The Weeknd gives his first-ever interview to Complex (cover story no less – dope!). Thought maybe they’d touch on Jeremy Rose and his Vice interview (which I totally forgot to post when it came out so here’s the link) but guess not. Kiss Land on tha way…

The Weeknd has always let his music do the talking—dark, debauched mixtapes that changed the sound of modern R&B and profoundly influenced Drake’s sophomore album, Take Care. Now, As Abel Tesfaye prepares his debut album, Kiss Land, he’s speaking out for the first time. Listen up.

The Weeknd wants to be a star. Perhaps he’s given you another impression—because he’s never done an interview (until now) and he rarely poses for photos. But the 23-year-old singer, songwriter, and producer, born Abel Tesfaye in Scarborough, Ontario, doesn’t plan to languish in obscurity. Nor will he be one of those indie artists who wields tremendous influence but whose names are only known by “purists.” Fuck that.

The Weeknd’s plans are just as big, or bigger than, those of his peers and idols. But in order to accomplish them he must first master the art of stardom. Part of which means opening up to the media. The other parts—great music and live shows—he’s already got a handle on. His smoky, 3 a.m.-after-party-in-my-hotel-room debut, House of Balloons (released March 21, 2011), had fans and critics hailing him as one of R&B’s new torchbearers. The music caught the attention of another Canadian star by the name of Drake, who shared some of The Weeknd’s songs on his blog, invited him to perform on the first two OVO Fests, and enlisted the second-generation Ethiopian to work on his Grammy-winning sophomore album, Take Care.

The Weeknd closed out 2011 with two more stellar offerings via free download—Thursday and Echoes of Silence. He collected these, along with Balloons, as a three-disc album titled Trilogy after signing a joint venture deal with Universal Republic (not through OVO) in September 2012. Even though all three albums were available for free, Trilogy managed to move more than 300,000 copies.

The next test for The Weeknd will be his major label debut, Kiss Land. If the other three albums described life for a young man on the cusp of success, Kiss Land represents the thrill—and the horror—of tasting and savoring stardom.

Tesfaye knows the world is waiting to see if he can deliver a project anywhere near as good as his first ones. That’s why he’s been taking his time with the recording, honing in on the strengths and weaknesses of his past work. In his L.A. studio session there are no girls with their noses on his keyboard, no pills or weed scattered about—just The Weeknd in full go-mode, sipping Cabernet, perfecting drums and vocals. The next night, at the hotel restaurant where he and his XO crew are staying, he’s a little less at ease, but ready to speak his piece.

Why haven’t you done an interview until now?
I felt like I had nothing to say. I still feel I have nothing to say. I’m the most boring person to talk to.

So why now? Is your label pushing you to do press for the album?
No, labels always push. I mean, Trilogy was a rerelease, but they still said, “Maybe you should do some interviews.” Honestly, I want to do interviews now because it’s one thing that I haven’t mastered. Even Prince did interviews. Michael did interviews. And I can tell in the interviews they’re uncomfortable. Why are they doing this? Because they feel like they have to do it to be a complete artist. I felt like this was my time. And maybe I wouldn’t have done it if I thought you were an asshole. I probably would have been like, “Fuck this guy.”

Is the air of mystery intentional?
Yes and no. In the beginning, I was very insecure. I hated how I looked in pictures. I just fucking hated this shit, like, crop me out of this picture right now. I was very camera shy. People like hot girls, so I put my music to hot girls and it just became a trend. The whole “enigmatic artist” thing, I just ran with it. No one could find pictures of me. It reminded me of some villain shit. But you can’t escape the Internet. There are super fans, and I was really testing their patience. At the end of the day you can’t deny the music. That was my whole thing: I’m going to let the music speak for itself. I’ll show them that this is what I do. But I’m very good at letting shit slide. If I wasn’t…

READ FULL INTERVIEW HERE

Previous: NEW VIDEO: THE WEEKND “KISSLAND”

Poppa D chops it up with Huffy.

When MuchMusic compiled its Top 200 videos of 2012 list, sitting rather unobtrusively at number 77 was gloom-rapper D-Sisive’s “Don’t Turn The Lights Out” feat. Neverending White Lights.

Seventy-seventh isn’t exactly viral sensation territory, but it was a clear victory for the man born Derek Christoff. See, a white-rapping thirtysomething “middle class fat kid in glasses” — his words — doesn’t usually get these kind of mainstream breaks. Even one whose resume includes Juno and Polaris Prize nominations, endorsements from the likes of Tom Waits and stages shared with some of the biggest names in rap throughout the years.

For his part, D-Sisive is only now beginning to understand how come the RT-directed video, which features a comely young couple on the run in a dangerous, vaguely “No Country For Old Men”-style adventure, could score some modified success.

“I don’t know,” D-Sisive tells HuffPost Canada Music when asked why that particular song, a throw-in bonus track for the deluxe edition of his 2011 album “Run With The Creeps” became a hit. “To be honest, it’s a mystery to me and it’s something I’m trying figure out and the more I investigate the more confused I become. Maybe it’s because it’s the one time I’m just not walking in a cemetery. Because television likes to embrace things that aren’t in cemeteries.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

Previous: NEW VIDEO: THE ANTIHEROES FEAT. D-SISIVE “BLOW UP” (DIRECTED BY EVAN CINIELLO & ABDUL MALIK)

More WondaGurl love! We could do this all day.

Ebony Oshunrinde, a 16-year old Canadian-Nigerian girl, known as WondaGurl, has been listed in the credits for Jay-Zs new album, Magna Carta Holy Grail.

Ebony, who resides in Brampton, southern Ontario, was credited for the track ‘Crown’.

“It’s a really good feeling. I want to show young people that they can do it. Anybody can be successful. It doesn’t matter where you’re from” the elated beat maker expressed her delight on being featured by one of the greatest rapper in the world.

The teenage self-taught producer is reported to have started making her own beats after watching a video showing Jay-Z and mega producer Timbaland working in the studio together on the album.

“It inspired me and I wanted to do the exact same thing that he did,” she said.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

Previous: VIDEO: WONDAGURL INTERVIEW W/ MUCHMUSIC

And another one for WondaGurl! Can’t seem to embed so just click below to get to the video.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH INTERVIEW

Previous: VIDEO: WONDAGURL FEATURE W/ THE CBC

Exclaim.ca chops it up with the homie Tona. Silverspring Crescent available now. Chyea!

Tona On Rap, Race and Scarborough’s Legacy.

By Luke Fox

The artist formerly known as Daetona has come a long way from spitting in a Kris Kross-styled kiddie rap crew in Toronto’s Chester Le housing projects, or from the battle rapper who slaughtered us with punch lines of a looped telephone dial tone. Soon after he nearly quit the rap game entirely, Tona hit the studio with fellow Toronto stalwart Rich Kidd and cranked out his most versatile work to date. Silverspring Crescent is the sound of an MC flexing his conceptual and sonic range. Over Long Island iced teas on the eve of his album release, Tona details his growth as an artist, his epic (rigged?) cross-town battle with Blake Carrington, and what the hell it means to “Jay Electronica a hoe.” Scarborough, stand up.

Why go with just one producer, Rich Kidd, for Silverspring Crescent?
The chemistry works. I’ve been working with Rich Kidd for a very long time. He has so many different directions he can take his sound, and it sounds so polished. He’s one of the best producers, period, not even talking Canada. His sounds fits my format so well, we started clicking. There’s not many people that would’ve selected half the joints I choose to rhyme over onSilverspring Crescent. But those are the ones I’m drawn to. And he’s consistent with his shit. As long as dudes like Rich Kidd and others are elevating their game to that level, I’ll always be able to put out quality music.

What is the working relationship like?
Now that he’s getting his artistry together, he doesn’t have as much time as he used to. He’s always been an artist as long as I’ve known him, but now, due to schedules clashing, he might send me a batch of joints and I’ll send them back to him. He’ll add to it, finish it up and we’ll put it out. That’s the way it’s been working lately.

Any worry that, since he raps as well, he might hog the best beats for his own project?
If I were him, I’d be doing that. I wouldn’t give rappers my best shit. [Laughs] But all of his shit sounds crazy, so how can you separate?

Does he ever give you guidance on the vocals?
You know what happens? He’ll give his ideas through beat titles; they’ll already have a concept sometimes. Especially with Silverspring Crescent, he’ll name the beat something crazy like, “She Can Get It,” and the way the beat moves, sometimes the title is perfect — this is what I’m-a call the track. That’s not a formula I’d recommend for anybody, but it works for me.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

Previous: NEW ALBUM: TONA “SILVERSPRING CRESCENT” (PROD. RICH KIDD)

And another well-deserved feature on WondaGurl and her placement on the Jay-Z album. Now if only we could get our national media to start caring about our talent BEFORE they get the big co-sign. Imagine what a world that would be…

Brampton high schooler contributes to new Jay-Z album.

As a 9-year-old, Ebony Oshunrinde used to watch YouTube videos in her Mississauga bedroom of her favourite hip hop artists – Timbaland and Jay-Z – working in their studios.

This week, one of those heroes – Jay-Z – became a collaborator, after a beat produced by the now-16-year-old Ebony was included in the rapper’s new record.

“I listened to it last night in the studio, and I honestly felt like crying,” Ebony said in an interview. “It was a big moment in my life.”

And though the track, titled “Crown,” is earning Ebony attention from music industry heavy-hitters, Jay-Z and his high-flying rapper lifestyle is still worlds away from the teenager’s life in Brampton, where she now lives and has just finished grade 11.

Raised by her travel-agent mother, Ebony taught herself as a 9-year-old how to produce music by watching instructional videos off of YouTube.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

Previous: INTERVIEW: WONDAGURL W/ THE TORONTO STAR

Love this. CONGRATS!

Jay-Z credits Brampton teen WondaGurl on new album.

Brampton’s Ebony Oshunrinde, 16, created a beat used on “Crown,” a track on Jay-Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail.

In the hip hop world, she’s WondaGurl, a budding producerwho created a beat that appears on Magna Carta Holy Grail , Jay-Z’s new album.

At home, in Brampton, she’s Ebony Oshunrinde, a 16-year-old who does her homework before heading to a computer to make beats.

One of those beats has scored her a production credit on “Crown,” a track on the long-awaited new Jay-Z album that was released digitally to a million customers via a free Samsung app beginning Thursday at 12:01 a.m.

“It’s a really good feeling. I want to show young people that they can do it,” said Oshunrinde, who just finished Grade 11 at Chinguacousy Secondary School .

“Anybody can be successful. It doesn’t matter where you’re from.”