What's New(s)?

The Weeknd opens for Justin Timberlake

The lecherous persona the Weeknd's Abel Tesfaye wed in hell with noxious, churning samples couldn't be further removed from the committed, sugary-sweet R&B epics Justin Timberlake crafted on the double-sided 20/20 Experience. However, starting this Wednesday the Toronto-native will be joining Timberlake on his massive 20/20 Experience tour. Tesfaye will be playing opener in six cities before jetting over to Europe in the early Spring of 2014 to join Drake on his "Would You Like A Tour" run. Tickets for most of the shows have been snatched up, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy the Weeknd's partnering with Drake on the anthemic "Live For" below.

Nicki Minaj responds to Kendrick Lamar's "Control"

"Kendrick, Jigga, and Nas, Eminem, Andre 3000, the rest of y'all". In the midst of his world-conquering "Control" verse, Kendrick Lamar seemed to have forgotten the "Monster" that is Nicki Minaj, discarding her into the unnamed "rest of y'all" category. Over the weekend, Minaj appeared on NYC's Power 105.1, where amidst a host of topics she discussed her noticeable absence from the list of hip-hop royalty.

"I'm probably in the top five mother f****rs he did mention, so go and do your mother-f***in' research," Minaj asserted. "But I also feel like he's maybe one of those respectful gentlemen that probably felt like, 'I don't want to say a female's name." To stake a further claim for the throne, Minaj proclaimed her royal-status "I'm the queen of New York, I'm the king of New York. Let me tell you why. Platinum albums...number one in five mother-f***in countries," Minaj heralded. Go below for the amazing clip, and head here for Minaj's ferocious guest spot on Ciara's "I'm Out."

Yoko Ono debuts star-studded "Bad Dancer" video

If you thought it'd never be possible to merge the disparate worlds of the Roots, Deerhoof, Reggie Watts, "This American Life" host Ira Glass, and the Beastie Boys together you were completely sleeping on Yoko Ono's musical largesse. 

Following her Letterman performance last month with psychedelic pranksters the Flaming Lips, Ono has released a video for the infectious electronic-bounce of "Bad Dancer" featuring the aforementioned stars and more. In it Ono creates a new painting, while two-stepping with a revolving door of celeb dancers. Highlights include ?uestlove's endearingly goofy turns, Mike D and Ad-Rock moving with the energy of their 80s selves, and Comedy Bang Bang's Reggie Watts appearing in a sequined cape to dance like the calculate madman CBB fans know him to be. Getting all of these people under one roof may have seemed like a Herculean task, but as Ono says in the song "never say never".

Check back in tomorrow for more of the newest in new(s).

"Live For" ft. Drake- The Weeknd

"If they can watch me f*** it up all in one night," Abel Tesfaye aka the Weekend croons over a soft bed of delicate strings. Since word one, we've been hearing the Weeknd do just that; engaging in some of the most stomach-churning voyeurism of the decade. We watch helpless while copious bottles and pills are popped, and meaningful relationships are cashed in for the next best thing. It hasn't been just one night, but countless drug addled ones, a steadily emptying bottle of "Henny," the only reliable measurement of the time. 

New single "Live For" finds the Weeknd on the verge of losing control once more, "spending whatever come in," and "living dreams we can never afford". The disparity between Tesfaye's words creates a chasm between the twin peaks of egoism and self-deflation. He manages the improbable task of sounding like the lonely guy in the corner and the life-of-the-party all at once. Drake drops in to assess the situation, "seriously questioning all of y'all." His beef-squashing verse moves through s***-talking and self-doubt with aplomb, only fueling the paradoxical fire Tesfaye sparked in his verse. What you live for can be the same thing that burns you.


Kiss Land is out 9/10 via Republic. 

"Kiss Land"- The Weeknd

"This ain't nothing to relate to," Abel Tesfaye croons in a still charmingly boyish voice on "Kiss Land," the title-track to the forthcoming album. Few sentiments uttered by any artist from any genre this year have been as apt or as pitch-perfect as that line. The dark, insular world Tesfaye creates as The Weeknd is hardly relatable, and even less welcoming. During the course of any torrid night in The Weeknd's world: drugs are consumed at a dizzying pace, sex is stripped of any love (becoming a by-product of lust), and Tesfaye's paradigmatic lothario plays host to the most hedonistic party in the neighborhood. In short, Tesfaye's songs evince a waking nightmare that are concerned more with capturing a mood than they are with conveying any sort of truth.

That dynamic is gently upended by a few lines in "Kiss Land" particularly when Tesfaye documents "I went from starin' at the same four walls for 21 years, to seeing the whole world in just 12 months," but honesty has never been his bag, and soon he's off concocting his own wicked elixir of Adderall and alcohol. The music is still coated in the same narcotic industrial R&B haze that made the 2011 trilogy hypnotic and disembodied background vocals ensure this one will haunt your dreams for a while. 

All of that serves as an overloaded appetizer for the main-course that is the NSFW music video. Tesfaye's entire video oeuvre so-far can rightly be summed up as: barely masked sex, slowly crumbling relationships, and yes strippers. But all of that pales in comparison to "Kiss Land"s treatment of group sex-scenes that ostensibly take place in Japan and have to be seen to be believed. The naughty bits are all blurred out, but that doesn't make the video anymore endurable, nor do the quick shots of anime cats that taunt the viewer with a promise of innocence that never comes. Perhaps the most disturbing thing of all is Tesfaye who matter-of-factly provides the skin-crawling details. As destructive as the storm can be, it's often the calm you should be wary of and "Kiss Land" perfectly forecasts that malevolent calm. 

As of now, Kiss Land has no official release date, but as soon as more info drops you'll hear about it here. 

genius is not inherent, but it is developed through ten thousand hours of perfecting your craft - See more at: http://reesenews.org/2011/02/23/critics-corner-reviews-676-lil-b-tracks/10898/#sthash.UmJX1w0H.dpuf

genius is not inherent, but it is developed through ten thousand hours of perfecting your craft - See more at: http://reesenews.org/2011/02/23/critics-corner-reviews-676-lil-b-tracks/10898/#sthash.UmJX1w0H.dpuf