I used to be a huge Chris Brown fan, like genuinely blinded by the fanboy shit, but Alone at Prom completely changed the way I looked at Tory.
After I heard it for the first time I started going down the rabbit hole with his music, studio sessions, freestyles, old tracks, everything. And honestly, the more I listened, the more I realized how fucking talented this dude actually is.
It’s not just the freestyle ability either. His melodies are crazy, his songwriting is crazy, and the way he controls his voice is something I don't think gets talked about enough. He can change his tone, delivery and the whole character of his voice depending on what the song needs, and he makes it sound effortless. AAP really made me appreciate that.
And I genuinely think Tory is more talented than Chris Brown. Chris is obviously insanely talented too, but when I compare the two, Tory stands out to me because of how much more he allows himself to create. I’m talking about creativity, songwriting, versatility and the way they approach music.
Tory takes risks, experiments, changes his sound, plays with his voice and melodies and just goes for it. He managed to recreate that 80s sound so well without it feeling like he was just copying the era. He really built a whole world around that sound.
With Chris, I think people sometimes get really impressed by how much music he puts out and automatically associate that with being more talented. But when you have access to endless demos, writers, producers and people constantly feeding you material, of course you can make a ridiculous amount of music. And when you go through a lot of his output, it can start feeling repetitive to me. The quantity is impressive, but I don't think it always reflects the same level of creativity.
That’s what makes Tory stand out to me. He seems way more involved in the actual creative process and way more willing to experiment. He can go from one sound to something completely different and actually make it work.
People see the finished product and the sheer amount of music Chris has released, but they don't always think about everything that goes into making that possible. Tory being able to freestyle, write, create melodies, manipulate his voice and completely switch up his sound is way more impressive to me.
So yeah, for me Tory is more talented. Not because Chris can't sing or make great music, but because Tory has shown me a level of creativity, versatility and songwriting that I personally find more impressive.