Album Review: Tory Lanez - Chixtape 5
For R&B lovers worldwide, you will consider ‘Chixtape 5’ refreshing to listen to! Not only does Tory remake some of the hits from back in the day that we’ve all lost our virginity to, but he also recruits a few of the stars that made those hits to help him give each track he delivers for us nostalgic feels.
No one is going to mistake Tory Lanez for Mariah Carey on ‘Chixtape 5,’ but when it comes to both passionate singing and autotune abuse, he excels! In all seriousness, Tory does a great job of turning the melodies the previous artists were able to create on the original versions of the songs he copied more dynamic, exhilarating, and emotional (At times, too emotional). Tory also does a good job of blending tenacious rapping with soulful singing almost subconsciously on the album, reminding old head R&B fans how hard it is to distinguish between rap and R&B these days.
Content-wise, you get a version of Tory that comes across as sex-crazed, boasting, and slightly romantic in ‘Chixtape 5.’ Personally, I think the combination of the three approaches makes for a body-of-work that feels kick-ass and in-your-face-ish.
The production on ‘Chixtape 5’ is amazing! I love how Tory collected instrumentals that slightly borrowed (Not completely borrowed) key elements from the songs he was trying to copy. It made s**t sound pure and organic, but at the same time, nostalgic.
The features on ‘Chixtape 5’ are appropriate, important, and to be blunt, cool as f**k to listen to! I thought it was dope to hear dudes like Chris Brown and Trey Songz retackle some of their biggest hits to-date. I also thought guys like Fabolous, Ludacris, and Lil Wayne did outstanding jobs of rapping their asses off on their respective guest appearances, almost sounding like rejuvenating figures.
This ‘Chixtape’ project doesn’t sound as pure as the previous ‘Chixtape’ projects. This time around, I feel like Tory had way too much clout attached to his name to come across as an innocent music-loving individual that simply wanted to remake some of the hits he grew up listening to (I thought this aspect of the previous ‘Chixtapes’ was what made it special). At the end of the day, the album is entertaining, but also unintentionally ticky-tacky.