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The Weeknd After Hours: How The Drugs Created A Sound
“I’ve been dodging death in the six-speed, Amphetamine got my stomach feeling sickly…”
Ever since early 2012, I have been a die-hard Weeknd fan. Still to this day, songs like, “The Morning” and “The Party and The After Party” are constant additions to many of my playlists. The original mixtape, House of Balloons, has been the greatest influence on many of my bad decisions.
When the Weeknd originally dropped the three mixtapes that would upstart his career, Trilogy, he upset the monotony of R&B at the time. He defined a sub-genre that would lead to alternative R&B. A sub-genre that some can argue for better or worse, has been a main scape of R&B since the release of Trilogy, works by PartyNextDoor, and Bryson Tiller’s Trapsoul. What makes this style of Alternative R&B (Alt R&B) so great is the sound. While many may believe that is due to the airy, spacy vibe that plays throughout the instrumental of many songs of this era, I bear to disagree. In my opinion, the true star of this sound is drugs.
Yes, I said it. Drugs.
Something so simple has created and birth much of the music that we listen to today. While it…
