Tory Lanez has now spent almost a year in prison for shooting Megan Thee Stallion, and while attempts to have his conviction overturned have so far proved unsuccessful, the rapper is spending his time behind bars productively.
The Florida-via-Ontario native, who is currently serving a 10-year sentence for the July 2020 shooting, phoned into Adin Ross’ Kick channel over the weekend where he revealed that he recently earned his high school diploma and is now working towards graduating from college.
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The interview began with an audibly buoyant Tory telling Ross that he’s in good spirits while locked up, even using what appeared to be an Amazon Alexa device inside the penitentiary to play Ma$e‘s “Welcome Back.”
“No funny shit, man, I’m great,” he said. “I know that a lot of people sometimes, when they hear prison, they think that somebody is in the corner somewhere balling his eyes out. I’m really good. I’m in a great space mentally. I’m looking better than I’ve ever looked, I’m working out. I’m really just bettering myself in every single way.”
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Announcing his educational achievements, he added: “A n-gga just graduated high school, by the way, and enrolled in college, you feel me? I never thought I would do that! But I’m taking this moment and I’m taking advantage of everything that’s good.
“I’m a fucking high school dropout that just graduated high school. That shit matters to me. It’s the small things that have me feeling good about life right now.”
Lanez also said he’s confident that he will be released from prison early: “I know that my time is coming. I don’t feel like I’m gonna be in here for a long time. I’m very spiritual, very in tune with God. I feel like the conversations that me and God have been having, He’s been letting me know in so many different ways that I’m about to get out of here.”
Despite his optimism, the Sorry 4 What rapper recently suffered a setback in his fight to have his felony assault convictions tossed out.
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Last week, Tory’s claim that he has new evidence in the case was refuted by California’s Attorney General’s Office.
The rapper’s driver Jauquan Smith cast doubt on his guilt by claiming in an affidavit last year that he saw Megan Thee Stallion’s friend Kelsey Harris holding the gun the night of the shooting.
Smith didn’t, however, actually see who pulled the trigger.
In an informal response, Deputy Attorney General Michael C. Keller argued that Smith’s statement doesn’t qualify as new evidence and should therefore not be used to overturn Tory Lanez’s sentence.
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Keller cited previously undisclosed statements from the rapper’s former lawyer, George Mgdesyan, who decided not to call Smith to the witness stand during the December 2022 trial.
“Defense counsel acknowledged that he had spoken with Smith regarding his observations and determined that Smith would not be a helpful witness,” Keller wrote in the 38-page filing, obtained by court reporter Meghann Cuniff.
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The fact that Smith didn’t see who fired the gun “does not directly contradict [Megan]’s testimony that petitioner [Lanez] was the person who shot her,” Keller added.
The attorney went on to detail the “wealth of other evidence” supporting Tory’s guilt, such as DNA results, Megan testifying that he shot her and the Canadian rapper appearing to implicate himself in texts and phone calls after the shooting.
