2016 studio album by Tory Lanez
I Told You
Released August 19, 2016 Recorded 2015–16
Genre Length 78 :53
Label
Producer
"
Say It " Released: July 15, 2015
"
Luv " Released: July 29, 2016
I Told You is the debut
studio album by Canadian rapper
Tory Lanez . It was released on August 19, 2016, through
Mad Love Records and
Interscope Records . Recording sessions took place from 2015 to 2016. The
production on the album was contributed by Lanez, alongside several other
record producers such as
Benny Blanco ,
Cashmere Cat ,
Frank Dukes ,
DJ Dahi ,
Pop Wansel and
Noah Breakfast , among others.
I Told You was supported by two
singles : "
Say It " and "
Luv ". Despite commercial success, the album received generally mixed reviews from
music critics . It debuted at number four on the US
Billboard 200 chart, earning 52,000
album-equivalent units in its first week.
[1]
Recording and production
In an interview with HotNewHipHop, Lanez spoke on the album: "I was tryna come up with a title for mad long and that what was kind of slowing me down cause I didn't want to make music off the wrong title... I might fuck around and not put no features on it. It has to have features that I can put on it and then there's those days where I'm like 'you know, I don't really need any features on it'. I prefer albums in the 10-12 [track list range], you know that 18 be too long sometime because sometimes I wanna listen to an album from top to front and 18 songs is like 70 minutes of music. That's too much for me to comprehend and understand and I really want people to look at the musicalities of what we're putting out as far as the product and how good it is."
[2]
Release and promotion
In August 2015, Lanez performed on the
Mac Miller 's
GO:OD AM Tour .
[3] On October 15, 2015, the singer announced that he will be headlining "The Swavenation Tour" with fellow American rapper
Boogie .
[4] On December 25, 2015, these
mixtapes such as
Chixtape III and
The New Toronto were promoted as the prelude for his
major-label debut album.
[5]
[6]
On April 1, 2016, the singer and fellow American rapper
ASAP Ferg announced that they will be performing in "The Level Up Tour", setting up the two to perform in a special joint set, trading off between their own tracks and collaborations.
[7] On June 10, 2016, Lanez revealed the title to the album and tweeted, "The Album is coming this summer".
[8]
On July 7, 2016, the singer announced that he will be headlining the I Told You tour, to support the album. The tour started on July 22, in
WayHome Music & Arts Festival in
Oro-Medonte ,
Ontario . Lanez will be traveling across
North America through December 2016, with stops at
Lollapalooza ,
Austin City Limits , Made in America, and the Mad Decent Block Party.
[9]
Singles
On July 15, 2015, Lanez released the first
single from the album, called "
Say It" .
[10] The song was produced by
Pop Wansel and Toro. The music video was released on August 11, 2015.
[11] The song peaked at number 23 on the US
Billboard Hot 100 , and number 10 on the US
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts. On July 29, 2016, Lanez released the second single from the album, called "
Luv " on
iTunes .
[12] The song was produced by
Cashmere Cat and
Benny Blanco . The song peaked at number 19 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and number 9 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts.
Critical reception
I Told You received a mixed response upon release. At Album of the Year, which assigns a
normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an
average score of 58 based on six reviews.
[13]
In a positive review, online publication HotNewHipHop , who collectively rated the album an 80, described the album as an "ambitious and lavish" project that showed that Lanez's future seemed "only brighter from here".
[17] Kevin Ritchie of
Now was also positive towards the project, saying that the album made "a convincing case for Lanez's pop appeal".
[18]
Commercial performance
I Told You debuted at number four on the US
Billboard 200 chart, earning 52,000
album-equivalent units (including 32,000 copies as pure album sales) in its first week.
[1] This became Tory Lanez's first US top-ten debut on the chart.
[1] The album also debuted at number two on the US
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
[1] In its second week, the album dropped to number 16 on the chart, earning an additional 21,000 units.
[21] As of March 2018, the album has earned 538,000 album-equivalent units and 95,000 copies in pure album sales in the US, according to
Nielsen Music .
[22] On March 16, 2021, the album was certified
gold by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalenut units of over 500,000 units in the United States.
[23]
Track listing
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.
[24]
Standard edition Title Writer(s) Producer(s) 1. "I Told You / Another One" Play Picasso Lavish Tory Lanez 8:39 2. "Guns and Roses" 4:28 3. "Flex" Lavish Play Picasso
XXYYXX Tory Lanez 5:45 4. "To D.R.E.A.M." Peterson Nathan Perez Gonzalez Ash Javeon McCarthy Play Picasso Happy Perez Tory Lanez Two Inch Punch 6:34 5. "4AM Flex" Peterson Gonzalez Sergio Romero 4:27 6. "Friends with Benefits" 5:29 7. "Cold Hard Love" Happy Perez Play Picasso Tory Lanez 5:58 8. "High" 4:24 9. "Dirty Money" 5:37 10. "Question Is" 7:11 11. "Loners Blvd" 6:58 12. "All the Girls" Happy Perez Play Picasso Tory Lanez 4:48 13. "
Say It " 4:26 14. "
Luv " 4:09 Total length: 78:53
Target deluxe edition (bonus disc)
[25] Title Writer(s) Producer(s) 15. "Come Back to Me" 3:08 16. "Honda Civic"
D33J 4:49 Total length: 83:70
Notes
^[a] signifies a co-
producer
A skit is featured in between each track
"I Told You / Another One" features additional vocals by Nichole Gilbert and Teisha J. Brown
"Guns And Roses" and "4AM Flex" features additional vocals by Kadeem Brown and Elizabeth Ruiz
"Flex" features additional vocals by Kadeem Brown and Mikhail McCreath
"To D.R.E.A.M." features additional vocals by Javeon McCarthy and Kadeem Brown
"High" and "Dirty Money" features additional vocals by Elizabeth Ruiz and Robert Brown
"Question Is" features vocals by Brianna Cash and additional vocals by Teisha J. Brown, Nichole Gilbert and Elizabeth Ruiz
"Loners Blvd" features additional vocals by Matthew Adam, Sebastian Jorge Rompotis and Sonstar Peterson
"Say It" features additional vocals by Elizabeth Ruiz
Sample credits
"Say It" contains elements and samples from "
If You Love Me ", written by
Gordon Chambers ,
David Hall and
Nichole Gilbert , as performed by
Brownstone .
"Luv" contains interpolations from "Everyone Falls In Love", written by Anthony Kelly,
Wayne Passley ,
Mark Wolfe and
Stephen Marsden , as performed by
Tanto Metro & Devonte
"Come Back to Me" contains elements and samples from "
No Letting Go ", written by
Von Charles and Stephen Marsden, as performed by
Wayne Wonder .
"High" contains a sample of "In the Meantime", written and performed by
Tinashe , Produced by
T-Minus .
"Friends With Benefits" contains a sample of "Stunt", written and performed by Tinashe, Produced by
Frank Dukes & !llmind.
Personnel
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.
[24]
Musicians
Play Picasso – instrumentation (tracks 1–9, 12) , programming (tracks 1–9, 12)
Lavish – instrumentation (tracks 1, 3) , programming (tracks 1, 3)
Two Inch Punch – instrumentation (tracks 2, 4) , programming (tracks 2, 4)
Noah Breakfast – instrumentation (tracks 2, 11) , programming (tracks 2, 11)
Matti Free – instrumentation (track 2) , programming (track 2)
XXYYXX – instrumentation (track 3) , programming (track 3)
Happy Perez – instrumentation (tracks 4, 6–8, 12) , programming (tracks 4, 6, 8, 12)
Sergio R. – instrumentation (track 4) , programming (track 4)
Frank Dukes – instrumentation (track 6) , programming (track 6)
Benny Blanco – instrumentation (tracks 8, 14) , programming (tracks 8, 14)
Cashmere Cat – instrumentation (tracks 8, 14) , programming (tracks 8, 14)
Daystar Peterson – instrumentation (track 9) , programming (track 9)
Pop Wansel – instrumentation (tracks 10, 13) , programming (tracks 10, 13)
Autoro Whitfield – keyboards (track 10) , instrumentation (track 13) , programming (track 13)
Jameel Roberts – keyboards (track 10)
DJ Dahi – instrumentation (track 11) , programming (track 11)
Ben Free – instrumentation (track 11) , programming (track 11)
Technical
Daniel "Play Picasso" Gonzalez – engineering (tracks 1–12, 14)
Johann Chavez – engineering (tracks 1, 5, 10, 14)
Noah" Breakfast" Beresin – engineering (track 2)
Daniel Fyfe – engineering (track 3)
DJ Dahi – engineering (track 11)
Kyle VandeKerhoff – engineering (track 13)
Juan Carlos Torrado – engineering (track 13)
Joe Gallagher – engineering (track 13)
Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing (all tracks)
Geoff Swan – mixing assistance (all tracks)
Michael Freeman – mixing assistance (all tracks)
Chris Gehringer – mastering (all tracks)
Production
Zvi "The Real Hoody Allen" Edelman – production coordination (all tracks)
Andrew "McMuffin" Luftman – production coordination (all tracks)
Seif "Mageef" Hussain – production coordination (all tracks)
Astrid "Aaaaastriiiiid" Taylor – production coordination (all tracks)
Sascha Stone Guttfreund – production coordination (all tracks)
Joey Mingioni - production coordination (track 27)
Brandon "Bdot" Zajac - production coordination (track 12)
Donnie Meadows – production coordination (track 13)
Tanisha Broadwater – production coordination (track 13)
Additional personnel
Matt Adam – creative director
Nick Bilardello – creative director
Stephanie Hsu – coordinator
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
^
a
b
c
d Caulfield, Keith (August 28, 2016).
"Frank Ocean's 'Blonde' Bows at No. 1 on Billboard 200 With Third-Largest Debut of 2016" .
Billboard . Retrieved March 1, 2020 .
^ Lilah, Rose (March 26, 2016).
"Tory Lanez On Play Picasso, Debut Album & New Collaboration With ASAP Ferg" . HotNewHipHop . Retrieved June 11, 2016 .
^ Middleton, Ryan (September 25, 2015).
"Mac Miller GO:OD AM Tour With Goldlink, Tory Lanez Announced" . Music Times . Retrieved June 11, 2016 .
^ Benton-Martin, Erika (October 15, 2015).
"Tory Lanez Announces 'The Swavenation Tour' After Young Thug Gig Postponed" . Music Times . Retrieved June 11, 2016 .
^ Smith, Trevor (December 25, 2015).
"Tory Lanez - The New Toronto | Download & Listen [New Mixtape]" . HotNewHipHop . Retrieved June 11, 2016 .
^
"Tory Lanez - Chixtape 3 Mixtape - Stream & Download" .
DatPiff . Retrieved June 11, 2016 .
^
"A$AP FERG AND TORY LANEZ ANNOUNCE 'LEVEL UP TOUR' " .
Rap-Up . April 1, 2016. Retrieved June 11, 2016 .
^ Goddard, Kevin (June 10, 2016).
"Tory Lanez Reveals Debut Album Title" . HotNewHipHop . Retrieved June 11, 2016 .
^
"Tory Lanez Announces 'I Told You Tour' " .
Rap-Up . July 19, 2016. Retrieved July 30, 2016 .
^
"Say It - Single by Tory Lanez on iTunes" . iTunes . Retrieved June 11, 2016 .
^ Davis, Justin (September 11, 2015).
"Watch Tory Lanez's Video for "Say It" " .
Complex . Retrieved June 11, 2016 .
^
"Luv - Single by Tory Lanez on iTunes" . iTunes . Retrieved June 11, 2016 .
^
a
b
"Tory Lanez - I Told You - Reviews - Album of the Year" . Album of the Year . Retrieved August 23, 2018 .
^
"I Told You - Tory Lanez - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic" .
AllMusic .
^
"Tory Lanez I Told You" .
^
"Tory Lanez - I Told You Review" . HipHopDX . August 24, 2016.
^
a
b Cavaseno, Maxwell (August 23, 2016).
"Tory Lanez I Told You Review News" . HNHH . Retrieved August 25, 2016 .
^
a
b
Tory Lanez's debut album, I Told You, has pop appeal - NOW Magazine
^
I Told You | Pitchfork
^
"Tory Lanez: I Told You" . January 26, 2021.
^ Hernandez, Victoria (September 5, 2016).
"Hip Hop Album Sales: Young Thug's "No, My Name Is Jeffrey" Lands In Top 10 of Billboard 200" .
HipHopDX . Retrieved March 1, 2020 .
^ Caulfield, Keith (March 7, 2018).
"Tory Lanez's 'Memories Don't Die' Aiming for Top 5 Debut on Billboard 200 Albums Chart" . Billboard . Retrieved March 8, 2018 .
^
a
b
"American album certifications – Tory Lanez – I Told You" .
Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved March 16, 2021 .
^
a
b I Told You (CD liner notes).
Tory Lanez .
Interscope Records . 2016. 94388-0.{{
cite AV media notes }}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link )
^
"Tory Lanez – I Told You (Target Exclusive)" . Target Corporation . Retrieved August 6, 2016 .
^
"Australiancharts.com – Tory Lanez – I Told You" . Hung Medien. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
^
"Ultratop.be – Tory Lanez – I Told You" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
^
"Ultratop.be – Tory Lanez – I Told You" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
^
"Tory Lanez Chart History (Canadian Albums)" .
Billboard . Retrieved August 30, 2016.
^
"Dutchcharts.nl – Tory Lanez – I Told You" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
^
"Lescharts.com – Tory Lanez – I Told You" . Hung Medien. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
^
"NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart" .
Recorded Music NZ . August 29, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2016 .
^
"VG-lista - Topp 40 Album uke 35, 2016" .
VG-lista . Retrieved September 3, 2016 .
^
"Swisscharts.com – Tory Lanez – I Told You" . Hung Medien. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
^
26, 2016/7502/ "Official Albums Chart Top 100" .
Official Charts Company . Retrieved August 27, 2016.
^
"Tory Lanez Chart History (Billboard 200)" .
Billboard . Retrieved August 29, 2016.
^
"Tory Lanez Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)" .
Billboard . Retrieved August 30, 2016.
^
"Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2016" . Billboard . Retrieved December 9, 2016 .
^
"Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2016" . Billboard . Retrieved May 28, 2020 .
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