The Singles Jukebox

Non-troversy champion? (Dave???)

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[6.83]

Micha Cavaseno: After Chixtape 2 perfectly embodied the developing sound of Toronto in which R&B and rap get spliced together so crassly into uneasy exhaustion to the sound of 90’s nostalgia (which Drakk TOTALLY bit on “How About Now” to the greatest success), it was pretty clear that Tory Lanez was destined to come up. He sells his admittedly limited sing-rap style with flamboyance and disregard, but on “Say It” he has squeezed all that goo and come up with a surprisingly solid beat by Pop & Oak to sound all gauzy and gaseous over.
[7]

Alfred Soto: Lanez’s whispered begging gets vibrant Pop & Oak backing that’s all the more impressive for being understated. It’s the kind of song radio play is designed to expose.
[7]

Thomas Inskeep: The fact that Pop & Oak produced this explains plenty: like Alessia Cara’s current smash “Here,” it’s got a smartly used sample, in this case from Brownstone’s 1994 MTV Jams staple “If You Love Me.” And “Say It” has a smoldering quality akin to Alicia Keys and Maxwell’s “Fire We Make.” Tory Lanez does the sexy-rap thing from LL Cool J’s (or, more likely, Drake’s) lane, but really this all comes down to the production, from the sample, to the way Lanez’s voice is manipulated on the chorus, and the Rhodes-ian keyboards sprinkled over the song’s last thirty seconds.
[7]

Brad Shoup: I forgot how much I liked “Impala,” which may not be entirely applicable, although I guess Chevy is technically a foreign to Tory? ForteBowie found God in his car; Tory found a purpose. He whips between confidence and requests for affirmation, the latter coming on a hook that samples/takes its title from/jacks the structure of “If You Love Me.” That tension works.
[6]

Madeleine Lee: Tory Lanez doesn’t have a lot to say himself, or at least nothing that hasn’t been said before in the exact same way, but his voice is soothing and pleasant, and doesn’t get in the way of the gorgeous instrumental. This will probably sound great driving anywhere in Toronto late at night: cruising the weirdly vacant roads below the Gardiner, clearing out of Adelaide after last call, riding the monotonous stretch of the 401 to home.
[7]

Will Adams: The aural equivalent of a car zooming across the freeway, almost floating on the thin fog resting atop the roads.
[7]