For the uninitiated (pun intended), The Weeknd is a musician from Toronto, Canada whose dark, hipster-friendly, drug-ridden brand of R&B has turned the genre -- and music in general -- on its head in the past year or so. Beloved by the Internet, The Weeknd, aka Abel Tesfaye, released his first mixtape entitled 'House of Balloons' in 2011. The mixtape exploded on the indie scene, gaining rave reviews from such reputable voices in (hipster) music journalism as Pitchfork's Joe Colly, who compared him to the likes of now-iconic duo The XX.
It's been an up and down journey for Tesfaye since, who has released two more mixtapes and most recently, a collection of the three aptly titled 'Trilogy,' his first release as a Universal Records-signed artist, paired up with voice of Generation Y and fellow Torontonian Drake and had a rumored falling out with the rapper all within the last year. As well, countless blogs, infographics and other Internet-y things have been released relating to The Weeknd and his mysterious brand of fame.
- Gen Alpha
- Gen X
- Gen Z (primary audience)
- Millennial (primary audience)
