40
Background information
Birth name	Noah Shebib
Born	w (1983-03-31) March 31, 1983 (age 29) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Origin	Beirut, Lebanon
Genres	Hip hop, R&B
Occupations	Record producer, actor
Years active	1994–present
Labels	Hip Hop Since 1978/October's Very Own
Associated acts	Drake, Lil Wayne, Boi1da, Sade, Alicia Keys, Jay-Z.

Noah Shebib, (born on March 31, 1983) better known as 40, is a Canadian hip-hop producer from Toronto, Ontario. He is currently signed to Hip Hop Since 1978,^[1] a management and production company. In addition to a strong affiliation with Young Money Entertainment, Shebib has produced for artists such as Drake, Lil Wayne, and Alicia Keys. He has played a significant role in Canadian rapper/singer Drake's success in the music industry, and is one of his best friends. He supposedly adds his "last touches" to every single Drake song and does an extremely detailed review to make sure every detail is up to his expectations.^{[citation needed]} He is known for his downtempo, ambient style of production.

Acting[link]

Shebib began his career as a child actor. He made appearances in many TV shows and films such as the Gemini Award-winning series Wind at My Back, Goosebumps, and The Virgin Suicides.^[2]

Music career[link]

Early in Noah's career before he started crafting beats, he DJ'd under the name DJ Decibel and performed alongside MC Elite (Everett MacLean). Shebib eventually made the shift from DJ to music producer, working with local Toronto artists like Empire, Knamelis, Christopher Morales, and Saukrates. He began working with then Degrassi star Aubrey Graham (Drake) in 2005. He was shown producing with Drake on Degrassi Unscripted. Shebib's big break came in 2009, when he executive produced Drake's mixtape So Far Gone with Toronto-based producer, Boi1da. He mixed and engineered every song, including the hit song "Successful", which he also produced. Shebib also produced the song "Single" from Lil Wayne's No Ceilings mixtape and "Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)" for singer [Alicia Keys].

Personal life[link]

Shebib was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when he was 22.^[3] He is close friends with Drake. Noah Shebib's last name is Lebanese. ^[4]

Discography[link]

Noah "40" Shebib discography

References[link]

By: Adeel Sumbal

Noah
Noah's sacrifice by Daniel Maclise
Antediluvian Patriarch, Prophet, Holy Forefather, Constructor of the Ark, 'Grateful Servant of God', 'Preacher of Righteousness'
Born	Mesopotamia (?)
Honored in	Judaism Christianity Islam Mandaeism Baha'i Faith
Influenced	Many Jews, Christians and Muslims

Noah ( /ˈnoʊ.ə/^[1]; or Noé, Noach; Hebrew: נֹחַ,‎ נוֹחַ, Modern Noaẖ Tiberian Nōăḥ; Arabic: نُوح‎ Nūḥ; Ancient Greek: Νῶε) was the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The story of Noah and the ark is told in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, which is followed by the story of the Curse of Ham. Outside Genesis his name is mentioned in Ezekiel, Isaiah and Chronicles. He was the subject of much elaboration in later Abrahamic traditions, including the Qur'an.

Noah in Genesis[link]

Mosaic depiction of Noah sending the dove

Noah was the tenth of the pre-Flood Patriarchs. His father Lamech named him nûaḥ (the final ḥ is a more gutteral sound than the English h), saying, "This same shall comfort us in our work and in the toil of our hands, which cometh from the ground which the LORD hath cursed."^[2] This connects the future patriarch's name with nāḥam, "comfort", but it seems better related to the word nûaḥ, meaning "rest", and is more a play on words than a true etymology.^[3][4]

In his five hundredth year Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth. In his six hundredth year God, saddened at the wickedness of mankind, sent a great deluge to destroy all life, but because Noah was "righteous in his generation" God instructed him to build an ark and save a remnant of life. After the Flood Noah offered a sacrifice (the word nihoah, describing the "pleasant" odour of the sacrifice, is yet another pun on Noah's name) and entered into a covenant with God regulating the shedding of blood (i.e., mankind's permnission to kill under regulated circumstances).^[5] After this he became "the first tiller of the soil", planted a vineyard, and drank the wine, and fell asleep naked; Noah's son Ham saw his father naked and told his brothers, and Noah cursed Ham's son Canaan.^[6]

Noah died 350 years after the Flood, at the age of 950,^[7] the last of the immensely long-lived antediluvian Patriarchs. One of the longest human lifespans, as depicted by the Bible, diminishes rapidly thereafter, from almost 1,000 years to the 120 years of Moses. (The longest recorded lifespan was that of Methuselah, who lived to be 969 years old. – Gen. 5:27)

Origins[link]

According to the documentary hypothesis, the first five books of the Bible (Pentateuch/Torah), including Genesis, were collated during the 5th century BC from four main sources, which themselves date from no earlier than the 10th century BC. Two of these, the Jahwist, composed in the 10th century BC, and the Priestly source, from the late 7th century BC, make up the chapters of Genesis which concern Noah. The attempt by the 5th century editor to accommodate two independent and sometimes conflicting sources accounts for the confusion over such matters as how many pairs of animals Noah took, and how long the flood lasted.^[8][9]

Noah is described by three phrases: “a righteous man”, “blameless” and “walked with God”. He stands out from his contemporaries as a man of right conduct.^[10] who forewarned doom, by preaching.

In terms of Julius Wellhausen's critiquing, the story of Noah is categorized as an ethnological tradition that emerges from the conflict between Israel and Canaan. The passage “Canaan will serve Shem” reflects Israel’s conquest of the promised land.^[11]

According to Randall Bailey, the curse against Canaan was as a direct result of Ham performing a suspicious sexual act against his father, Noah. He suggests that the purpose for this redaction was to keep Israel from adopting sexual practices linked with Egypt and Canaan (Lev 18:3) and to demean the ancestor of Africans because Israelite custom regarded Africa as a standard of valuation.^[12]

According to Umberto Cassuto, Ham’s transgression is an allegory that represents the Canaanite people. The Canaanites were to suffer the curse not because of Ham’s sin, but because they acted like him by their own transgressions. The passage of Canaan serving Shem refers to the children of Canaan who served under Chedorlaomer, king of Elam,^{[Gen 14:4]} son of Shem.^[13]

A vineyard mosaic

Noah and wine[link]

Commentators, as early as the Classical era, on Genesis 9:20–21 have excused Noah’s excessive drinking because he was considered to be the first wine drinker, the first person to discover the soothing, consoling, and enlivening effects of wine.^[14] John Chrysostom, a church father, writes that Noah’s behaviour is defensible: as the first human to taste wine, he would not know its aftereffects: “Through ignorance and inexperience of the proper amount to drink, fell into a drunken stupor”.^[15]

Philo, a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher also exonerates Noah by noting that one can drink in two different manners: (1) to drink wine in excess, a peculiar sin to the vicious evil man or (2) to partake of wine as the wise man, Noah being the latter.^[16]

In Jewish tradition, Rabbis blame Satan for saturating the vine with intoxicating properties from the blood of certain animals, thus Noah behaved not knowing what he was doing.^[17]

Noah and Ham[link]

In the field of Psychological biblical criticism, J. H. Ellens and W. G. Rollins address the narrative of Genesis 9:18–27 that narrates the unconventional behavior that occurs between Noah and Ham. Because of its brevity and textual inconsistencies, it has been suggested that this narrative is a “splinter from a more substantial tale”.^[18][19] A fuller account would explain what exactly Ham “had done to” his father; or why Noah directed a curse at Canaan for Ham’s misdeed; or how Noah came to know what occurred. The narrator relates two facts: (1) Noah became inebriated when he “uncovered himself within his tent” and (2) Ham “saw his father’s nakedness.” Thus, these passages revolve around sexuality and the exposure of genitalia as compared with other Hebrew bible texts, such as Habakkuk 2:15 and Lamentations 4:21.^[20]

Religious views[link]

Jewish views[link]

A Jewish depiction of Noah

The righteousness of Noah is the subject of much discussion among the rabbis.^[21] The description of Noah as "righteous in his generation" implied to some that his perfection was only relative: In his generation of wicked people, he could be considered righteous, but in the generation of a tzadik like Abraham, he would not be considered so righteous. They point out that Noah did not pray to God on behalf of those about to be destroyed, as Abraham prayed for the wicked of Sodom and Gomorrah. In fact, Noah is never seen to speak; he simply listens to God and acts on his orders. This led such commentators to offer the figure of Noah as "the man in a fur coat," who ensured his own comfort while ignoring his neighbour. Others, such as the medieval commentator Rashi, held on the contrary that the building of the Ark was stretched over 120 years, deliberately in order to give sinners time to repent. Rashi interprets his father's statement of the naming of Noah (in Hebrew נֹחַ) “This one will comfort (in Hebrew– yeNaHamainu יְנַחֲמֵנו) from our work and our hands sore from the land that the Lord had cursed”,^[22] by saying Noah heralded a new era of prosperity, when there was easing (in Hebrew – nahah – נחה) from the curse from the time of Adam when the Earth produced thorns and thistles even where men sowed wheat and that Noah then introduced the plow.

Christian views[link]

An early Christian depiction showing Noah giving the gesture of orant as the dove returns

According to 2 Peter 2:5, Noah is considered a "preacher of righteousness". Of the Gospels in the New Testament, the Gospel of Luke compares Noah's Flood with the coming Day of Judgement: “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man.”^[23]

The First Epistle of Peter compares the saving power of baptism with the Ark saving those who were in it. In later Christian thought, the Ark came to be compared to the Church: salvation was to be found only within Christ and his Lordship, as in Noah's time it had been found only within the Ark. St Augustine of Hippo (354–430), demonstrated in The City of God that the dimensions of the Ark corresponded to the dimensions of the human body, which corresponds to the body of Christ; the equation of Ark and Church is still found in the Anglican rite of baptism, which asks God, "who of thy great mercy didst save Noah," to receive into the Church the infant about to be baptised.

In medieval Christianity, Noah's three sons were generally considered as the founders of the populations of the three known continents, Japheth/Europe, Shem/Asia, and Ham/Africa, although a rarer variation held that they represented the three classes of medieval society – the priests (Shem), the warriors (Japheth), and the peasants (Ham). In the 18th and 19th centuries the view that Ham's sons in general had been literally "blackened" by the curse of Noah was cited as justification for black slavery.^{[citation needed]}

In Latter-day Saint theology, the angel Gabriel lived in his mortal life as the patriarch Noah. Gabriel and Noah are regarded as the same individual; Noah being his mortal name and Gabriel being his heavenly name.^[24]

Islamic views[link]

An Islamic depiction of Noah

Noah is a highly important figure in Islam, and is seen as one of the most significant prophets of all. The Qur'an contains 43 references to Noah in 28 chapters and the seventy-first chapter, Chapter Noah, is named after him. Noah's narratives largely consist around his preaching as well the story of the Deluge. Noah's narrative lays the prototype for many of the subsequent prophetic stories, which begin with the prophet warning his people and then the community rejecting the message and facing a punishment. Noah is not the first prophet sent to mankind, according to the Quran (The first prophet according to Islam is Adam, who was the first man and thus the first prophet as he was the only one to deliver the message at that time). Noah has several titles in Islam, based primarily on praise for him in the Qur'an, including True Messenger of God (XXVI: 107) and Grateful Servant of God (XVII: 3). The Qur'an further states that God chose Adam, Noah, the family of Abraham and the family of Amram above all mankind (III: 33).

The Qur'an focuses on several instances from Noah's life more than others, and one of the most significant events is the Deluge. God makes a covenant with Noah just as with Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad later on (XXXIII: 7). Noah is later reviled by his people and reproached by them for being a mere human messenger and not an angel (X: 72-74). Moreover, the people of Noah mock Noah's words and call him a liar (VII: 62) and even suggest that Noah is possessed by a devil when the prophet ceases to preach (LIV: 9). Only the lowest in the community join Noah in believing in God's message (XI: 29), and Noah's narrative further describes him preaching both in private and public. The Qur'an narrates that Noah received a revelation to build an Ark, after his people refused to believe in his message and hear the warning. The narrative goes on to describe that waters poured forth from the Heavens, destroying all the sinners. After the Great Flood ceased, the Ark rested atop Mount Judi (Qur'an 11:44).

Gnostic views[link]

The tomb of Noah in the Nakhchivan area of the Azerbaijan Republic. The name Nakhchivan is believed to derive from the meaning "The place where Noah landed after the flood"

Gnosticism was an important development of (and departure from) early Christianity, blending Jewish scriptures and Christian teachings with traditional pagan religion and esoteric Greek philosophical concepts. An important Gnostic text, the Apocryphon of John, reports that the chief archon caused the flood because he desired to destroy the world he had made, but the First Thought informed Noah of the chief archon's plans, and Noah informed the remainder of humanity. Unlike the account of Genesis, not only are Noah's family saved, but many others also heed Noah's call. There is no ark in this account; instead Noah and the others hide in a "luminous cloud".

Baha'i views[link]

The Bahá'í Faith regards the Ark and the Flood as symbolic.^[25] In Bahá'í belief, only Noah's followers were spiritually alive, preserved in the ark of his teachings, as others were spiritually dead.^[26][27] The Bahá'í scripture Kitáb-i-Íqán endorses the Islamic belief that Noah had a large number of companions, either 40 or 72, besides his family on the Ark, and that he taught for 950 (symbolic) years before the flood.^[28]

Comparisons in other religions[link]

Noah's first burnt offering after the Flood – relief in Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc

Ancient Greek[link]

In Greek mythology, Noah has often been compared to Deucalion, the son of Prometheus and Pronoia. Like Noah, Deucalion is a wine maker or wine seller; he is forewarned of the flood (this time by Zeus and Poseidon); he builds an ark and staffs it with creatures – and when he completes his voyage, gives thanks and takes advice from the gods on how to repopulate the Earth. Deucalion also sends a pigeon to find out about the situation of the world and the bird return with an olive branch. This and some other examples of apparent comparison between Greek myths and the "key characters" in the Old Testament/Torah have led recent biblical scholars to suggest a Hellenistic influence in the composition of the earlier portions of the Hebrew Bible.^{[citation needed]}

Mesopotamian[link]

The earliest written flood myth is found in the Mesopotamian Epic of Atrahasis and Epic of Gilgamesh texts. Many scholars believe that Noah and the Biblical Flood story are derived from the Mesopotamian version, predominantly because Biblical mythology that is today found in Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Mandeanism shares overlapping consistency with far older written ancient Mesopotamian story of The Great Flood, and that the early Hebrews were known to have lived in Mesopotamia.^[29]

Gilgamesh’s historical reign is believed to have been approximately 2700 BCE,^[30] shortly before the earliest known written stories. The discovery of artifacts associated with Aga and Enmebaragesi of Kish, two other kings named in the stories, has lent credibility to the historical existence of Gilgamesh.^[31]

The earliest Sumerian Gilgamesh poems date from as early as the Third dynasty of Ur (2100–2000 BC).^[32] One of these poems mentions Gilgamesh’s journey to meet the flood hero, as well as a short version of the flood story.^[33] The earliest Akkadian versions of the unified epic are dated to ca. 2000–1500 BC.^[34] Due to the fragmentary nature of these Old Babylonian versions, it is unclear whether they included an expanded account of the flood myth; although one fragment definitely includes the story of Gilgamesh’s journey to meet Utnapishtim. The “standard” Akkadian version included a long version of the flood story and was edited by Sin-liqe-unninni sometime between 1300 and 1000 BC.^[35] In the Mesopotamian epics, Nu-Atrahasis (Utnapishtim) is glorified as a hero for his epic deeds of building and loading the ark, whereas Genesis simply says, “Noah did all that the LORD commanded him.” Obedience to God, not human courage, is the focus in the later Genesis narrative.^[36]

See also[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Noah

• Jewish Encyclopedia: Noah from the 1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia
• Catholic Encyclopedia: Noah
• MuslimWiki: Nuh

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (April 2008)

Dallas Austin (born December 29, 1970) is an American songwriter, record producer, and musician, based in Atlanta, Georgia. Some of his most notable clients include Michael Jackson, TLC, Boyz II Men, Pink, Monica, Madonna, Gwen Stefani, Stacie Orrico, Another Bad Creation, Fishbone, Sugababes, Anastacia, Namie Amuro, Kim Zolciak from the Real Housewives of Atlanta and McFly.

Career[link]

Austin was a member of Highland Place Mobsters on the influential hip hop label LaFace in the early 1990s before embarking on a career as a full-time producer. Highland Place Mobsters, a derivative of MCA Records 80's group "Glasswurk", contributed to the soundtracks for the movies White Men Can't Jump and Boomerang.^{[citation needed]}

As a producer and songwriter, Austin was first noticed in the mid 80's when his childhood manager, producer/drummer William "Vybe Chyle" Burke introduced him to Joyce Irby ('80s all-girl band Klymaxx) who signed him to Diva One Music. Since then Austin has crafted hits for LaFace and TLC (with which he won two Grammys for co-producing CrazySexyCool and FanMail), including the hit singles "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg", "What About Your Friends", "Creep", "Silly Ho" and "Unpretty". As a teenager, Irby took Austin to Sylvia Rhone, Motown head Jheryl Busby, L.A. Reid, and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, asking them to give him a shot as a producer. Other credits of Austin's include the number-two single "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" recorded by Blu Cantrell, "Don't Let Me Get Me" and "Just Like a Pill" by Pink, and the hit "Secret" by Madonna. In more recent times, Austin's work has returned him to the charts, writing and producing the successful "Trick Me" for Kelis as well as "Left Outside Alone" and "Sick and Tired" for Anastacia.^{[citation needed]}

Austin has tried his hand at remixing for other artists, most notably "They Don't Care About Us" for Michael Jackson and "The Power of Good-Bye" for Madonna.^{[citation needed]} In addition to American artists, Austin has produced songs for international artists. In 1999 Austin and Japanese pop singer Namie Amuro began a professional relationship in which he produced many of her songs until present.^{[citation needed]}

Austin is also known for socially conscious productions such as TLC's "Unpretty" and "Damaged" and more recently "Ugly" for UK act Sugababes. For the Sugababes, Austin produced several other tracks on their number-one album Taller in More Ways, including the single "Push the Button", which spent three weeks at the top of the UK charts. He also produced the Girls Aloud' Comic Relief collaboration with Sugababes on "Walk This Way". He is also responsible for producing Gwen Stefani's single "Cool" from her Love.Angel. Music.Baby. album.^{[citation needed]}

In 1992, Austin formed Rowdy Records with fellow producer L.A. Reid, though Reid left the following year. Austin branched out into cinema as well, becoming the executive producer of Drumline (2002) for 20th Century Fox. He also served as the film's musical director. Austin is currently working with Warner Bros. studios on another music-driven film set in Atlanta.^{[citation needed]}

Drumline cast member Orlando Jones also chose Austin to be the music director, alongside DJ Rukus, for his short-lived The Orlando Jones Show, a live talk show that aired on F/X.^{[citation needed]}

Dallas has more recently co-written/produced the will.i.am single, T.H.E or The Hardest Ever. He had originally written the song for another artist, Alex 242, but Jimmy Iovine, upon hearing the song asked for it to be played for will.i.am - who agreed it should be his first single off his latest album.

United Arab Emirates incident[link]

In July, 2006, Austin was arrested and held in a United Arab Emirates prison on drug charges. After fellow songwriter U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch interceded on Austin's behalf, the UAE consulate in Washington D.C. placed calls to Lionel Richie for a character reference.^[1][2]

Richie recounts for the New York Times:

It was, 'Tell me what kind of guy is Dallas Austin.' I said, 'Listen, this is a great guy. He's done a great job for the community. A gangster, a hoodlum, a thug, he's not.'^[1][2]

Austin pleaded guilty in court, apologized for his actions, and was subsequently granted a royal pardon by Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.^[1][2]

Discography[link]

..

References[link]

External links[link]

• Dallas Austin on music.com
• Dallas Austin's myspace
• Dallas Austin's beatbuggy
• Dallas Austin biography on VH1.com
• Rowdy.tv is a social networking site for Rowdy Records
• EMI biography of Dallas Austin.

Ross Vincent Free (born 7 March 1943) is an Australian politician, and was a Labor member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the seat of Macquarie from 1980 until 1984, then Lindsay from 1984 until 1996.^[1] He served as a minister from 1990 until 1996 in both the Hawke and Keating ministries.

Biography[link]

He was born in Bathurst, New South Wales, and completed a Bachelor of Science (Honours) and Graduate Diploma of Education at the University of Sydney, following which he worked as a school teacher.^[2]

Free won Labor preselection for the outer Sydney federal seat of Macquarie ahead of the 1980 election, and defeated the incumbent Liberal member Reg Gillard.^[3] He served as a member of several house standing parliamentary committees, in opposition and then in government upon Hawke winning the prime ministership in 1983. Following a redistribution ahead of the 1984 election, he transferred to the seat of Lindsay, based around Penrith. In 1985 he led a delegation to the European Parliamentary Institutions in Strasbourg and Berlin, and again in Germany in 1986.^[2]

After the 1990 election, at which Hawke won a fourth term, Free was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister in the Fourth Hawke Ministry.^[2]

Following Paul Keating's first, and unsuccessful, challenge for the leadership in June 1991, a number of changes were made to the ministry, with Free being promoted to Minister for Science and Technology and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on Science. Hawke was ultimately defeated in a second challenge on 20 December 1991, and Free continued in the First Keating Ministry in the same portfolios. After the 1993 election, he served in the Second Keating Ministry as Minister for Schools, Vocational Education and Training.^[2]

He was one of several ministers to lose his seat at the 1996 election, at which John Howard became Prime Minister. Free lost Lindsay to Liberal candidate Jackie Kelly. Kelly was subsequently found to have run while still a serving RAAF officer, and both contested the resulting by-election (as did 10 other candidates), but Free lost by a greater margin.^[4]

References[link]

Publications[link]

• Free, Ross (1992). Developing Australian ideas : a blueprint for the 1990s. Australian Government Publishing Service. ISBN 0-644-25523-4.  (White Paper, 52 pages)
• Free, Ross (15 October 1992). Government response to "Genetic manipulation: the threat or the glory?": Ministerial statement.  (Statement in response to Standing Committee report, 4 pages)

The Weeknd
Background information
Birth name	Abel Tesfaye
Born	(1990-02-16) February 16, 1990 (age 22) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genres	Contemporary R&B, post-dubstep, downtempo
Years active	2010–present
Associated acts	Drake, Doc McKinney, Illangelo,
Website	www.the-weeknd.com

Abel Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), better known by his stage name The Weeknd, is an R&B^[1] Canadian recording artist and record producer from Toronto. He began recording songs under The Weeknd and uploading them to YouTube in late 2010,^[2] though the identity of the individual behind the project was initially unknown.^[3][4] In March 2011, The Weeknd released a nine-song free album, House of Balloons which was critically acclaimed.^[5] The title track is based on a sample of Siouxsie and the Banshees' hit single "Happy House.^[6] The first album is a part of a trilogy which includes Thursday released in August of the same year and Echoes of Silence issued in December.^[7] In June, House of Balloons was named as one of ten shortlisted nominees of 2011 Polaris Music Prize but eventually lost to Arcade Fire's The Suburbs.^[8] On December 21, 2011 at 11:07 p.m. EST Tesfaye released his highly anticipated third mixtape Echoes of Silence. The Weeknd's site crashed shortly after due to the large number of downloads. The Weeknd quickly provided a Hulkshare link to keep the album available while the official site was down.

Since hitting the scene, The Weeknd has received praise from a number of musical publications, including those of Pitchfork,^[1] MTV,^[9] BET, Rolling Stone, XXL and The Source, who have all dubbed him the "Songbird of his Generation", as well as the "best musical talent since Michael Jackson" (John Norris, MTV).

[edit] House of Balloons

In late 2010, Abel Tesfaye uploaded three songs: "What You Need," "Loft Music," and "The Morning" to YouTube.^[10] A nine-track free album titled House of Balloons was digitally released on 21 March 2011 through the artist's official website.^[11] The title track is based on the sample of Siouxsie and the Banshees' 1980 hit single "Happy House" with Tesfaye covering the chorus.^[5] Tesfaye’s eclectic music also blends other samples ranging from Beach House to Aaliyah.^[12] Hip-hop artist Drake has been partly credited for generating public awareness for The Weeknd, after he quoted a line from the track "Wicked Games" via Twitter and linked to the singer's music on his website.^[11][13]

House of Balloons was met with universal critical acclaim. Pitchfork's Joe Colly wrote that "all the thematic and sonic pieces fit together - these weird, morning-after tales of lust, hurt, and over-indulgence ... are matched by this incredibly lush, downcast music. It's hard to think of a record since probably The xx's debut ... that so fully embodies such a specific nocturnal quality."^[1] Frontier Psychiatrist's L.V. Lopez claimed the album was "brilliant, disturbing, and not safe for work," calling the song "Loft Music" a song that is "so unsafe it should come with a child-proof cap, so dirty that you’ll feel guilty the next time you see your wife."^[14] Tom Ewing of The Guardian said that although the singing and songwriting on House of Balloons "aren't especially strong by R&B standards," the Weeknd is receiving "so much attention" as a result of its "command of mood."^[15] Sean Fennessey of The Village Voice called the album "impressive" and added, "It's patient, often gorgeous, and consistently louche ... with the sort of blown-out underbelly and echo-laden crooning that has already made Drake's less-than-a-year-old Thank Me Later such an influential guidepost."^[16] Maegan McGregor of Exclaim! also praised the album: "Packed full of sex, drugs and some downright killer production, this easily stands as one of the year's best debuts so far, hipster, Top 40 or otherwise."^[17] Sputnik Music's Tyler Fisher said that "despite being a free album, House of Balloons feels like a true album, a true labor of love."^[18]

In July, The Weeknd then went on tour and gave his first performance at the Mod Club on College Street in Toronto. The hour-and-a-half long performance created a lot of buzz about the young R&B singer.^[19] Tesfaye’s next performance took place at Toronto’s Molson Canadian Amphitheatre. He collaborated with rapper Drake and appeared as one of the special guests to Drake’s 2nd Annual OVO Fest on July 31, 2011 ^[20] That same month, the song "High for This" was featured in the promo for the final season of the HBO show Entourage.^[21]

During the summer, the press noted that Tesfaye refused to give interviews and choose to only communicate via Twitter.^[22]

When House of Balloons was named #1 album of 2011 by Complex magazine, it beat both Drake's Take Care and Watch the Throne by Jay-Z and Kanye West for the number 1 spot.^[12]

[edit] Thursday

Thursday (mixtape) is the second mixtape released by The Weeknd . The mixtape was released shortly after House of Balloons on August 18, 2011. Thursday was released on XO's label along with his other two mixtapes. Although the mixtape was released for free on his website as a digital download, the feedback it received was enormously positive.^[23] Thursday was produced in Toronto, Ontario with the help of Doc McKinney and Illangelo.^[24]

[edit] Echoes of Silence

The Weeknd's third mixtape, entitled Echoes of Silence, was released in December 21, 2011.^[23][25] Echoes of Silence has been described as his most lyrically powerful and emotional mixtape to date.^[24]

In April 2012, The Weeknd debuted his US tour by performing at the Coachella Festival.^[26] Tesfaye and his band visited the Union’s coasts, with a dozen of gigs in various major cities^[26] which culminated in New York where the two sold out shows were positively reviewed by Rolling Stone.^[27] Then, they will be also performing in European major festivals, including the Primavera Sound Festivals in Spain and Portugal,^[28] Wireless Festival in London,^[29] plus concerts in Paris and Brussels.