7 Hidden Details On The Weeknd’s Starboy
Some finer points behind the Toronto singer’s new album, including a production credit from A Tribe Called Quest’s Ali Shaheed Muhammad.
November 25, 2016
The Weeknd's fourth album Starboy dropped late last night, and as you'd expect from one of the biggest pop stars in the world, a lot of people put in work to make it happen. Frequent collaborators like Belly and Ben Billions plus mega-producers like Max Martin and Diplo are all on the new record. Doc McKinney, who was a driving force on The Weeknd's 2011 mixtape, House of Balloons, also returns to shape Starboy's sound. But through listening — as well as scanning the album's credits on TIDAL and Apple Music — we were able to spot some interesting details that went into the making of the album. Check them out below.
1. Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest co-produced the Kendrick Lamar-featuring "Sidewalks."
2. "Secrets" features a sample of "Talking In Your Sleep" by The Romantics
3. The lyrics "Thank the Lord for the day" on "Party Monster" could be a version of Metro Boomin's daily Twitter prayer. Metro Boomin is also credited as producer on "Six Feet Under."
4. Future is named as a composer on "Six Feet Under," and yes, that's him on the hook.
5. "Attention" features an appearance from Mustafa The Poet, a 20-year old artist and activist from Toronto.
6. Labrinth, the London pop star who appeared on "Losers" from 2015's Beauty Behind The Madness, returns as co-producer on the Lana Del Rey-featuring "Stargirl Interlude."
7. Starrah, the Delaware producer who worked on Kevin Gates's "2 Phones," Rihanna's "Needed Me," and Jeremih's "Pass Dat," can add another great track to her resume. She's listed as a composer on Starboy's "True Colors."
Listen to The Weeknd's new album Starboy below.