By Will Lofsky

Photo courtesy yungtory on Instagram

Yung Tory’s major-label debut, Still Here, is sure to rebuild his status in Toronto.

After a tough year for Tory, the project shows that he is still having fun and really in his element, with a brand new project on Def Jam executively produced by Timbaland.

His energetic, high-pitched, melodic vocals and signature low, mumbled verses and ad-libs on tracks like “Aww Shit” and “I Wanna Rock” shine over the simple, tough trap beats that got him noticed in Toronto and Atlanta. 

Tory can do much more than make bangers though, and his wavy, synth-heavy pop and R&B tunes, spanning the majority of his project, show both sides of his loud, outgoing personality. The songs “Lola” featuring Lauren Sanderson, and “Said You Love Me” are radio hits waiting to happen.

Video courtesy yungtory via YouTube

Tory’s previous album, Rastar, which featured major artists — Fenix Flexin from Shoreline Mafia, Uno The Activist, Valee, and Fetty Wap — had some fantastic records and was a great way to address the Toronto rap scene that roasted him after a video of him getting beaten up and robbed by his former manager leaked on 6ixBuzz TV.

If he had not responded the next day on Instagram, his career may have died last year. Ever since then, Tory has struggled to maintain relevance and lost fans despite millions of streams online. Critics were even calling upon Lil Durk, one of the key influencers of drill music and founder of Tory’s previous label, Only the Family, to remove him from their roster.

Since the incident, Tory has clearly been making moves despite Toronto’s disloyalty, from his collaboration with popping Italian rapper, Dref Gold, on the song “Stop Cappin,” to his interview on No Jumper, and several releases on WorldStar’s channel. 

While it may still be a long road for Tory to glow up again in Toronto, he certainly is on his way with over 800,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, his hard work and perseverance is bound to pay off.