Who is Tory Lanez? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Canadian Celebrities Born In July

Also Known As: Daystar Shemuel Shua Peterson

Age: 31 Years, 31 Year Old Males

Family:

father: Sonstar Peterson

mother: Luella Peterson

Born Country: Canada

Rappers Hip Hop Singers

Height: 5'7" (170 cm), 5'7" Males

Ancestry: Barbadian Canadian

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Childhood & Early Life

Tory Lanez was born Daystar Peterson, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on July 27, 1992, to Sonstar Peterson and Luella. His was an ardent Christian family. He was one of the four children in the family. After Tory was born, the family lived in Montreal for some time and later moved to Florida.

Upon landing in Florida, Tory became fascinated with the thriving rap music scene there. Tory had started rapping when he was a kid and rapped through his early childhood years before a major tragedy struck his family.

His mother was suffering from a rare disease and passed away when Tori was 11 years old. This was a major blow to Tory. Following this, his father assumed the responsibility of a preacher and a missionary. The job took him to different places across the US. Tory accompanied his father on his trips.

The family settled in Georgia, where Tory continued to rap. He met a man named Hakeem, who suggested he use the stage name “Tory Lanez.”

Tory never recovered from his mother’s death. Moreover, his father’s remarriage brought another set of emotional troubles for Tory. Tory moved to New York in 2006, but his condition did not improve. He was later sent back to Toronto, to live with his grandmother. However, she did not take him in. Thus, at the age of 15, Tory was homeless.

Abandoned by his grandmother, Tory started living with three strangers. He dropped out of school in tenth grade and ventured into music full-time.

As he turned 16, he started rapping at outdoor music concerts. Although he was never formally trained in music, he seemed to have a natural flair for music. Soon, Tony traveled back to the US and settled in Florida.

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Career

In 2009, Tory recorded and released his debut mixtape, ‘T.L 2 T.O.’ Tory used ‘YouTube’ as a platform to exhibit his rapping skills to the world. Soon, he started directing his very own music videos and gained significant fame.

Sean Kingston was an established name in the rapping scene in Florida at that time. He heard Tory rapping and free-styling on the song ‘Beamer, Benz, or Bentley’ by Lloyd Banks. Sean decided to offer him a deal.

Tory and Sean met at a Justin Bieber concert. Sean also gave Tory the opportunity to perform live during the show. The audience enjoyed the performance. This boosted Tory’s confidence to work on several more mixtapes.

In 2010, Tory released four mixtapes, namely, ‘Just Landed,’ ‘One Verse One Hearse,’ ‘Playing for Keeps,’ and ‘Mr. 1 Verse Killah.’ Following the success of his mixtapes, Sean approached Tory and offered him a deal with his record label, ‘Time is Money Entertainment’ (TME). With ‘TME,’ Tory released mixtapes such as ‘Mr. Peterson,’ ‘Chixtape,’ and ‘Swavey.’

Soon, Tory decided to work as an independent artist and quit the label. In the coming years, he released several more mixtapes. In 2014, Tory revealed his Teyana Taylor fanboy persona with the song ‘Teyana,’ which he dedicated to the rapper. She responded with a single titled ‘Dreams of Fuckin’ an R & B Bitch’.

He then started a series called ‘Fargo Fridays,’ where he would release new singles every Friday. Some of the most famous singles from ‘Fargo Fridays’ were ‘I’ll Be There,’ ‘Talk on Road,’ and ‘The Godfather.’

By that time, he had already started working on a mixtape called ‘Lost Cause.’ Announcing the promotional tour for the tape, Tory released a single called ‘The Mission’ in August 2014. The mixtape was released in October and turned out to be a smashing success. A single from the album, titled ‘Luv,’ reached the 19th spot on the ‘US Billboard Hot 100’ chart, while another song, ‘Say It,’ peaked at the 23rd spot on the same chart.

In April 2016, Tory announced ‘The Level up Tour’ and performed at the ‘Pemberton Music Festival.’ However, his success made him a bit notorious. In 2016, he refused to be featured on the cover of ‘XXL’ magazine, stating that he was one of the biggest rappers in the industry.

Leading up to the release of his debut album, ‘I Told You,’ Tory continued to release mixtapes. The album was finally released in August 2016 and debuted at the fourth spot on the ‘US Billboard Hot 200’ chart. It received positive reviews from critics and sold 52 thousand copies in the first week of its release.

In March 2018, Tory released his second album, ‘Memories Don’t Die.’ The album featured guest appearances from established rappers such as Wiz Khalifa and 50 Cent. The album debuted at the third spot on the ‘US Billboard 200’ chart and received mixed reviews from critics. The album was criticized mostly due to its lack of originality.

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Personal Life

Tory dated rapper Trina from 2014 to 2015.

Tory has always been known for his eccentric behavior, both on and off stage. During a March 2018 concert in Texas, he had a conflict with the security personnel. Miffed by this, he asked his fans to “fuck shit up.” His fans then caused a riot on the spot. This led to the organizers almost filing a lawsuit against Tory.

Tory claimed in an interview that he had ghost-written songs for several rappers such as Akon, TI, and Travis Scott.

Tory has had a very complicated relationship with fellow Canadian rapper Drake. In 2010, he stated that if Drake did not like his songs, he would pay him $10,000. Drake did not respond until 2016, when he took a dig at Tory in one of his songs by rapping, “All you boys in the new Toronto want to be me a little.” The feud continued for a few more songs from each side.

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Tory Lanez Biography