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

Question Is

In an interview with Power 106 earlier this year, Lanez described “Question Is” as the “deepest” track on his forthcoming debut, and now that it’s here, that description holds up. It doesn’t get more personal than the opening line, “My shorty had an abortion for me like 3 times,” which kicks off a verse in which 23-year-old Lanez wonders if he’ll ever actually have kids. Giving life is paired with taking it away, which he says “ain’t the way of life,” echoing his unease in the previous skit and informing a personal transformation that’s the emotional climax of the album.

After asking his girl for forgiveness on the hook, he addresses his absentee father in the second verse:

“Hopped off the phone with my dad, niggas barely do speak
But I’m sending Western Union wires every two weeks
I got a brand new brother and sister that I never do see
He might call to send me a blessing and tell me do me
But shit, I been doin’ me since 14”

Lanez drops out of school, has a falling out with one of his closest friends, and has to continue hustling. By the time we get to the interlude, his girl is so fed up with his behavior that she ignores his pleas and walks “away from the situation.” He’s left with “less than a dollar and a dream,” but then…