Check out my thoughts below

When I talk about The Weeknd, I already feel proud. He came from Toronto. He comes from my city. What The Weeknd did in 2011 needs to be recognized. The Weeknd uploaded three songs on Youtube before he dropped the House Of Balloons mixtape. This was Loft Music, What You Need and The Morning. 3 months later, the world would know his name. The mystery surrounding him was incredible, you wanted to know who he was, what he looked like. It was a crazy time.

You heard this song and you heard the House Of Balloons mixtape and you thought, where did this come from? This tape on its own is a game changer. Drake was co-singing him at this point, but his music was creating the buzz. His voice was creating the buzz. Toronto had Drake, now Toronto had Drake and The Weeknd. 2011 was special.

The Weeknd dropped another mixtape called Thursday. All of this was free. At this point, The Weeknd had given away 18 tracks through both tapes. There was even a Drake feature. Drake dropped Thank Me Later in July of 2010. The Weeknd was the sound in Toronto all throughout 2011. The Weeknd would then give us another tape. An artist of his caliber at this point could have clearly charged for these tapes, but he didn’t. He built a huge following and then gave us the last part of the trilogy.

The Weeknd had given us 27 songs through three mixtapes in a span of 9 months. All of this free. People would think of this as being crazy. How can you make money this way? Why didn’t you try to make money? For The Weeknd, It wasn’t about the money. That’s why he protected his privacy until he had to show face. It was about the music for him. This method worked wonders for him. His sound would go on to influence Drake’s Take Care. Take Care would go on to win the grammy for the best rap album.

The Weeknd changed the way you enter the music game in 2011. He believed in his music and it worked out for him. Take Care was highly influenced by his sound; however, I’m not knocking Drake. Drake’s stories and verses were incredible regardless of the influence. At the base of it all, It was two Toronto artists helping each other in 2011. You can’t ask for anything better being from Toronto. 2011 was a special year for music for Toronto. Drake would go on to win the city a grammy through Take Care. The Weeknd emerged as another talent from Toronto. 2011 was truly a special year in music for Toronto.

MY MOTTO IS: IF YOU WANNA WIN THE LOTTERY, YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE MONEY TO BUY A TICKET!

From The 6ix,With Love

Thank You For Reading

Sincerely, Kid From The 6ix

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