The other week the kid Tory Lanez stopped by our office for an interview. It was about time the HNHH readers got better acquainted with the rising rapper, who recently debuted his Lost Cause mixtape exclusively on HNHH and wrapped up his "Lost Cause" tour. The Toronto native opened up in our interview, discussing his upbringing and the loss of his mom, his behind-the-scenes work, and much more. Following the interview, Tory listed off the top 10 songs that have had the biggest influence or impact on his life. They helped him through hard times or just remind him of the good ol' days.
Click through the galleries to find out which songs Tory fucks with, as Tory says, these are in no specific order. You can watch him talk about each in the video below as well. Don't forget to download Lost Cause.
For more lists straight from the artist's mouth, peep Jahlil Beats' top 10 producers of all time.
"What We Do" - Freeway, Jay Z & Beanie Sigel
"What We Do" - Freeway, Jay Z & Beanie Sigel
"That song meant so much to me and my brothers. It was around the time we first started really rapping, we looked up to Roc-A-Fella so much. That was really like some of the stepping stones that made us wanna rap."
"Jesus Walks" - Kanye West
"Jesus Walks" - Kanye West
"I guess it's just the first time I heard someone go off a topic, that's so touchy to certain people, but so real. My dad was a preacher, so that was the first time I ever seen somebody pitch Jesus, or God, cool to kids. I think that was a very revolutionary moment in just music in general."
"Through The Wire" - Kanye West
"Through The Wire" - Kanye West
"Through the Wire" is a big record for me because...when the record came out it was about Kanye coming through a very triumphant time, and as I was hearing about his story, the first time I ever heard the song I was actually coming back from my mother's funeral, I was like 11 years old. I remember listening to that song and just listening to his triumph, and it just always made me feel better about the situation that I was in."
"Lets Get Blown" - Snoop Dogg & Pharrell
"Lets Get Blown" - Snoop Dogg & Pharrell
"As weird as it sounds, that was my favorite Snoop and Pharrell song of all time. I think that was the best song they've ever made together. It just remind me of growing up in Miami, Florida, that was when I first heard that song. I was in like 6th grade or 7 I remember just going to school and listening to that song in my headphones, like, this is such a dope song."
"The Godfather" - Tory Lanez
"The Godfather" - Tory Lanez
I picked one of my own songs, this one song called "Godfather", it's a very motivational song. I feel that way the most about my daily life, like, Lord just let me win. It's a song off my latest project, and I don't mean to be bias, but that is really one of my top 10 favorite songs."
"You Must Love Me" - Jay Z
"You Must Love Me" - Jay Z
"He told stories. That's the art of honesty and just telling stories. He talked about how he shot his brother, and how his brother was in the hospital with him the next day. He's like, 'out of all the things that I've done to you, you must love me to be fucking with me as heavily as you do.' That's the story of my whole life, like the amount of shit I've put people through and that people have been through with me, like you must love me to still really be around. It's a big thing."
"Song Cry" - Jay Z
"Song Cry" - Jay Z
"I'm about to go through the Jay Zs right now. "Song Cry." That was just such a...I don't even know if I need to even have a description on why that's one...I'm not even gunna have a description, we're just gunna let that scream at you whatever it does."
"That Thing" - Lauryn Hill
"That Thing" - Lauryn Hill
"Classic, classic. That song is a classic. That whole era is Lauryn just being on her 'lemme teach the new something' and those are things that still stuck. I remember that stuck with me for my whole life. It was just about making purposeful music I feel like that was a purposeful song."
"Soon You'll Understand" - Jay Z
"Soon You'll Understand" - Jay Z
"Another Jay Z record. "Soon You'll Understand" was a record where he was talking about some relationship he had with some girl and how he felt in the situation just being a young nigga.
Even though I was a little younger than my brothers, it was me and my brothers, we put my mom through a lot of shit before she died, God bless her soul, but certain things will touch you in a certain way. When I first heard that song that was like the last year she was alive, so I always respect that timing and that record."
"Where The Party At" - Jagged Edge & Nelly
"Where The Party At" - Jagged Edge & Nelly
"This is kinda off topic from all that other shit, but "Where The Party At", Jagged Edge. That will always remind me of when I was a kid. When you hear that start, you remember the old days, you just wanna dance, you feel free."