18 Aug [DISCUSSION] The Weeknd – Thursday (10 Years Later)
As we may or may not know, Abel Tesfaye aka The Weeknd dropped his second mixtape “Thursday” on this day August 18th after his successful first debut “House Of Balloons”. Like his debut mixtape House Of Balloons, The Weeknd collaborated with producers and songwriters Doc McKinney and Illangelo, the duo produced Thursday in its entirety, and it contains fewer samples than its predecessor. Recorded in Toronto, the mixtape is also notable for its guest appearance from Canadian rapper, Drake.
Recording The Zone with OVO 40
After his success with ”House Of Balloons” fans were waiting to see what The Weeknd would do next, He brought something so new & different that we haven’t heard in RnB before at the time, it was clear that he was the next one up & different from other RnB artists. Four months later he finally showed his face at The Mod Club Theatre was a theatre in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada in July 2011 after many rumors circulating that either he was a solo artist or a band.
A month later he dropped his second mixtape “Thursday” which by far is my favorite out of three mixtapes, it’s so moody and dark it pulls you right in especially with intro track “ Lonely Star” & from front to back the story behind the mixtape is something that so interesting that you would want more. Thursday has an unconventional and diverse musical style, drawing on downtempo, dubstep, dream pop, hip hop, rock and reggae music. It contains similar themes to his previous works, exploring the Weeknd’s drug use, libertinism, and experiences with love and newfound fame. He titled the mixtape as a reference to a contentious open relationship he had with a former lover.
Thursday consists of the same themes as HoB; sex and drugs. But there’s a twist, he’s in a semi-relationship with this girl Valerie. She’s the only one on his mind, even though they meet only one day of the week, any guesses on what day that could be? Through The Weeknd’s phenomenal voice and the insane production, we’re also presented with this story of a toxic relationship where Valerie used to have the upper hand but she no longer does when she falls for The Weeknd. While Thursday isn’t entirely about the relationship of The Weeknd and Valerie, it consists of reflections to Abel’s life after the release of House of Balloons.
The song Rolling Stone notably has a double meaning, in which Abel asks his fans if they’ll stick with him when he gets mainstream appeal and decides to change his sound. The track Valerie wasn’t on the original release of Thursday, it added when Trilogy was released. Ending the mixtape with Heaven or Las Vegas meant that The Weeknd’s actions with and without Valerie were a result of his fatherless childhood, making him push anyone away. That meaning behind Thursday doesn’t change when Valerie is added to the track list, it just means that both want the toxic relationship back. The Zone (feat. Drake) was the first feature The Weeknd had on any of his work, the video for it was released in November of 2012. Rolling Stone had also received a video in October of 2012. Both were directed by The Weeknd and reflect the two different aspects of Thursday. The Zone has Valerie living it up in the House of Balloons. And Rolling Stone has The Weeknd doing a photoshoot for Trilogy, reflective of the song itself.
Out of all three mixtapes, Thursday is my favorite & was not only a great mixtape but it proved that The Weeknd & House Of Balloons wasn’t a fluke & Abel, Doc, Illangelo can easily make hits with ease. By far track 7 “Gone” is my favorite song in the mixtape, more because how he just freestyles on the beat & the story once told where The Weeknd himself said that he was so messed in the studio at the time that he don’t remember what he saying and recording the song all in one take. It also showed The Weeknd is very versatile, a great songwriter, & lives what he says in his lyrics.
Overall what are your thoughts on this mixtape ?
Tracklist:
Lonely Star Life Of The Party Thursday The Zone featuring Drake The Birds Part 1 The Birds Part 2 Gone Rolling Stone Heaven or Las Vegas
Production on all nine tracks: Doc McKinney & Illangelo
*Stream*
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