After years of white washing from the likes of Justin Timberlake, Robin Thicke, Adele, and more recently Justin Bieber; the true nature of R&B music seemed to be lost. For a while, music seemed to revolve around the two very distinctive categories of pop, or hip-hop; and thanks to some folks like Iggy Azalea even those lines have been blurred a bit. The Weeknd‘s sudden ascension from underground king, to chart-topping icon seemed to cast a light on the shadowed out genre, as well as triumphant efforts from CB, Trey Songz, August Alsina, Kehlani, Jhené Aiko, and many others. The reboot of soul even brought us a revamped Omarion, who spawned his smash hit ‘Post To Be‘ in 2014 with Chris, and Aiko. With that being said, when Tory dropped the fourth installment to his Chixtape series on new years day, it was made clear that R&b music would be returning to it’s roots.
1.) Slow Grind (feat. Jacquees)
Tory kicks it into high gear from the very first track, a collaboration with his soul brother Jacquees that samples the ICONIC “Grind On Me“, the debut single from the Miami bred boy group Pretty Ricky, which debuted at #7 on the hot 100. The collaboration is just as sexy, and explicit as the original and definitely takes us back to ’05
2.) Need A Girl
I’m sure Diddy, and the other good fellas of the 2000’s are happily satisfied after hearing this sultry rendition of “I Need A Girl” (PT.2), because I know I am. Shoutout to Tory for giving us bump and grind realness all the way in 2017 by sampling this classic track, which went all the way to #4 on the hot 100
3.) 1 Call
A blast from the past comes in the form of Chingy’s “One Call Away‘, but with a Tory Lanez twist of course. The ’04 banger rose all the way to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and remained poised for five consecutive weeks. With this being a personal favorite of mine off of the entire project, let’s hope it can achieve even half of it’s original sucess
4.) Just A Friend
The friend zone is no place for a guy like Tory Lanez, and he makes that clear with his remix of the classic Mario jam, “Just A Friend“. Consider this a cover, of a cover, of…a cover? Mario drew inspiration from Biz Markie, who actually drew inspo from Freddie Scott’s “You Got What I Need”. (It’s R&B inception, I know)
5.) Whats Luv
Tory gets down and dirty with this sexy reinvention of “What’s Luv“, tying his filthy lyrics with his moan like vocals you’re sure to find out exactly what love is after playing this version of the song for your special someone. The street classic peaked at #2 on the hot 100, and also made Ashanti the first female to occupy the top two spots on the hot 100 at the same time.
6.) Proud Family
An instant fan favorite, the second social media caught wind of this track the internet went nuts! The jaw dropping production on this nostalgia filled track laced with melodic whispers is sheer brilliance. Taking a hold of the legendary theme song to one of the most influential TV shows to grace Disney Channel, sung by Destiny’s Child themselves left us SHOOK. (Excuse me while I go cry my eyes out over my lost childhood)
7.) Ignition
Taking on the king of baby making music is the fastest way to embarass yourself when trying to establish your place in the R&B world, but this “Ignition” remix proves Tory can hold his own in a as far as musical talent and songwriting goes. It also makes me feel a bit better listening to this version than anything remotely sexual by R.Kelly.
8.) Slow Down
Probably my least favorite off of the project, this remix of Bobby V.’s, “Slow Down” fell short of expectations. Regardless of anything else, the original hot 100, top 10 hit which peaked at #8 still remains a classic!
9.) Differences
Going as far to say that this is my favorite song of the entire track list, Ginuwine should be beyond flattered at this amazing rendition of his #4 hit “Differences“. The entire song exudes raw emotion, and personal energy as Tory breathes life into the classic love song and adds his own tale of romance to the original piece’s story.
10.) Aaliyah
https://soundcloud.com/torylanezzz/tory-lanez-aaliyah
What better way to close out an amazing R&B mixtape than with a sample from the Princess Of R&B herself. I’m sure Aaliyah is somewhere in the clouds sipping the finest champagne and bopping her head to this beautiful sampling of her hit “I Don’t Wanna“. Tory gives the lost angel her own shine on his track with a duet style back and forth between them, resulting in a melodic blend of their voices.
With all the successful reviews of this tape we can only pray that true R&B music continues to impact radio, and social media, and that we can continue to push our black voices to their full potential and show the world exactly how powerful our colored communities can be within the musical industry.
