#TBT: The Weeknd's Mixtape Cuts

In 2011, The Weeknd released a trio of mixtapes that would eventually become known as The Trilogy. Arriving at the same time as electronic music was starting to really blow up in America, the dense, thick, dubby, druggy sound was a huge hit in the underground, and it didn't take long for the mainstream to catch on.

It was during this time that The Weeknd was also still largely anonymous. He hadn't come close to the pop star status he is given now, and instead was retreating in the shadows where he made his moody music. It wasn't until Drake came along that the rest of the world really started to pay attention, and we all know where his status is now.

Fifty Shades of Grey theme songs and features with Ariana Grande may have made The Weeknd a household name, but it was these early tapes that lifted him up initially. Today, we're throwing it back to The Weeknd's 2011 mixtape cuts off House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence.

It wouldn't really feel right to exclude The Weeknd song many of his fans heard first. "High For This" not only introduced Abel to the world, but it also worked as a prerequisite for his music: you'll want to be high for this. 

This two-part track proved that The Weeknd's sleezy R&B had room for a flow too. Although we haven't heard hit spit too much since, Abel came correct with these bars:

"'I heard he do drugs now'
You heard wrong, I been on it for a minute
We just never act a fool
That's just how we fuckin' livin
And when we act a fool
It's probably cause we mixed it
Yeah I'm always on that okey dokey
Them white boys know the deal
Ain't no fuckin' phony
Big O know the deal
He the one who showed me
Watch me ride this fucking beat
Like he fuckin' told me
"Is that your girl, what's her fucking story?"
"She kinda bad but she ride it like a fucking pony"
I cut down on her man
Be her fuckin' story
Yeah I'm talking 'bout you man
Get to know me
Ain't no offense though
I promise you
If you a real man, dude, you gon' decide the truth
But I'm a nice dude with some nice dreams
And we could turn this to a nightmare: Elm Street"

It's no wonder that Drake was so turned on by The Weeknd's music. The half-singing-half-rapping combo and eerie beats influenced a great bit of Take Care, and you can really tell when listening to cuts like "Loft Music."

And just like that one of the biggest rappers in the game appeared on The Weeknd's second mixtape, Thursday. The ambient track could be considered a deep cut from Drake or an early classic from The Weeknd. At any rate, it's awesome.

This is one that you'd probably never hear these days. Over some dub reggae, The Weeknd proves that he can compliment any style of music.

The title track off Thursday was some more of that early morning music that put The Weeknd on.  

It isn't easy to conquer a 7-minute track, but The Weeknd can do it. It appealed to lots of teenagers and college kids with lines like, "Waken up with most of ya' side wet/Another room, you hear your mom cryin'/Cause she found your bag stuffed in the laundry/And the Bacardi from the last party."

With "Initiation," The Weeknd's voice fluctuates between low and high pitches, sort of like a roller coaster of drug experimentation over the course of a 12-hour night. 

Any time you come up, there's going to be a fall. Abel experiences his with this cut.

Aside from the "feature" from Juicy J, "Same Old Song" is killer. Some more of that alternative soul music for your weekend.