Tory Lanez

Tory Lanez

Tory Lanez is the stage name of Daystar Peterson, a Canadian rapper, singer and songwriter from Brampton, Canada, born in 1992. He works across alternative hip hop, alternative R&B, contemporary R&B, dancehall, hip hop and R&B, and is associated with the labels One Umbrella and Tory Lanez Publishing.

Early life and background

He is born in Toronto and grows up in Canada, with family roots in Brampton. He begins rapping at the age of nine and draws on his musically inclined family and personal loss in developing his music. His mother dies when he is still young, and his father, an ordained minister, is largely absent from his day-to-day life. He starts supporting himself at an early age and learns to mix and master his own recordings.

Career beginnings

Lanez begins performing at venues in Atlanta, California and Toronto when he is sixteen. He distributes more than 12,000 mixtapes in Atlanta, Miami, New York, California and North Carolina. During this period he meets Debra Antney of Mizay Entertainment, Waka Flocka Flame and James Mason of Outsyder Entertainment, and also performs in front of Greg Street.

He is later discovered by Sean Kingston on YouTube and is invited backstage during the 2010 Sean Kingston and Justin Bieber My World tour. After meeting Kingston, he signs with Time Is Money Caribbean and collaborates with Soulja Boy, Bun B, Boi-1da and Sean Kingston.

Mixtapes and early recognition

Lanez releases the mixtapes Mr. 1 Verse Killah and Mr. Peterson, both hosted by DJ ILL Will. These releases receive recognition on WorldStarHipHop, and the song Say Hello, produced by Boi-1da from Mr. Peterson, gains attention on local radio stations in South Florida.