What happened to The Weeknd's music?
Trilogy is probably one of my favourite albums ever (I know they're just mixtapes) but when you compare it to Kiss Land, and (even worse) Beauty Behind The Madness, you really notice a HUGE drop in musical quality. All the raw emotion and darkness his music once had has dramatically vanished. That side is apparent in his music videos, but not the music itself.
Do you think this happened because he went mainstream and worked with other producers/record labels? I like to think one day he realises this pop shit will give his career a shorter life line in the long run and put more thought back into what he's doing without cash being the only real outcome.
I completely get an artist evolving and maturing their sound, but in that case you'd still hope it was listenable and positively comparable to what they've released in the past. This recent shit just sounds like a huge step back IMO.
What do you think?
Nigga sold out for money
>implying any non-autismo wouldn't do the same.
>>60812798
you answered your own question, he wasnt making much money underground so he switched to mainstream to get paid nigga
>>60812918
Look at the buzz he was getting by the times Echos dropped though. (Granted he was giving it all out for free at the time) I really don't think he would of financially struggled selling and touring the music he was making if he kept that style up and explored it deeper. I still bet over half of the people going to his shows want stuff played from Trilogy.
>>60813039
thats just what some artist do, they see the big opportunity and hop on it. certain artist define their success by what there status is, some strictly by the music. i cant be mad at him, that was his choice, would you rather eat lobster or steak? some people are fine with steak, some people want both, some people dont care at all
As much as I hate to scream SELLOUT, this is a textbook case.
I actually think his new singles are pretty good. There's less of his weak points (the fucking lyrics) and more fun stuff. The nonstop DRUGS AND SEX from the mixtapes stops being interesting after about half an album.
His style has so much potential but everything he's put out is incredibly hit or miss.
I was actually okay with The Weeknd going mainstream, sure BBTM will never be on the Trilogy level, but he got a lot of exposure (and money) because he hopped on the Max Martin train
>>60813211
For real, I agree with you. And whilst riding the mainstream wave I don't think we're going to hear any interesting lyrical themes which move away from sex and drugs. I'm positive he's capable of it too which is the most disappointing part. Its all just washed out and simplified for radio play. :(
Other Anon was totally right wrapping it up with the lobster or steak analogy though.
nigga wanted some top tier born the 90's pussy
>>60812847
well a lot of people wouldn't do the same because of a thing called integrity
>>60813127
yeah he changed style to sell more to the masses...this is called selling out
or if you prefer ''being a spineless cunt''
>>60813444
i remember when house of balloons came out and i thought he was a solid artist that just wanted to put out great music. that was the message he put out anyway...he wanted to be ''underground'' as far as i could make of it. and then there was that whole fiasco with the producer who got fucked over who had originally gave him the idea for the themes and the name ''the weeknd'' etc
i pretty much knew the guy was over in terms of creating authentic music that wasn't made purposefully for perfume adverts when the mixtapes got repackaged and re-marketed as ''trilogy''... everything since echoes of silence has been trash.
>>60813745
Yeah I've read a lot about Jeremy Rose, I can't believe he didn't get a dime from the record sales. Definitely changed my opinion on Abel. As well as sampling Portis Head's classic 'Machine Gun', and giving ZERO credit. Matter of fact, I don't recall him acknowledging any of the artists him and his producers have sampled.
>>60813444
Yeah. That's why Thursday is my favorite, because it has a loose story instead of (only) DRUGS AND SEX. If he had embraced the gloomy side and gotten more in touch with the instrumentals instead of just throwing WOOOOOOOOOAAAAAOOOOH on every track, he could be so great.
>>60813857
Same. The mixtapes had some of the most creative sampling I've heard in forever. Jeremy should have blown up with him.
>but who needs that when we can throw in some trap beats lol
Look at producers and credits. He abandoned illangelo and doc who he owes the majority of his sound. Now hes another august alsina/chris brown. Also kiss land was good besides some corny guitar and unnecessary string parts.
