TLR: The new Tory Lanez double album is expected to enter the Billboard 200 as its first two videos continue generating six-figure view counts from behind bars.
Most artists need interviews, festival appearances and a promotional campaign to make a Billboard 200 push. Tory Lanez has none of those advantages. Still, the Tory Lanez new album, Made You Think I Was Gone …But, is expected to debut at No. 35 with 19,700 first-week units, according to Chart Data.
Released July 17 through Lanez’s independent One Umbrella Records, the double album contains 23 songs, with 12 rap tracks on Disc 1 and 11 R&B cuts on Disc 2. HollywoodSOS, VV$ KEN and Tvee Sizzle make guest appearances, while the production roster includes Play Picasso, Plu2o Nash, Smash David, Roselilah, Mike Wavvs and Cashen.
The title is less a comeback announcement than a message aimed at anyone who expected Lanez’s incarceration to end his run. Disc 1 leans into that tension, with “Revenge of Fargo” and “Crodie From the 9 / Guy in My City” framing freedom, resentment and commercial survival as part of the same fight. Disc 2 returns to the wounded R&B territory associated with his Chixtape series.
At the time of writing, “Who?” had reached 190,747 YouTube views, while “Crodie From the 9 / Guy in My City” had climbed past 236,098 in less than a week. Those numbers would be respectable for an independent artist with a conventional rollout. Lanez has produced them while incarcerated since late 2022, unable to tour or promote the album in a traditional manner.
His conviction in the shooting of Megan Thee Stallion remains inseparable from the conversation. Some listeners have stopped supporting him, while others remain loyal. Young M.A summed up the latter position when Complex asked whether she had been nervous about featuring Lanez on her album: “Hell no. I don’t care what people talking about.”
Lanez also made headlines in June after seeking protection from a correctional officer. USA Today reported that his legal team feared he could be moved to “a more dangerous housing yard” after being targeted by a corrections officer. A judge granted a temporary restraining order as the matter moved forward.
Whether the Tory Lanez new album lands exactly where projections place it will soon be clear. What is already undeniable is the attention Lanez continues to generate from inside a prison cell, often outpacing releases from major-label rappers with every promotional tool available.
You can find Made You Think I Was Gone …But on Apple Music, Spotify, and various other digital streaming platforms.
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