While we were at SXSW, we caught up with some of the artists we've been supporting since Day One, Tory Lanez obviously among them. We've seen Tory's growth and evolution first-hand, from mixtape enthusiast, to Fargo Fridays, to Interscope, to "Say It." Tory is now poised to take over, yet he continues to give away an unheard amount of free music (unheard of, unless your name is Future, that is) on top of the recent return of the fan-favorite Fargo Fridays.
During our interview, which took place in the outskirts of Austin at Tory's mansion, we asked about his two-mixtape release, Swavey vs. The New Toronto, his upcoming debut album and more.
T Lanez also spoke on his lengthy mixtape run, and what he learned from each tape along the way, while pinpointing the one project that served as his turning point-- Conflicts of My Soul-- which if you haven't heard yet, get on that. Towards the end of the interview we asked about ever-mysterious Play Picasso, Tory's frequent collaborator, whom Tory sheds some (but not a lot of) light on, as well as debut album details.
"I was tryna come up with a title for mad long, and that was kinda what was slowing me down too, cause I ain't wanna make music based off the wrong title or something like that. I got the title now and it's incredible," he said of his debut, but still would not share the title-- although he did tell us the album is basically finished. "I might fuck around and not put no features on there, just on some real spicy shit. I have features that I could put on there, but then there's those days when I'm like I don't really need no features on this."
As for the expected tracklist length, Tory says, "I prefer albums in the 10-12 [track range]. The 18 be too long sometimes."
The closing words of the interview may be the most exciting, as Tory speaks on a collaboration he did with ASAP Ferg the night prior, at his crib in Austin. "We just worked on a crazy record last night. Might throw it out on a Fargo Friday or Wavy Wednesday or something like that. It'll be dope though."