Mixtape: The Weeknd – Thursday x House Of Balloons

Something special happened in the music industry near the end of March 2011. Drake and his team OVO (Octobers Very Own) publicly co-signed and introduced the world to Toronto singer The Weeknd (real name: Abel Tesfaye). Marketing himself as a mysterious artist who’s real face was no where to be found on the Internet, The Weeknd released his first of 3 promised projects, House Of Balloons, riding on the buzz of his well recieved singles “What You Need” and the fan favorite “Wicked Games“. Within what felt like a short period of time, everyone from bloggers, journalists, haters, mainstream artists, and of course big record labels were shocked, left puzzled asking themselves how such a talented voice stayed hidden under their keyboards. With so much buzz being built on the Internet, The Weeknd’s first project left similar sound-marks to that of Drake’s So Far Gone mixtape. Some called the tape a classic and crowned The Weeknd as the new R&B king, while others remained unconvinced, doubting his live performance abilities, claiming his voice was manufactured and over-engineered.

As weeks went by, judging by the quick growth of his fan base and popularity among large reputable internet websites such as Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Complex, it was clear that Abel had left a lot of human beings thirsty, willing to do anything for a taste of his unique sound.

Moving forward, the internet machine managed to leak a few old songs and throw out some details of who this new artist was before the crucial Drake co-sign. Fans even began to shoot unofficial videos of his songs, claiming they were coming from his team who call themselves, XO. Eventually The Weeknd gave fans what they wanted: a live performance of his first project in front of a loyal sold out crowd inside Mod Club in Toronto. This time a star had truly arrived, and any doubts that were up in the air had been blown away. Everyone inside the venue, including his biggest supporter, Drake, were highly entertained and honored to have been in the building. Next up, The Weeknd was booked to perform at Drake’s 2nd annual OVOFest concert in Toronto, where after his performance with Drake, he promised fans that his second mixtape, Thursday, would be released shortly.

First there was House Of Balloons, and then there was Thursday (August 18, 2011 to be exact). The second project literally broke the internet, bringing down The Weeknd’s official website. Within minutes of releasing Thursday, The Weeknd began to trend worldwide on Twitter.

All it took was 5 months, and another young man from Toronto, was given the chance to become one of the most sought out recording artists in the world (im sure record labels are putting ridiculous contracts on his table).

So how did The Weeknd, XO, Drake and OVO mange to do all this? Apart from the unmatched quality of their music, a sound which is also impossible to categorize, their attention to detail and marketing schemes used with the power of the Internet, has the world fiending for his next project, Echoes of Silence. Until then, im sure you or someone you know is about to overdose on pills in the form of tracks. There’s an epidemic happening in Toronto, they call it OVOXO Gang.

Hit the jump to download both tapes, House Of Balloons and Thursday.

DOWNLOAD: The Weeknd – Thursday (Mixtape)

DOWNLOAD: The Weeknd – House Of Balloons (Mixtape)

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