Same Old Weeknd ?

Raunchiness, enigmatic, and transcendence.

That’s what changed R&B as we know it.

True feelings, life stories, a recognizable voice and  vulnerability is whats encompassed by R&B.

But is it vulnerability or cockiness?

The rawness of “I deserve your body on my mattress “ is cockiness at its pinnacle

Get me off of this, I need confidence in myself

Even though you don't love me

Vulnerability doesn’t exist unless its hid under an ego, boasting about your current girlfriend cheating on you, to which you respond by doing the same, counts as that.

This is The Weeknd, he who is the torch bearer for a new sonic sound for r&b.

Deeper, sadder, and nocturnal.

The enigmatic figure that was discovered near the end of 2010 has since put out three critically acclaimed mixtapes, House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence. All of which consisted of artwork reminiscent of darker tumblr images.

Each mixtape bests the last because it ready’s you for the next.

The trilogy is a movie, full of slow drowsy and dark songs that will take you on an emotional rollercoaster when fully immersed.

How can that be topped, other than remastering the 3 works adding more lush sound, deeper base and more pain?

Not forgetting the spice of a new refreshing song following each of the mixtapes, sort of like breaks between 3 novels about some of the greatest parties that had ever occurred.

Greatest might be a stretch depending on who you ask, the codeine  filled sexcapades may scare some, while others wish they could be a part of the this exciting underground world that The Weeknd called home.

But can it really seem like a party if youre always there? Or do things become tiring, to the point where you have to seek daylight and tell the world of the dangerous tales you’ve lived through. And when you do, is it boasting or an autobiography?

The Weeknd is just a 20something showing the R&B world what he has to offer, which he himself has said he isn’t  apart of. The only thing R&B about him is the singing, and everything else is cinematic.

Cinematic means motion pictures, yet The Weeknd didn’t release a music video for nearly two years after being introduced to the world. However, all he cares about is bringing you into his world, and knows it will be nothing like you’ve ever experienced-this, easily conveyed in the opening lines of his first track on House of Balloons

You don't know what's in store
But you know what you're here for
Close your eyes, lay yourself beside me
Hold tight for this ride

The first 2 songs ever released under  The Weeknd moniker were Loft Music and a chopped and screwed version of The Morning, posted on the OVO blog. Octobers Very Own, which is headed by fellow Canadian, Drake. Who also provided a platform for The Weeknd to spread is wings in more ways than one. Even before being introduced on the traffic-heavy blog, Drake made it okay for hip-hop to be emotional, even when it includes misogyny. The Weeknd decided to capitalize on the latter,and though it is a popular topic in rap, you’d be hard-pressed to find another singer that creates anti-radio songs as easily, which are filled with curses and bragging.

Though Drake and The Weeknd are polar opposites when it comes to topic,they mostly certainly are musicians that take their crafts very seriously, not to mention the stellar production by both camps. Drake relies on long time friend Noah “40” Shebib for his introspective and heart felt beats.Abel relies on the masterminds named Doc Mckinney and Carlo “Illangelo” Montagnese, to spew out his high pitched notes about countless loose women and lifes adventures.

But will the world get tired of these adventures, or has the Weeknd experienced enough fame, since his arrival to dare I say, evolve?

Or will a new environment just enable him to do what he has been doing at a much larger scale?

I got a brand new place, I think I've seen it twice all year
I can't remember how it looks inside, so you can picture how my life's been
I went from starin' at the same four walls for 21 years
To seein' the whole world in just twelve months
Been gone for so long I might have just found God

Either way, The Weeknd is a polarizing figure of our generation, in an age of transparency, and the dwindling idea of celebrity privacy which seems to be an oxymoron. In the age of the internet there have been no paparazzi pictures of him, and we’ve only seen him in videos released by the XO camp.

Presentation matters to the Weeknd.

As his fame grows, the price of his privacy will as well, but we all wonder how he will adapt,or more importantly, the fans?

Tesfaye knew that not putting a face to the drugged-up body of work would allow the publics mind to roam free.

The devil is in the detail, and The Weeknd controls every aspect of his image, at least for now, fans may feel different once he becomes more of everyone’s, and less of theirs. A situation he spoke on over a year ago.

Until you're used to my face
And my mystery fades
I got you
So baby love me
Before they all love me
Until you won't love me
Because they all love me
I'll be different
I think I'll be different
I hope I'm not different
And I hope you'll still listen

Being caught in limbo like such, makes it hard to really compare him to people like How to Dress Well, Frank Ocean, and JMSN.

As the money grows, it is a mystery whether or not the underground will be able to cope with added notoriety.

After the final installment of the trilogy dropped in December of  2011, people had these fears about The Weeknd’s stardom and wondered again if he could do it again without it being cheesy and repetitious .

And the answer is yes.

The answer couldn’t even be fathomed until “Enemy” was released near Halloween, how fitting.

Armed with a budget, courtesy of his new label, The Weeknd was now able to  what he’d been doing, just at a larger level, and this can be seen with the production of Enemy.

Tesfaye, back to his old ways, samples The Smiths’, by begging a girl during the chorus, saying

“Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want this time”.

The first words he utters after doing his infamous harmonizing is “I’m Back,I’m so back,” signaling that he’s returned to his braggodocious, womanizing ways, thus giving him inspiration for new material. This is his only freebie released aside from his remix of Drake’s “Trust Issues”

Fast forward 8 months, and a string a features  with Wiz Khalifa,Juicy J, French Montana, and brethren Rich Hil, The Weeknd is back,to change R&B again.Nearing the summer, KissLand was released.

Though the Trilogy was full of innuendos and dirty talk, The Weeknd held no punches  on Kissland , a nearly 8 minute song, in typical  Weeknd fashion.

The album art speaks for itself, reading KISSLAND in neon lights, seemingly advertising a seedy Hotel filled with questionable activities. This imagery comes to light, or should I say darkness upon listening to the title track.

(Source:billboard.com)

Not only is the beat sinister, with eerie funhouse sounds, but a looped sample of a women screaming  is played throughout the song, as the Weeknd  repeatedly attempts to coax a girl that she shouldn’t  hold back, and she should just let it out.

The song slows down towards the middle as Abel fills us in on how much his surroundings have changed over the past year,but his behavior hasn’t .The only catchy part is at the end  when he repeats

This ain’t nothing to relate to

Even if you tried,you tried,you tried

Though catchy, it’s hard to determine whether he is bragging or just signaling that the life he leads is dangerous to even attempt to emulate. This snippet was on Youtube, aptly titled John Carpenter, an homage to the horror film director

Soon after Belong to the World video was released by MTV, which already signals the type of song it would be.

The upbeat song attempts to introduce Abel to the masses, and he attempts to put one black boot in the pop world, while steadily holding the other to his underground roots.

All backed by a Portishead sample, making for a creeped out beat. He attempts to be coy but comes off blunt as he spews off about his typical topic of money hungry women, though this time it doesn’t seem to be beneficial to him.

I know you want your money, girl
Cause you do this every day, okay
The way you doubt your feelings
And look the other way

The cadence and harmonies of this song make it memorable, but reading the lyrics aids in the realization of what he is actually talking about.

I'm not a fool
I just love that you're dead inside)
I'm not a fool, I'm just lifeless too

But perhaps The Weeknd is evolving, but the only way he can talk about his current situation is by comparing it to the past

But you to taught me how to feel
When nobody ever would
And you taught me how to love
What nobody ever could

 I know I should leave you
And learn to mistreat you
Cause you belong to the world
I want to embrace you
Domesticate you

Is the Weeknd learning to treat women differently ,or is this a metaphor for the mainstream to accept him. If the music business belongs to the world, and Abel is unable to make it is own, perhaps he is questioning if the benefits outway the risks, and he is better off sticking to what he knows best, because after all, we all know that business and music can never be mixed, for it just taints the art and is never the same.

The song could be synonymous with the girl being a prostitute, all she wants is money, just like the music business. He knows he should leave, or he will wind up getting hurt. This offering for the mainstream music business may blow up in his face and he realizes it wasn’t meant to be, and he resort to his old ways , which culminates on songs like Wicked Games.

If House of Balloons is the Party that everyone is invited to, and Thursday consists of the mischievous details after a lot of the party ended, because nothing good happens after 2am. And Echoes of Silence deals with the repercussions of the sinful and carefree night, what is next?

Do you decide that it’s time to grow up and move on with your life, moaning “Im never drinking again”whilst your head is in the toilet, or do you say “screw it I’m young” and live it up adding to the arsenal of morning-after tales., knowing that you won’t be young forever?

Who knows. But we will find out  August 27^th.         

August 27^th will be judgment day for the Weeknd, to determine if he can surprise fans again.

Because after all,we just want good music right?

PUBLISHED ON 20SOME.COM