If #WizKid is the new age chief of #Afrobeats, then #TheWeeknd owns the disco. The Ethiopian catalyst of drugs & blues has made his bravest yet most commercially digestible album yet.
The Weeknd, Frank Ocean and Lana Del Rey (we’ll get to her in a bit), are artists excavated from the cream of the Tumblr age who changed the sonics of pop and R&B. In terms of visibility, The Weekend is arguably the most successful - with Grammy awards, an Oscar nomination, Victoria Secret model ex-girlfriend, an unforgettable Whomping Willow hair-thing and record breaking stream numbers, all setting the Ethiopian trailblazer apart from anyone else.
His 3rd studio album '#STARBOY', is a typical example of an artists' fear of growth, but Abel dives in head first, destroying the pressure of expectation with his neon crucifix.
The soul-searching disco project makes way for The Weeknd’s exploration of more mainstream palatable sonics, made viable by the humongous success of ‘Cant Feel My Face’. His tracks with #DaftPunk are the perfect appetizer and dessert.
Once the internet's best kept secret, on tracks like 'Reminder', Tesfaye is demanding centre stage with all the brag & bravado of a mobster. ‘Secrets’ is the easiest place to spot the influence of Brit-electronica, Depeche Mode and even Bowie, who The Weeknd says inspired the album’s title. 'True Colours' takes its drips, pace and knocks from ’00’s late night R&B radio just before #LanaDelRey transports the mellenials back to Tumblr-age on ’Stargirl’. It's an interlude so be prepared to be left starving and stary eyed just before you forget your name in the symphony.
18 tracks is a bit much, and at a point you’re wondering if you’re listening to one song that is split into 3. 12 or 14 for deluxe would be fine. 10 or 11 would have been gold.
Either way, get it for your dinner parties, and late night drives. Steam #BrunoMars’ 24k Magic for extra kick.
⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Earlier this year I was featured in one of the 'Straight Ups' by i-D Magazine (Dutch). The first and only Motswana to EVER be featured.
Check it out!
https://i-d.vice.com/nl/straightup/kwame
Is it just me or are we going to war?
Is the Apocalypse even closer than we think?
Look at it's reflection.... From the news, to fashion, to the political instability, to the transparency of social media and it's powers of unity, to the emotion bled in music, to the fascination with escapism and the pursuit of a PLASTIC PARADISE, to the beasts of literally no nation, to the intolerance, to the joining of ARMS vs. ARMS and so forth.
Right now, if you stop and look in the eye of the hurricane, everything is a SIGN 'O' THE TIMES.
The whole world has gone crazy.
And it's frightening.
The bleaching and bombings.
Erasure and Ecstasy.
Outrage and OPULENCE.
Now more than ever it is imperative that we stand together and most importantly, stay AWAKE. Stay vigilant.
Because for now, I finally see it.
I finally see HIM.
"....and just like a thief in the night." - 1 Thessalonians 5:2
- Kwame Acheampong, July 2016