NEWS
The Weeknd
Courtesy of Republic RecordsThe Weeknd has announced that his new album, Dawn FM, will be released on Friday (Jan. 7).
The once-underground R&B singer-songwriter, born Abel Tesfaye, took to social media on Monday to share the news of his forthcoming release. “New album : dawn FM // january 7th,” he captioned a cryptic video teaser with snippets of new music.
Billed as “A new sonic universe from the mind of The Weeknd,” Dawn FM will feature collaborations in some form with Quincy Jones, Tyler, the Creator, Lil Wayne, Oneohtrix Point Never and actor Jim Carrey. Further details about the guests were not provided.
The moody minute-long trailer begins with what appears to be The Weeknd crashing an automobile and being carried away by mysterious hooded figures. From there, viewers see a much older version of the singer looking around in confusion, followed by a stunning image of a blue light shooting out from his head. The clip closes with a radio DJ announcing, “You are now listening to 103.5: Dawn FM. You’ve been in the dark for way too long, it’s time to walk into the light and accept your fate with open arms.”
Dawn FM is the follow-up to The Weeknd’s fourth album, After Hours, which debuted atop the Billboard 200 in March 2020. The set featured the record-breaking single “Blinding Lights,” which recently became the top Billboard Hot 100 song of all time, surpassing Chubby Checker‘s “The Twist.”
The Weeknd — who was named Billboard‘s No. 5 Greatest Pop Star of 2021 — has been keeping busy with his musical endeavors as of late. In August, he gave a first taste of his next album with the disco-infused “Take My Breath.” Since then, he’s shared team-ups with Rosalía (“La Fama”), Post Malone (“One Right Now”), FKA Twigs (“Tears in the Club”) and Aaliyah (“Poison”).
During an October episode of his Apple Music 1 radio show Memento Mori, The Weeknd revealed that his forthcoming album was finished. “Only thing that’s missing is a couple of characters who are key to the narrative — some people that are near and dear to me, some people that inspired my life as a child and some that inspire me now,” the artist teased.
Watch the trailer for The Weeknd’s Dawn FM below.
NEWS
There is no question that Clipse’s Let God Sort Em Out made a serious impact and continues to hold weight. The project showed that hip hop is not limited by age and proved that a long-awaited return can still land in a major way regardless of the time away.
If you need a reminder, the Virginia duo’s fourth studio album debuted comfortably within the top five of the Hot 200. It secured the number four position and moved an impressive 118,000 units in its first week.
On top of that, it picked up a win at this year’s Grammys, earning Best Rap Performance for “Chains & Whips.” The album also received four additional nominations, including Best Music Video, Rap Album, and Album of the Year.
It is hard to believe the project will officially hit its one year mark this summer on July 11. Even so, Pusha T is making it clear that both supporters and critics should not be overlooking it anytime soon.
While performing at Coachella yesterday, King Push told the crowd that LGSEO still sits at the top, regardless of genre.
He said, “‘Let God Sort Em Out’ is still the album of the motherfckin year. Whole new year, still album of the year,” per Kurrco. “Album of the motherfcking year until we drop again. We don't care who dropping. It don't matter.”
That is a strong statement for obvious reasons, especially considering the recent claims surrounding Push himself.
Over the same weekend, hip hop social media lit up after several alleged reference tracks connected to Quentin Miller and Push began circulating. Three tracks surfaced in total, but one that drew the most attention was an alleged record titled “Real Gon’ Come.” It is said to come from the DAYTONA era, around 2017 to 2018.
The situation gained traction because fans remember the past tension between Drake and Pusha T before Drake’s clash with Kendrick Lamar. During that feud, Pusha accused Drake of using ghostwriters on tracks like “Infrared,” which appears on DAYTONA. On that song, he raps, “The bigger question is how the Russians did it /
It was written like Nas, but it came from Quentin.”
Reactions have been mixed. Some people argue it is not a major issue since Miller’s alleged contributions were limited to hooks. Others point out that the songs were never officially released, so they see no real problem. Meanwhile, critics view it as clear hypocrisy on Pusha T’s part, a perspective that DJ Akademiks has also supported.
