Tag: XO

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Music

A decade of XO: House of Balloons at 10

The Weeknd has been on a historic run for a decade now, and his groundbreaking 2011 mixtape is its origin.

In 2021, The Weeknd is inescapable. He’s one of the world’s biggest stars and a bona fide pop culture icon. Fresh off of an explosive Super Bowl halftime show just last month, his hit single “Blinding Lights” just became the only song to spend a whole year in Billboard’s top ten. You can’t go a day without hearing his music or seeing his face on a social feed or TV screen.

This is a stark contrast to where he was just a decade ago. In 2011, that inescapable name was just the moniker for Abel Tesfaye, a faceless, enigmatic artist from Toronto. Even as he made a home for himself on the front page of many popular music blogs, nobody knew his real name, nobody knew what he looked like, nobody knew who he was. All they knew was that he’d released House of Balloons, and that was enough.

House of Balloons, Tesfaye’s alternative R&B opus, was one of two projects to completely shift the tide of the genre at the time, the other being Frank Ocean’s nostalgia, ULTRA. It was unlike anything out at the time, defied almost all of popular R&B’s conventions, and changed everything.

Whereas a lot of the popular R&B music of the time was pop-tinged and upbeat, or fit into the genre’s more traditional, romantic and sensual slow jams, Tesfaye was operating in a lane completely his own. House of Balloons is dark and perpetually nihilistic, fueled by drugs and drenched in sadism, and presented a reality that was as far from R&B’s “norm” as possible.

Sonically, this album’s soundscape paired perfectly with the dark themes and content that Tesfaye presented in his lyrics. On top of that, it was just as far from any pre-existing norms and conventions within the genre. It was moody, atmospheric and borderline psychedelic at its darkest, matching Tesfaye’s despair and drug-addled party-laden lifestyle, and at its brightest feeling like the high that he’s chasing.

From the outset, this album strikes this balance. Its intro, “High for This,” is dark and eerie, with Tesfaye welcoming the listener to his lifestyle as the song crescendos to its booming, bass-heavy chorus. It sets the tone perfectly for the drugged-out odyssey that the listener is about to embark on.

And it proved to be just that. Every song on this album fits that journey without ever feeling like you’re hearing the same song twice. From the airy and ethereal “The Morning” to the bleak and depressing “Wicked Games” to the wildly experimental two-part track “House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls,” every song here serves a purpose.

It’s for these reasons that House of Balloons has gone on to be as influential as it has. Everybody from Bryson Tiller, Lil Uzi Vert, and even Drake have been deeply influenced by this project and the other two mixtapes in Tesfaye’s trilogy. It was a game-changer and has remained one of his best projects to this day, a flawless collection of tracks that, after ten years, not only holds up but is a clear-cut classic.

 

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Music

Navigating beyond rough waters

NAV and DJ T-Jizzle perform a sold out show at MTelus. Photo by Immanuel Matthews

Toronto rapper NAV has come a long way since his performance at Osheaga in Montreal a mere 10 months ago – and he knows it.

The XO signee took to MTelus last Tuesday night to a wildly enthusiastic crowd. Following a high energy performance from fellow Torontonian rapper Killy, there seemed to be a lull in the audience as fans grew impatient during intermission. As water bottles began to be tossed and “Let’s Go Raptors!” chants filled the room, NAV’s official DJ, DJ T-Jizzle, took to the stage.

With the task of warming up the crowd for the main act, T-Jizzle provided them with their appetizer – a medley of some of hip hop’s biggest hits. The first notes of “Suge (Yea Yea)” by North Carolina rapper DaBaby was enough to knock the fatigue out of everyone there, and the vibe surely did not die down as T-Jizzle played the obligatory “XO Tour Life” anthem by Lil Uzi Vert. As mosh pits broke out track after track, fans were already dripping sweat and removing layers of clothing when it was time for the main act to show face.

NAV adjusts his earpiece as fans take pictures and throw up their XO hand signs. Photo by Immanuel Matthews

Enter NAV, dressed in an all-black track jacket, black jeans and a thick XO diamond chain that glistened as it caught camera lights. However, the lights in the crowd died down as the seconds ticked on. Fans knew that it wouldn’t be wise to keep their phones out – the risk of dropping them was too high. Beginning his set with “To My Grave,” the opening track off his most recent album, Bad Habits, the crowd erupted into a frenzy unlike many before. Fans were not just pushing and dancing anymore; the standing crowd, as a whole, was swaying back and forth. As shoves came from behind and everyone squished like a can of sardines towards the stage, those who got there early enough to secure front-row spot retaliated by pushing back. From the balcony, this would look like an uncomfortable and non-consensual version of the wave that fans start at hockey games.

NAV did not lack any new material at his Montreal show. His most recent album, which debuted at #1 on Billboard album charts, is 24 tracks of new material to perform for his fans. Bad Habits became the artist’s first number one album, and you could see it in the way he carried himself. NAV stood with his shoulders high. He danced by getting low. Often times, he’d stop singing with a smile on his face as he soaked in the lyrics from the crowd that sang back at him.

The rapper’s newfound spotlight surely brought in new fans to the show but NAV nonetheless treated his day ones to older material. The artist’s debut in 2017 with his eponymous EP NAV generated a buzz for the auto-crooner early on in his career. However, mixed reviews of his debut album Reckless put the rapper’s fate in jeopardy with critics doubting his longevity. Now, after having bounced back with the reception of Bad Habits, NAV felt it necessary to thank his loyal fans with tunes that they would be most familiar with. Many were, perhaps, most ecstatic to hear the Travis Scott assisted song “Beibs in the Trap” whose bass was so loud that the floor felt like it was on the verge of caving in.

NAV teased his fans by telling them that it was time to go home, but the roars continued as strong as ever five songs later. The rapper paid homage to his label head, The Weeknd, by performing their single “Price on My Head,” and closed the night with the Meek Mill assisted track, “Tap.”

NAV exited the stage with his pearly whites shining as bright as his pendant, proud of the progress he has made in his neighbouring city.

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Music

XO takes 88 to MTL

88Camino raps to a sold out crowd at Le National. Photo by Jacob Carey

88GLAM flexes their strengths to a packed crowd at Le National

Derek Wise and 88Camino, better known among attendees as hip hop duo 88GLAM, hit the stage of Le National last Sunday to a full house of screams and applause. Decked in black from head to toe, rocking a Chrome Hearts tee and Montreal-based Malice World cap, the Toronto natives felt at home as they performed their newest tracks to a familiar crowd.

The rap collaborative gained traction after the release of their first eponymous mixtape in 2017, which starred their breakout hit “Bali” featuring Nav. Months later, their mixtape was re-released with four additional songs, along with the news that they had been signed to The Weeknd’s record label, XO. The duo have since released their second project, 88GLAM2, and are nearing the end of their tour with the same name.

Derek Wise pays homage to his record label by throwing up his XO. Photo by Jacob Carey

Following two opening sets by local Montreal rappers Hardbody Jones and Mike Shabb, the Glam boys hit the stage with their lead single, “Lil Boat,” that most recently peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100. 88Camino was first on the mic as he began to rap the chorus. The artist’s soft, auto-tuned, sing-song voice is complemented nicely by Wise’s deeper, darker verses. This applies not only to “Lil Boat” specifically, but to the duo’s sound as a whole—which is the core of their catchy and melodic tunes.

On stage, Wise and Camino frequently rotated between songs featured on their first mixtape and their latest one. Older fans sang along to tracks such as “Kyrie” and “Big Tymers,” while “Wet Dreams” and “It’s a Flex” were sung by those in attendance that may have witnessed 88GLAM at Le National for the first time, despite them having frequented Montreal three times in the past year. “It’s a Flex,” another single featuring Nav, recently debuted a music video that led to the Weeknd posting a screenshot of the trio on Instagram and referring to them as “the future of the city.”

Derek Wise going in. Photo by Jacob Carey

As is expected, a mosh pit was requested of the crowd half-way into the show. The performers waited on stage while the crowd opened up a pit that they would soon rush into. Having practiced their moshing skills hours before during Hardbody Jones’s set, the mob of eager, sweaty bodies readied up with a perfectly shaped circle. As the opening notes to “GPS” started playing, the crowd waited for the beat to drop and then unleashed their friendly fury. The performers were pleased with what they started.

At one moment during the night, 88Camino whipped out his phone to take a video of a fan on someone’s shoulders as she lifted up her shirt to show the “XO” tattoo on her ribs.

As their set neared its end, Wise and some affiliates picked up a 24-case of water bottles tucked away behind a curtain to the left of the stage. They began to distribute them to the crowd. They requested that the water bottles not be used until the next song had begun. Then, Wise rapped the familiar words, “Time to turn the heat up like it’s Bali.” Within seconds, more mosh pits broke out, more screams were heard and more energy vibrated the building than any time before. And water. Lots of water. By the time 88Camino’s chorus had begun, the stage, the artists and the crowd were drenched in water. As they wiped a mix of sweat and water from their foreheads, Derek Wise and 88Camino walked off stage with smiles on their faces, knowing that 88GLAM had once again turned up the heat in Montreal.

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Music Quickspins

The Weeknd – Starboy

The Weeknd – Starboy (XO, 2016)

He’s a starboy and this is a star album. The Weeknd’s hit single “Starboy,” featuring Daft Punk, is addictive and its catchy beat matches perfectly with his pleasantly soft and melodious voice. In “True Colors,” we get to hear his more romantic and emotional side. It’s a beautiful song in which he asks that his lover be nothing but real with him. In “Die For You,” you can hear the emotion in his voice, making the song a deep and soulful listen. Lana Del Rey sings along blissfully on “Stargirl Interlude.” Her sad voice dives into a higher pitch and blends in harmoniously with The Weeknd’s verse. With high pitch electric guitar riffs in the background,“Sidewalks,” featuring Kendrick Lamar and Sam Smith is the highlight of the album. The Weeknd voices how the streets made him who he is. I must “say say say,” Kendrick and The Weeknd make a killer duo on this one. Starboy is exactly what you would expect and hope from The Weeknd.

Trial Track: “Sidewalks” featuring Kendrick Lamar & Sam Smith

8.5/10

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