The Weeknd - Wicked Games (Acoustic Version)

Nothing much more can be said about this video.  It's The Weeknd, singing his best song, Wicked Games, with a live band in front of a sold out audience.

If this is anything to go by, those making their way to California and Coachella are in for a treat.

Enjoy!

The Urbanite Video of 2011 - The Weeknd: The Knowing

"I ain't washing my sins, I ain't washing my sins"

The Urbanite will not try and be clever and claim that this video is understandable.  Or that it makes perfect sense.  Or that it is not as weird as hell.  Because it is.  But the first official video release from the artist, real name Abel Tesfaye, is a spectacular visual offering.

Set in Ethiopia in the 1970s, the futuristic video takes us forward to a planet called Ethia X in the year 16311 AD. The basic concepts of the video are about the civil war in Ethiopia in the 70s, which is used by the video directors as a metaphor for a man's relationship with women.  Sound confusing?  Well it is, but it does not stop it from being our video of 2011.

For a more detailed explanation read here (warning: you still probably won't understand it after reading that!)

The Urbanite New R&B Artist of 2011 - The Weeknd

"Bring your love baby I can bring my shame, bring the drugs baby I can bring my pain"

Such is the mystery that surrounds The Weeknd that few know what he actually looks like (FYI -the picture above is him, not some random guy we decided to put up there).  Take this review of his classic song High For This from The Guardian back in March 2011, in which the singer is described as being part of a duo whilst the writer admits that he is not really sure "who does what, and with whom".

This obscurity and mysteriousness is what sets The Weeknd apart from other singers in his field - put simply, he is not your typical all-singing, all-dancing, all-happy R&B singer.  His songs are filled with hurt, with a serious nod to the melancholy and pessimism that made Drake so appealing when he first came out.  The subject matters that he speaks of are also not so typical; take the mixtape House of Balloons, for example, which is basically the story of a series of nights (or maybe even one night) in the life of a serial playboy and drug addict.

The other notable feature that surrounds The Weeknd's music is the production; from sampling Siouxsie and the Banshee's Happy House on the song House of Balloons to sampling the chorus of Sandpaper Kisses on The Birds pt 2, the 21 year old Canadian songwriter has shown that he is not afraid to experiment musically.  For this reason, his sound is like no other in the industry today.

Along with Frank Ocean, The Weeknd is the most exciting act to emerge out of 2011.  The quality of his three mixtape releases (the aforementioned House of Balloons as well as Thursday and Echoes of Silence) was outstanding and it was of no surprise that when the third free release dropped in late December, his blog was shutdown to due server demands for the day and he became a trending topic on twitter in the US and UK.

Which all sets 2012 as the year that the singer becomes a household name in more ways than one.  It will be hard for him to keep his mysterious persona whilst his reputation grows and grows; but something tells me that won't bother him too much.  This is one year he will definitely want to stay high for.

The Urbanite End of Year Awards (The Countdown) - R&B Mixtape of the Year

The other week, we gave you The Urbanite's definitive list of the best music and artists of 2011.  With only days away until the end of the year, and after much deliberation and last minute changes, the list has finally been made.  We'll be revealing the winners on the 31st, but here is a look at the acts that just missed the cut and why in the hardest category of them all, the R&B mixtape of the year award as there have been many, many great mixtapes released in this category in 2011.

Choon of the Week! - The Weeknd - Same Old Song

"Bet you miss me now baby, I bet you'd kiss me now baby, especially since you know that this ain't nothing and I only just begun"


As soon as The Urbanite saw this tweet on Thursday morning, there was only ever really going to be one artist behind this week's 'Choon of the Week'.  The Weeknd has grown from strength to strength this year and it is a measure of his stature that he was able to shut down twitter on both sides of the Atlantic this week with the release of 'Echoes of Silence'.

Like his previous two mixtapes, this one already sounds epic and contains a number of songs that instantly stand out.  For obvious reasons the opening track, 'DD', is an instant classic, with the cover of Michael Jackson's 'Dirty Diana' being a trending topic within hours of the album being released.  It could quite possibly even be one of the best covers of a Jacko song we'll hear.

But one other song on 'Echoes of Silence' stands out far greater than 'DD', purely due to it's lyrical content.

New Music - The Weeknd - Echoes of Silence Mixtape

It's two days before Christmas and it seems like one of our artists of the year, The Weeknd, is in a festive mood.  What else would explain him finally releasing his long awaited mixtape, 'Echoes of Silence'. 

The third installment in a series of mixtapes released by the singer, real name Abel Tesfaye, will surely have fans rushing to download it and it is no surprise that 'The Weeknd', 'Echoes of Silence' and even 'Dirty Diana' (which is remixed on the first track) are trending topics on twitter. 

The mixtape can be downloaded from The Weeknd's own website, but seeing as that had crashed in the early hours of the morning it can also be downloaded here. 

Enjoy!

Choon of the Week! - The Weeknd - The Knowing

"So I'ma let you, taste hurt. I ain't washing my sins.  I aint washing my sins"


It's been a bit of a slow week for new music this week.  50 Cent has carried on dropping new songs off his new mixtape, 'The Big Ten', a few of which are real bangers and is definitely worth a download.  As is Kano's 'Guns Over Girls', which sees the East Londoner back to his usual form and, again, is an album worth downloading.

Other than than, the scene has been a bit quiet this week.  Which has made it slightly difficult to choose a 'Choon of the Week'.  For this reason, The Urbanite is going to settle on a song that came out in February on one of the hottest mixtapes of the year, but has only had a video made for it now.

Since The Weeknd entered our lives, a number of unofficial videos for various songs off 'House of Balloons' and 'Thursday' have come out, but none of them have been as ludicrously complex and artistic  as the video for 'The Knowing'.

Set in Ethiopia in the 1970s, the futuristic video takes us forward to a planet called Ethia X in the year 16311 AD.  Without wanting to spoil the video, or write an essay, the basic concepts of the video are about the civil war in Ethiopia in the 70s, which is used as a metaphor for a man's relationship with women.  Listen to the lyrics and watch the video carefully, it should make more sense.

And if it doesn't, then read this explanation here.

And if it STILL doesn't make sense, then just enjoy the song.  Because it is a choon.

Enjoy!

Choon of the Week! - The Weeknd ft Drake - The Zone

"I can't see a damm thing. I can't feel, a damn thing"

Could Canada be the new home of rnb? Well that is the question that we've been asking here at The Urbanite as we have spent the past two weeks jamming to the latest mixtape from Canadian crooner and Drake's new best mate The Weeknd.

Although 'Thursday' as a mixtape itself is a treat, there is one song that stands out.

Featuring a great guest rap from Drake, 'The Zone' perfectly sums of the appeal of The Weeknd - soulful voice, great melody and brilliant production.

The Urbanite recommend enjoying The Weeknd and his mixtapes now, because if there is one thing that we know about Canadians with mixtape buzz it is that their albums are not always better than the mixtapes. Just ask Drake himself.

You can download 'Thursday' here.

Enjoy!