DAY EIGHT: "I ain't lyin' to nobody but me. And you. And me. But you especially..."

The above song is the first track on R&B singer The Weeknd's first official mixtape, House Of Balloons. The song is as aesthetically pleasing as it is lyrically genius. A good amount of music is based on the assumption that the listener will be stoned. With the words of this song, The Weeknd did not make an assumption, but rather a suggestion: You want to be high for this.

Nearly all nine tracks on the mixtape scream, or rather passionately lull, sex. On "What You Need" The Weeknd puts a sensual twist on the familiar you-should-be-with-me type of song as he sings: "I'm the drug in your veins, just fight through the pain/ He's what you want, I'm what you need."

His second mixtape, Thursday, is much more subdued than the first. It is highlighted by the only cameo on either mixtape- rapper/singer/actor Drake on the song "The Zone." I am not a huge fan of Drake. I am actually not a fan at all. But his flow on "The Zone" matches the mood perfectly. His monotone rapping impeccably complements the crooning of The Weeknd, who at times sounds like an over-sexed Michael Jackson.

The real man behind the microphone is Abel Tesfaye. Or so that is the rumor. Nobody knows much about this incredible singer. When House Of Balloons was made available for download on March 21st of this year, many questions ensued. Mainly "Who the hell is this guy?" The answer is still not completely known. Tesfaye (if that is even his real name) has attempted to keep his identity a secret and has gained popularity in a fashion similar to that of the mysterious boy in high school that attracts girls with a mystifying, intriguing aura. 

Drake has since stated that Tesfaye is not yet signed to a record label and still lives in Toronto. Drake claims that Tesfaye has never even left the city and has never been on a plane though Twitter reveals that he recently traveled to Costa Rica and was impressed by the Costa Rican McDonalds' serving fried chicken and offering free delivery.

The unknown nature of The Weeknd had originally led me to a hypothesis. Since all of his beats, vocals, lyrics, and command of mood are so perfect, I concluded that he was not a person but rather a computer program. Many of his instrumentals feature noises that sound so artificial and computer generated that I thought the vocals may be fake as well. "This is too flawless, there is no way an actual living being could be singing" is what was going through my head when I heard songs like "Coming Down" and "Lonely Star" (which is the opening track on Thursday).

Obviously, I was wrong. But at times I still wonder how The Weeknd can be so good at such a young age (he is twenty-one) with such a small library of finished projects (his two official mixtapes combine for eighteen brilliant songs). All of his music is available online only, likely because a hard copy of his product would be too drenched in sex.

I believe his Mona Lisa to be the song "Wicked Games." The song is exceptional in every aspect and validates The Weeknd as perhaps the most enthralling artist to watch from this point forward.