The Weeknd is back with his newest studio album- Starboy. According to the Hip Hop website Rap Genius, the term “Star-boy” has Jamaican roots, and means a man who is viewed as the coolest amongst his crew. Our favorite “Low Lifer” serenades his fans in an 18-track project that portrays the experiences of a boy star, who is juggling the pressures of fame. Again, The Weeknd rhythmically crafts the themes of sex, love, drugs and money into songs that provoke distinct emotions within in his listeners.
The album begins with the radio hit, and album referencing song, Starboy- featuring Daft Punk- who has two of the four features on the project. In the opening song, it seems as if The Weeknd is bragging about the lavish life of the famous with lines like, “House so empty need a centerpiece, 20 racks a table cut from ebony.” While the song boasts about the extravagance of the rich it also employs that there’s really no happiness within it, “We don’t pray for love, we just pray for cars.”
The Weeknd wouldn’t be The Weeknd without a heart-wrenching ballad. That song on the album is Die For You. The song depicts two lovers experiencing issues in their relationship. The speaker is trying to find the words to decipher the love he has for his lover. That lyric, “I would die for you, I would lie for you, keep it real with you, I would kill for you, my baby,” are the words he finally finds to explain his love. The song may depict a hard time in a relationship, but who doesn’t experience those? It definitely gives you hope that there is love strong enough out there.
Abel also wouldn’t be the artist he is without a bomb feature from one of rap’s heavy hitters. This go around it was Kendrick Lamar on track nine entitle Sidewalks. Sidewalks is an ode for the struggles of being poor and the segue into fame. Metaphorically, the sidewalk is the path both Kendrick and Abel took, the trials and tribulations they had to endure for the fame. Kendrick’s lyrics, “I come from murder one brung late night melee,” and “how to segue, pussy, power, profit and headache,” explains where he came from in the streets of Compton to the life where pussy is power.
The Weeknd and Future team up again on Starboy with the sexy hit, Six Feet Under. The song describes a young woman entrenched in the love of money, “You know how she get down, poppin’ for a check now.” This infamous doppelgänger is what some women have resorted to for a come up. The ideal is being popularized as what the new age, independent woman is: someone who has to give up on love and pursues money and fame, no matter the consequences. Despite the deeper meaning the song, it has the potential to be a club hit, like Low Life another anthem by Future and The Weeknd.
Collectively Starboy is an ode to the life of the rich and famous. The highs, the lows and the pressures of what being “on,” bring someone. Abel combines his notorious sincerity and emotion onto his latest project. If you’re looking for chill vibes during study sessions, or even late night jam sessions, go stream Starboy on Apple Music and Spotify for free today.