
the first nor last has anything to do with his birth name, Daystar
Peterson.
A janitor in his community, he says, called him Lanez because he would weave in and out of traffic. And Tory? Well, that title was initially something else entirely.
"I wanted people to call me Notorious," said Lanez. "But you know black people always like to abbreviate stuff, and do it like that, so a lot of people just called me Tory."
With five mixtapes in two years, Tory Lanez is Canada's latest rising MC. He's gained the attention of mixtape junkies, hip-hop veterans such as Bun B, and even Canada's favorite son, Justin Bieber.
Lanez's most recent mixtape, Sincerely Tory, was released mid-May and amassed positive critical
responses for his role has a rapper, singer, and producer. It was also praised for lyrical impartiality about past girlfriends and flings, talking about Toronto, his relationship with his
father, and dealing with the loss of his mother, who died when he was only 11 years old.
According to the rapper, the loss of his mother at an early age turned him into a cold
and savage person. "I was even at a point in my life where I felt like, 'Anybody
can just get it,'" said Lanez. "'It doesn't even matter what's going on in life,
I just have a lot of anger that I need to get out. And right now at this level, it's pushed me over that line'... That's just how I went about life for a long, long
time."
And though some fans may get the idea that he and his father
are on bad terms, Lanez says their relationship is anything but bad.
"My relationship with my dad has always been great," said
Lanez. "There was just a time I wasn't with him. My dad is still one of the
most encouraging people that I will ever meet."
Along with his mixtapes, the rapper has coined the word swavey, a term used to classify a new genre that lets artists step outside of
their own to seek growth in another.
"As artists, you always feel like you could grow and you're
allowed to grow," said Lanez, "and the only way to grow is to extend and extend
to other genres, and I feel like that's what swavey means."
Tory Lanez at 10 tonight at Green Room's "Brown Bag Wednesday," 109 SW Second Ave., Fort Lauderdale. Opening up for Lanez will be South
Florida's Phresh James, Sin, and Case Windu.
Follow Lee Castro on Twitter @LeeMCastro.
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