5 Songs On “I Told You” That Tell Tory Lanez’s Story

Dirty Money

After patching things up with his girl over the course of “Friends With Benefits,” “Cold Hard Love,” and “High,” Tory’s informed that in retaliation for the robbery at Chino’s house, some dudes shot one of his little homies. Enter “Dirty Money,” the revenge anthem. “The wolves come out at night,” he announces, after learning of the irreparable strain this cash has left on the lives of him and his friends. What follows is one part promise that the money will never change him (“Touchin’ millions ain’t gon’ change where we came from”), one part threat to rivals (“Got this 30 and my young n*gga ’bout it”), and one part mo money, mo problems realization (“When you start to get commas, that’s when they want to fuck with you”).

“Dirty Money” is more than just a retaliation to the specific incident of Lanez’s friend getting shot, it’s an ode to the ups and downs of getting money the wrong way, from wearing Fendi and Chanel to seeing your friend Speedy get arrested right after a video shoot. That being said, it closes out with a skit that gets us back to the narrative at hand, with Tory and two friends shooting up their rivals. Afterwards, the friends are unrepentant and even gleeful about what they’ve just done, while Lanez feels “some type of way about this shit.” He concludes with an update on his overall well-being:

“I know I was in too deep, things was just getting out of control. My lifestyle… it was creating a conflict between my girl and my music. At that point I had to let some things go and learn to love from a distance.”