I Told You


I Told You is the debut studio album by Canadian rapper Tory Lanez. It was released on August 19, 2016, by Mad Love Records and Interscope Records. Recording sessions took place from 2015 to 2016, with the production that was contributed by Lanez, alongside several other record producers such as Benny Blanco, Cashmere Cat, Two Inch Punch and Noah Breakfast, among others. The album was supported by two singles: "Say It" and "Luv".

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 , 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."

Release and promotion

In August 2015, Lanez performed on the Mac Miller's. On October 15, 2015, Lanez announced that he will be headlining "The Swavenation Tour" with fellow American rapper Boogie. 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.
On April 1, 2016, Lanez and fellow American rapper ASAP Ferg announced that they will be performing in "The Level Up Tour", setting up the two to performed in a special joint set, trading off between their own tracks and collaborations. On June 10, 2016, Lanez revealed the title to the album and tweeted, "The Album is coming this summer".
On July 7, 2016, Lanez 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.

Singles

On July 15, 2015, Lanez released the first single from the album, called "Say It". The song was produced by Pop Wansel and Toro. The music video was released on August 11, 2015. The song peaked at number 23 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and number 10 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts. On July 29, 2016, Lanez released the second single from the album, called "Luv" on iTunes. 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 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts.

Critical reception

I Told You received generally mixed reviews upon release. 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". Kevin Ritchie of Now was also positive towards the project, saying that the album made "a convincing case for Lanez's pop appeal".

Commercial performance

I Told You debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 and number two on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart with 52,000 album-equivalent units and 32,000 in pure album sales in its first week of release. In its second week, the album dropped to number 16 on the chart. As of March 1, 2018, the album has earned 538,000 album-equivalent units and 95,000 in pure album sales in the United States.

Track listing

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.
Notes
Sample credits
Friends With Benefits samples Tinashe's Stunt, Written by Tinashe, Produced by Frank Dukes & !llmind

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.
Musicians
Technical
Production
Additional personnel

Weekly charts

Year-end charts