Tory Lanez's 10-Year Sentence is Hip Hop's Wake-Up Call

On Tuesday, August 8th, Daystar Peterson, known as Tory Lanez, was finally sentenced for shooting three-time Grammy winner Megan Thee Stallion after a 2020 argument in the Hollywood Hills.

Over a two-day stretch, Judge Herriford listened to a mix of character witnesses ranging from the pious to the philanthropic and even an unanticipated cameo by a hair plug connoisseur. But, in the end, justice prevailed, and Judge Herriford gave Tory Lanez his 10s, as in 10 years in prison for shooting Megan Thee Stallion.

While this sentencing is a win for Megan, the past three years have cast a dark shadow over this 50-year celebration of Hip Hop, exposing a grim reality for women in rap.

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THE RULING

December 23rd, 2022, remains a date etched in our collective memories, marking the date a jury unanimously decided to convict Tory Lanez on all three of his felony charges. Yesterday, the echo of those deliberations rang even louder as Judge Herriford took center stage to dish out the consequences for Lanez's misguided arrogance. The ruling breaks down as follows:

Count 1: Assault with a Firearm - six-year term + four years due to enhancements

Count 2: Illegal Possession of a Firearm - Serving a concurrent two-year sentence

Count 3: Negligent Discharge of a Gun - A two-year sentence, stayed

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TORY'S CURTAIN CALL

Before the gavel fell, Tory Lanez took the opportunity to address the court. He invoked Megan's name while avoiding all accountability for the shooting. He referred to Megan as "someone I still care for dearly to this day" and had the nerve to proclaim, "The victim's my friend."

At least now, he recognizes Megan as a victim.

Lanez then took an unsettling detour down memory lane, revealing that their friendship was based around nothing more than trauma bonding, saying, "We both lost our mothers. We would sit there and drink, and drink until we got numb."

Credit: Drawing by Mona Shafer Edwards

This is why I laugh at any attempts to portray Tory and Megan's relationship as a melodramatic romance or a soap opera love triangle. This is not a tale of passion; this is a story of two young rappers bonding over alcohol and trauma during COVID.

I believe that Tory manipulated Megan's grief to secure proximity to the new hot girl in rap. Latto spoke about how the men in the industry watch for the next girl up so they can swarm.

Two notable aspects from Tory Lanez's final statement. First, it's similar to his IG Live before he was charged. The one where he was stricken with cottonmouth due to all the lies. The same IG Live where he was gaslighting Megan Thee Stallion. Like with his music, Tory Lanez was merely mimicking. But at least this time he was mimicking himself. Second, why wasn't Kelsey Harris mentioned? She was supposed to have been his girl, and she is the actual shooter, right?

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MEGAN'S VOICE

While yesterday focused on Tory Lanez and his sentencing, it should have also been about Megan Thee Stallion getting the last word. After all, she received most of the blame for this unfortunate incident that led to her being shot. For the past two years, this has been dubbed "The Megan Thee Stallion Trial," as if she were the defendant, not Tory Lanez. Megan had to prove her innocence every time a blogger needed content.

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"At first, he tried to deny the shooting ever happened. Then, he attempted to place the blame on my former best friend. In his tantrum of lies, he's blamed the system, blamed the press and, as of late, he's using his childhood trauma to shield himself and avoid culpability." - Megan Thee Stallion

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However, the significance of Megan's victim impact statement seemed to fade into the background amidst discussions about Tory Lanez's newfound alcoholism and Iggy Azalea's 3-page letter to the judge. Megan's statement should have been a headline moment. In fact, it should have been the last thing read before Judge Herriford made his decision. Yet, disappointingly, it seemed as if Megan's voice was muffled by the multitude of voices permitted to speak, dragging the proceedings on for an exhausting two days. This cluster fck solidifies Megan's wise choice not to appear in person, even if she could stomach being in the same room as Tory Lanez.

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HIP HOP NEEDS MEGAN THEE STALLION...

As we witness this sentencing unfold, it's a stark reminder that history has a way of echoing through time. It's been 32 years since Dr. Dre's assault on TV host Dee Barnes and 28 years since music executive Drew Dixon allegedly was raped by Russell Simmons. These women paid a heavy price for daring to speak up

against men in Hip Hop. Now, as the Hip Hop culture commemorates its 50-year milestone, a sobering truth must be said: not much has changed for women in Hip Hop.

Megan Thee Stallion's career has been under attack ever since she spoke out. Even after the sentencing, there are attempts to undermine her career and downplay support due to her refusal to bend to Hip Hop's status quo and simply 'Shut Up and Rap.' Ironically, this is all happening in the middle of a flourishing female rap renaissance. In a space that should be celebratory, I find it hard to figure out what exactly women are celebrating during 50 Years of Hip Hop.

Let me be blunt. Hip Hop needs Megan Thee Stallion more than Megan Thee Stallion needs Hip Hop. Hip Hop is no longer this new fresh, exciting genre ahead of its time. Now it is stagnant and struggling to find new stars. Hip Hop is hanging on by a bra strap because it's the women keeping the lights on, and one of those women is Megan Thee Stallion. A female rapper with star power. So instead of those within the culture pouting because women will no longer suffer in silence to save a man's career, the culture better embrace Megan or risk losing her to crossover success because either way, Megan will win with or without the support of Hip Hop.

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What do you think about Tory Lanez getting 10 Years?

Should Megan Thee Stallion address this on her new album?

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