Since The Weeknd is performing at the Super Bowl Halftime show, I thought it’d be nice to post a little guide to his discography for anyone interested in looking to do a deep dive into his work. I would’ve posted this the day of the event, but I assume that some people would probably like to go through it over the weekend.
This shares a direct overview of his released material, talking about his career and the background of the music, the videos, the meanings and all. I’ve written this from a pop perspective, keeping in mind that his history might be fairly new for general pop fans.
I also go into the storyline of the red suit character, if your interested in catching up on that narrative before the Halftime show (which will continue the story), I’ve listed the chronological order below followed by an explanation of that narrative.
I wanna be clear that the interpretations/theories are not conclusive. Abel rarely shares the metaphors or meanings behind his music. This is based on widely based on fan discussion/mutual interpretation. Fans can feel free to expand on anything in the comments.
It is important to know about Abel's backstory to get a certain perspective of where he’s coming from, especially when discussing the songs that deal with substance abuse. These recent articles cover his early years really well and share an up-to-date point of view of his success.
Variety 2020
Billboard 2021 - Also a good source for getting to know his team.
So, an essential TL;DR is this: Abel Tesfaye came from a broken home, he was born to Ethiopian immigrant parents who split up when Tesfaye was less than seven. He then lived with his mother and grandmother, only rarely seeing his father but having a nice impression of him. His drug addiction started as soon as he was a high schooler, he turned to shoplifting to pay for this need of various substances. Soon he dropped out of high school, leaving his home the same weekend, which would later inspire his stage name, The Weeknd. The name is reference/homage to the weekend his life changed.
Quick side note, I didn’t think this post would nearly reach the character limit. So I’ve cut out excess detail and lists of producers (with the exception of After Hours since we’re in that era).
Table of contents

1. XO.
2. House of Balloons.
3. Thursday.
4. Echoes of Silence.
5. Trilogy.
6. Kiss Land.
7. King of the Fall.
8. Beauty Behind The Madness.
9. Starboy.
10. My Dear Melancholy.
11. After Hours.

XO.

XO is the record label that The Weeknd and co. created in order to publish the first mixtape (House of Balloons) and the ones that would follow afterwards. XO has a lot of meanings that have to do with what went into the music and what still goes into it. XO is what the fans call themselves, popularly with the phrase XO Till We OD (shortened to XOTWOD); another way of saying “we’re ride or die for The Weeknd and his team.”
While some argue that it could mean anything since there isn’t clear meaning to it, fans continue to associate the abbreviation with ecstasy (X) and oxycontin (O). That definition stems from XOTWOD, fans assume it’s true because of the team’s history of drug usage. While others take it as it’s classical definition “hugs and kisses” because of the consistent lyrical nature of The Weeknd’s songs.
Overtime the definition of XO is simply known as: the fans, the crew, and the label. The Weeknd is more than just one person, he comes with XO. For the sake of clarity in this writeup, I’m going to refer to his crew as XO and the fans as “the fans.”
XO still serves as a record label, the current roster is The Weeknd, Belly, Nav, and Black Atlass. It remains The Weeknd’s record label and was his first label before becoming a subsidiary of Republic Records.
Throughout his career, The Weeknd has worked with Illangelo, a Canadian producer who’s work the fans adore. Carlo “Illangelo” Montagnese was one of main the producers on The Weeknd’s Trilogy, he’s credited on each track. The fan base claims his work to be some of the most notable artistry in The Weeknd’s discography. Their work together continued with Beauty Behind The Madness, Illangelo worked on seven tracks for that album. He then returned for After Hours working on another seven tracks.
DaHeala, another Canadian producer, is another significant factor in The Weeknd’s music. Jason “DaHeala” Quenneville worked as lead producer on Kiss Land. He returned to work on six tracks for The Weeknd’s Beauty Behind The Madness, including the hit Earned It. DaHeala returned as a writer for six of the songs on Starboy. Then DaHeala worked on nine After Hours tracks, and worked as the only producewriter alongside The Weeknd for bonus tracks Missed You and Final Lullaby.

House of Balloons.

Didn't wanna make this NSFW, so here's the super clean edited cover

This is a happy house. We’re happy here. (House of Balloons/Glass Table Girls)

One of the most iconic title tracks of all time. House of Balloons is about a lifestyle of drugs, sex, and partying; all in effort to drown out self-doubt. It comes from a place of wanting to make it big while doing what you can to survive, all while pretending everything’s alright. The mixtape describes various sorts of women, how they’ve had impacted the life of someone who’s already down on his luck.
Fans often refer to House of Balloons as The Weeknd’s best work. The mixtape was the first introduction the world got of XO, and it was one hell of a way to make an impression. It’s personal for the fans and Abel because it’s the only piece of work known to be based on his life. At the end of the day he’s a songwriter, with many of his albums he creates scenarios and world that he likes to explore through the music. But House of Balloons is known to be based entirely on his life. It remains The Weeknd’s most critically acclaimed work.
House of Balloons was crafted through the influences of Hip-Hip/Indie-Rock with the main focus on R&B. Through the genius of Ilangelo, the record was—and is—mesmerizing capturing the essence of a lifestyle that The Weeknd described as “anti-everything.”
House of Balloons assisted The Weeknd in gaining the attention of Republic Records, which would then host The Weeknd’s own label XO. Though hesitant at first, XO decided to partner with Republic after the co-founding brothers Monte and Avery Lipman kept coming back to Toronto solely for The Weeknd.
House of Balloons received three videos, The Knowing, Wicked Games and Twenty Eight. The Knowing was the very first video The Weeknd made, so of course it’d be something other-worldly; it essentially reflects the song itself but in a sci-fi setting. Twenty Eight represents Abel’s life after fame but also his remorse of letting captivating women into his life.
Fun fact— House of Balloons is an actual place in Toronto, it was where him and his crew lived after he dropped out of high school. They’d host parties, call girls, do drugs, and to make it less depressing they’d fill it with balloons.

Thursday.

Valerie on the cover

Welcome to the other side. (Life of the Party)

Thursday consists of the same themes as HoB; sex and drugs. But there’s a twist, he’s in a semi-relationship with this girl Valerie. She’s the only one on his mind, even though they meet only one day of the week, any guesses on what day that could be? Through The Weeknd’s phenomenal voice and the insane production, we’re also presented with this story of a toxic relationship where Valerie used to have the upper hand but she no longer does when she falls for The Weeknd.
While Thursday isn’t entirely about the relationship of The Weeknd and Valerie, it consists of reflections to Abel’s life after the release of House of Balloons. The song Rolling Stone notably has a double meaning, in which Abel asks his fans if they’ll stick with him when he gets mainstream appeal and decides to change his sound.
The track Valerie wasn’t on the original release of Thursday, it added when Trilogy was released. Ending the mixtape with Heaven or Las Vegas meant that The Weeknd’s actions with and without Valerie were a result of his fatherless childhood, making him push anyone away. That meaning behind Thursday doesn’t change when Valerie is added to the track list, it just means that both want the toxic relationship back.
The Zone (feat. Drake) was the first feature The Weeknd had on any of his work, the video for it was released in November of 2012. Rolling Stone had also received a video in October of 2012. Both were directed by The Weeknd and reflect the two different aspects of Thursday. The Zone has Valerie living it up in the House of Balloons. And Rolling Stone has The Weeknd doing a photoshoot for Trilogy, reflective of the song itself.
Fun Fact— the female voice heard in Lonely Star is The Weeknd’s, he pitched his voice to make it sound like a woman’s.

Echoes of Silence.

Diana on the cover

Laisse tomber les filles. Un jour c'est toi qu'on laissera. [Leave the girls alone. One day it’ll be you they will leave.] (Montreal)

Out of a dark introductory into the early life of The Weeknd, Echoes of Silence is the darkest work of his Trilogy. Let’s be honest the story here isn’t entirely ethical at times but makes for one hell of a mixtape.
Similar to Thursday, Echoes of Silence follows a storyline. After accumulating success, The Weeknd gains the attention of various women. There was this one woman (D.D.) who he liked but she initially rejected him (Montreal). The woman came back to him for his fame status and evidently fell in love with him (Outside), but now that he’s got the upper hand he treats him like a groupie (XO/The Host) and lets... bad things happen to her; she’s gotta pass a test before she can get with him. This test is either drugs or his crew (Initiation). He ultimately tells this woman that he’s not exactly longterm-relationship material, perhaps because her love is temporary (Same Old Song), because he’s Next. With the end of Echoes of Silence (originally ending on the title track) the listener is left to wonder why The Weeknd left her if he’d simply want her to stay.
As a side note— Initiation should not be condoned. It remains true that The Weeknd is a songwriter and the progression of time has changed perspectives. But a song that makes such suggestions as Initiation should not be ethically/morally claimed or celebrated.
The mixtape follows The Weeknd’s lifestyle after he’s gained all this success, he’s still the same person but now he’s gotten everything he wanted. Some tracks such as The Fall continue to emphasize his journey into stardom and his acceptance of fame being temporary. With the added Till Dawn (Here Comes The Sun), The Weeknd acknowledges the changes in his life, realizing that the old lifestyle is no longer there for him or his past lovers.
Echoes of Silence is known as an underrated gem of The Weeknd’s discography, it’s well received by fans and critically acclaimed but often brushed under the rug in discussion of his work. A lot of fans and casual listeners play the mixtapes through Trilogy rather than their respective albums. This often leads to people not playing EoS either at all or only the first few tracks, this is predominantly due to the nature of the compilation being nearly three hours long.
Fun fact— D.D. is a cover of Michael Jackson’s iconic Dirty Diana. Fans have named the woman in Echoes of Silence Diana because of this track. Various theories argue that the mixtape itself is based on the Dirty Diana itself with exaggerations of the truth, or whether or not it’s a story The Weeknd crafted based on the song.

Trilogy.

Rolling Stone video doubled as a shoot

You don’t know what’s in store. (High For This.)

Trilogy is a compilation of The Weeknd’s mixtapes, House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence. These three mixtapes were released 3-4 months apart from one another for free digital download in 2011, they gained quite a lot of attention from various industry executives.
Prior to the release of Trilogy, The Weeknd featured on Drake’s Take Care with Crew Love. The song was Abel’s first exposure to a Rap crowd/Rap fans, more people began listening to his music after the release of Take Care. The Weeknd then featured on Wiz Khalifa’s Remember You, which served as the second single off Wiz Khalifa’s O.N.I.F.C. Following those two releases, The Weeknd released Wicked Games as the first single off Trilogy.
Trilogy was formed after The Weeknd came under Republic Records’ management. The compilation album reached a debut/peak position of 4 on the Billboard 200 while reaching number one on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It’s a well received album with the highlight said to be House of Balloons, which arguably went on to influence various sorts of R&B music of the 2010s.
Videos for Trilogy

Kiss Land.

Iconic

I went from starin' at the same four walls for 21 years. To seein' the whole world in just 12 months. (Kiss Land)

Kiss Land is based on The Weeknd’s tour life. Visiting unfamiliar places gave Abel horror movie vibes. A guy who used to own the city (Toronto) he lived in is now a small fish in the ocean of the entire world. The Weeknd’s first studio album was a great introduction into the sound he would soon get well acquainted with.
While continuing the R&B sound with the essence of Dark Wave, the album explores emptiness and regret throughout the lyrics—or what pop fans could categorize as dark pop—. The Japanese aesthetic used for various videos and the single covers/booklet reflects the themes of feeling overwhelmed by such a loud world that there’s no point in being if you don’t belong.
The album explores the real-world and the women in it as well as regrets regarding past actions, namely letting go of women who could’ve been the one in Adaptation. The Weeknd attempts to find that satisfaction in other women and past lovers, but accidentally falls for a sex worker in Belong To The World. With Wanderlust he accepts and expresses that love in the modern world isn’t entirely possible. While continuing to tour the world he enjoys these new experiences with XO (Live For feat. Drake), as well as the new women in his life (Kiss Land). And when he’s back home, he accepts the loss of the relationship he cherished.
Kiss Land debuted and peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. It was fairly acclaimed but gained a massive cult following. There were four videos for made for the album, the title track, Belong To the World, Live For (feat. Drake), and Pretty. Those four songs received interesting visuals that kept up with their respective themes while Belong To the World/Kiss Land got visuals that matched the aesthetic of the album. To this day fans ask Abel for a part two to the horror-movie-inspired album after he said it’s the only album he would have a sequel for.
Videos for Kiss Land
Fun Fact— The video for Kiss Land on YouTube is an extremely edited version of the actual video shot for the song. The directors cut further explores the erotic-horror themes if the album.

King of the Fall.

King of the Fall 2020 cover (even though I talk about three other songs here)

Driving by the streets we used to walk through like a triumph. (King of the Fall)

These next few song were released between the Kiss Land and Beauty Behind the Madness era. Some fans would classify them as part of the Beauty Behind the Madness era—I’d say the same tbh—but they stand apart on the basis of success and acclaim. It’s a transition between The Weeknd being an underrated R&B musician to being a mainstream artist with massive recognition and appreciation.
The first of these four songs is King of the Fall. A fan favourite and a standout in The Weeknd’s discography. This is one of The Weeknd’s few Rap tracks, it gained a lot of attention within the Rap sphere. It was the way in which XO would announce that they’ve made it, little did they know that this was just the start.
Prior to the release of Beauty Behind the Madness (BBTM), The Weeknd gained mainstream attention. The Weeknd’s exposure to mainstream music was uphill, it wasn’t overnight. The first taste of BBTM came from Often, a song that reflected the themes of sex that Abel was known for. The track was released more than a year before BBTM’s release and had made it onto the trackless unlike King of the Fall. Slowly but surely The Weeknd gained exposure, his main sources of exposure were through a collaboration and a soundtrack.
Most pop fans heard about The Weeknd through his hit collaboration with Ariana Grande, Love Me Harder. The collab was made through Republic when The Weeknd said he wanted more than what he had gotten through Kiss Land. Ariana and Abel had formed a real bond cough The Hills cough, their bond assisted the song in becoming a memorable hit for both artists. Love Me Harder was a top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
Later that year, The Weeknd was featured on the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack with Earned It, as well as Where You Belong. Earned It became a massive hit peaking at 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and receiving an Oscar nomination for The Weeknd; a massive milestone for XO. Earned It kept up with Abel’s signature lyrics but the production differed heavily from the sort of R&B he was known for.
Videos from that era

Beauty Behind the Madness.

I can hear this image

I'm that ***** with the hair singin' 'bout poppin' pills, fuckin' bitches, livin' life so trill. (Tell Your Friends)

Following the success of Love Me Harder and Earned It, the Beauty Behind the Madness era began with The Hills. This was The Weeknd’s first number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Along with the video, The Hills became an addictive classic. The production and lyrics mirror a mature version of the sound that was originally found on Trilogy. It was truly in keeping with The Weeknd’s character, the only difference was his haircut.
Next came Can’t Feel My Face, a Max Martin production that differed greatly from anything The Weeknd put out in the past. In past songs, Abel had expressed his fear of losing his following if he went mainstream simultaneously asking his fans if they’d stay. He repeats that sentiment in the Can’t Feel My Face video. The sound has changed, the lyrics stay the same but now he’s a pop-star. The song became a hit as it reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. With this massive bop previous fans still stayed, The Weeknd becoming a pop singer didn’t at all alter his image or sound; he mastered it.
In The Night and Acquainted were released as singles on the same day, the were the only singles to come after the release of Beauty Behind The Madness. The former received a music video treatment that followed the theme of the song itself while also starring Abel’s girlfriend at the time, Bella Hadid. Acquainted was robbed of a video even though Abel had shown off the fact that a video was in development; the song kept in the tone of The Weeknd’s work prior to BBTM.
Beauty Behind the Madness captures a Hollywood-based reality that The Weeknd came to understand: the dark aspects of your life will continue to follow you wherever you are. Real Life, Losers (feat. Labrinth), Tell Your Friends, Dark Times (feat. Ed Sheeran), and Prisoner (feat. Lana Del Rey) all capture a nihilistic view of a dream achieved.
Most of the videos of Beauty Behind The Madness have a mysterious white man. He’s featured in The Hills, Can’t Feel My Face, and Tell Your Friends. That man represents the devil. Throughout his journey in those videos, (The Hills) Abel runs into the devil after his car crash, (Can’t Feel My Face) he’s at the club then lights him on fire. The significance behind the fire could be selling his soul to the devil, BBTM is about Hollywood and a popular Hollywood myth is that celebrities sell their souls to the devil in exchange for fame. So in the Can’t Feel My Face video, Abel changes his sound to Pop (from R&B) thus leaving his signature sound in order to become famous, everyone starts enjoying his music once he’s sold his soul.
Then we see The Weeknd burying himself in Tell Your Friends, perhaps leaving the old Abel behind after the deal with the devil. However, instead of thanking the devil, Abel takes his revenge and shoots him. But wait, there’s more! The album trailer for BBTM features the devil burning a billboard with The Weeknd’s face on it, revealing Beauty Behind The Madness. HOWEVER, the final cut for the video features the devil being arrested while The Weeknd watches. This is a more realistic form of karma that the devil gets.
Videos for BBTM

Starboy.

Filled with bops

If I could, I'd trade it all, trade it for a halo. And she said that she'll pray for me, I said, "It's too late for me.” (Ordinary Life)

After the massive success of Beauty Behind the Madness, there was a lot of hype around what The Weeknd would do next; evidently he decided to explore Pop. The fandom he had gained wasn’t entirely based in the Pop sphere, his fans consisted of general Rap fans, but Starboy attracted the Pop audience.
Initially, most of his older fans couldn’t get behind Starboy, it differed greatly from the previous sound. It was crazy to think that the guy who made Trilogy managed to make such a Pop-centric album. But this was Abel expressing his versatility.
Since this is where most pop fans found out about Abel’s work and became fans I won’t talk too much about the singles, rather more about the album itself. His work with Daft Punk cemented this album in an efficient mix between Pop and R&B, where Beauty Behind the Madness was more R&B with Pop, Starboy was considered Pop with R&B.
Beyond the genres, Starboy explores two evident themes. One being his life with fame and recognition. The next being his love life in Hollywood, this aspect of the album came from his relationship with Bella Hadid which ended after the release of the album.
The cross became the symbol for that era and appeared in the album’s photoshoot as well as the videos. There was never any conclusive word on the use of the cross but there are various theories about it, something to note is that Abel was raised Christian, it could perhaps be a reflection of his past.
The cross he uses to destroy his accolades (Starboy video) is assisting him rather than something that’s holding him back. Abel’s upbringing was rough but now he’s celebrating it rather than feeling bad for himself. The cross continues to come up in the Party Monster video, this time it’s in the party house he’s making his way through. Then it shows up in the video for Reminder, this time in the form of his merch, the people wearing it are perhaps representative of his fans. Then we see it in the False Alarm video, both Abel and the girl are wearing it; the notable thing being that Abel holds his cross up before dying. Then in the brilliant video for Secrets, after giving up on the girl he’s with he leaves the building to find a giant cross. And finally in the I Feel It Coming video, The Weeknd sports a shiny cross necklace, and Daft Punk find it years and years after Abel froze.
The videos tell us that the cross is an evident piece of his story. This could mean that his past will always be with him, no matter what sort of fame he’s experiencing he’ll always be who he once was.
Also, I’m gonna take this moment to once again the genius that is the Secrets (both the song and the video). Yes it’s my favourite song/video off of Starboy but it’s so underrated.
Videos for Starboy, Secrets video bottom right
Fun Fact— Most demos of the tracks on Starboy weren’t as pop as they became, they started off R&B but became pop after production.

My Dear Melancholy.

Note the comma

They said our love is just a game, I don't care what they say. But I'ma drink the pain away, I'll be back to my old ways. (Privilege)

Oof (but in a good way, this whole thing is a bop). For this one I’m gonna talk extensively about The Weeknd’s relationships, which personally feels really invasive but it’s but it’s essential when talking about these sad boy anthems. Beyond that I’d just like to state that though they are part of the narrative both Bella Hadid and Selena Gomez deserve respect/privacy.
So when it comes to Pop music fans I think it’s safe to say that we all know a lot about this one. My Dear Melancholy (MDM) came after the very public relationship of The Weeknd and Selena Gomez. However it’s not just about Selena, some songs reflect his relationship with Bella Hadid (whom he got back with a month after MDM’s release).
My Dear Melancholy consists with The Weeknd’s exploration/mastery of merging Pop and R&B together. The EP was praised by fans for its lyrics and production, many went on to theorize that it was his most personal project since House of Balloons. The EP was the shortest album to reach number one on the Billboard 200.
My Dear Melancholy and fan conspiracies; name a better duo. The first theory being that the EP is entirely about Selena Gomez which wasn’t too much of a mystery since the lyric “I almost cut a piece of myself for your life” exists. Not only did MDM come after Abel’s relationship with Selena Gomez but also after his relationship with Bella Hadid. As far as fans were aware those two relationships were the most important relationships Abel had ever been in.
In theory, the songs about Bella and Selena can be categorized. Call Out My Name, Try Me, and Privilege are likely about Selena. Wasted Times, and Hurt You are likely about Bella. Leaving I Was Never There to act as an introspective look into The Weeknd’s life, basically making him hop back on his vices for comfort.
Another popular theory was that My Dear Melancholy was the first of another trilogy. This rumour was widely believed due to the comma at the end of the title on the album cover. But the fans soon gained a real reason to believe this theory, since the CEO of XO (the record label), Sal had liked an Instagram post that featured the cover and alleged date. Since Trilogy is a fan favourite this conspiracy spread like wild fire, so much so that fake titles and covers were made. The name of this trilogy would be: (1)My Dear Melancholy, (2)We’re Alone Together, (3)Abel.
Only one song served as a single for the EP. Call Out My Name was released nearly two months prior to the actual release of the album, it debuted/peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. The mysterious video captures The Weeknd in various atmospheric places that reflect the tone of the EP, a haunting yet unexplained reality that the listener is to reflect on.
From the cover, to the music, to the video, to lyrics, My Dear Melancholy is an introspective reflection of heartbreak.
Call out my name video

After Hours.

Talented, Brilliant, Incredible, etc.

My darkest hours. (After Hours)

After Hours comes after success but references two lows in The Weeknd’s life. The album welcomes darkness and leads the listener towards a dead-end. The Weeknd’s past two albums (Beauty Behind The Madness and Starboy) ended on hopeful notes, they left the listener with a sense of hope but all hope his lost with After Hours.
Fans compare After Hours to House of Balloons—a rare occurrence considering House of Balloons’ acclaim—arguing that both albums are on the same level. Debate continues on whether or not both albums are on the same caliber. The belief that After Hours stems from reality does a lot to help its side of the argument.
The era began with Mercedes-Benz commercial that featured Blinding Lights, that was our first taste of the everlasting bop. Heartless was premiered on an episode of Memento Mori hours before its release on the 27 of November (2019), Blinding Lights was released two days later. Both videos were as brain melting as promised and the served as the tip of the iceberg.
After Hours was released nine days after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, there was a massive risk in releasing an album that would not have a lot of promotion after it’s release (other than magazine coverage). There was no telling whether or not people would pay attention to the album during the height of the fear surrounding the pandemic, but it was a massive success. After Hours debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, with singles Heartless and Blinding Lights topping the Billboard Hot 100.
The album is layered with haunting productions that remains predominantly R&B but dives deep into Pop with some of the tracks. Max Martin produced the massive hit Blinding Lights as well as In Your Eyes, Save Your Tears, Hardest to Love, and Scared to Live which samples Elton John’s Your Song. Other notable producers include Metro Boomin who worked on the hit Heartless as well as Escape from LA, Faith, and Until I Bleed Out. With Kevin Parker on the interlude Repeat After Me.
Beyond the production are the narrative driven lyrics. In theory the album references two significant events in Abel’s life, his second breakup with Bella Hadid and his arrest in Las Vegas. The latter was due to his misbehaviour; in January 2015 he punched a cop in Vegas, lmao. Which means that After Hours is a recollection of The Weeknd’s first few years in LA. He merges the concept of his breakup with the idea of being an upcoming star, feeling free in the city of lights all while diving deep into the meaninglessness of those lights.
While After Hours starts with loneliness and a second chance it leads up to Abel returning to his vices of lust. In Alone Again his loneliness caught up to him and he’s asking for a second chance. He acknowledges his mistakes and situation in Too Late/Hardest to Love, in Scared to Live his ex then returns to him for a second time. He remembers his past ways in Snowchild and the way in which it lead to better days, but where do you go after such highs? In Escape From LA he faces the superficial reality of Hollywood, glad that he got that he got back with his ex, while continuing to question if it’s worth it. But he fucks up the second chance when she pulls up to the studio.
Who is she? Much like the other mysteries surrounding The Weeknd’s music, we may never know. Is it all more of The Weeknd’s songwriting ability or is it driven by reality? Fans found a merge between the two to be more accurate, After Hours is about heartbreak and a return to the vices that held The Weeknd back.
Heartless is when The Weeknd is once again back to his ways, he may have been in a serious relationship but after throwing that away he spirals back to the way he once was. It’s sad but it’s one hell of a song. Speaking of brilliant songs, Faith is when Abel admits that he’s back on his vices, he states that he needs his ex back with him till the end; he’s back to self-loathing.
So when he says he’s blinded by the lights, there’s two meanings to it. The Faith outro tells us that he’s in a car with flashing lights, a cop car (as confirmed by Abel) to be exact. Then Blinding Lights tells us that while he’s watching the bright lights of Vegas pass him by he calls out for the girl that he regrets losing. That is the peak of the After Hours narrative. He’s behaving badly over the loss of the girl he loved and is now at the worst position trying to find her and gain her trust for a third time.
Following Blinding Lights is In Your Eyes, this is where The Weeknd vows not to judge her; he can see right through her but will never do anything to make her upset. Does this mean their back together? Not exactly. Save Your Tears details a sort of moving-on that The Weeknd isn’t ready for but tries to help her move on, blind to his own inability to move on. Does it work? Not really. Repeat After Me (Interlude) shows that he’s still trying to convince himself that he’s unfazed by the loss of a meaningful relationship.
Then you hear a true masterpiece. The title track is a spiral into true regret and an apology for his actions, he admits that his ex girlfriend is the only reason he lives. In a dark lonely city she’s the only one keeping him sane. But his pleas fail, Until I Bleed Out is when The Weeknd no longer wants her in his life so much so that he wants to erase his memory of anything related to her. The bonus tracks then echo the final sentiment.
It’s one sad ass album, ain’t it. But here’s where the Red Suit Character comes in.
Shoutout to the makeup department
The album isn’t the only narrative to follow with After Hours. The videos for the album follow their own sort of narrative. The story follows an unnamed guy that goes by “red suit character” according to The Weeknd.
There’s a lot of confusion and endless theories surrounding this character’s story, after The Weeknd confirmed that it’s about a decent into Hollywood culture it makes more sense… kind of. I’m gonna discuss the storyline without talking about the movies that have influenced it, this way the focus remains on the character.
The order of these videos is Heartless / Blinding Lights / Blinding Lights (Live on Kimmel)* / After Hours short film / In Your Eyes / Until I Bleed Out / Snowchild / Too Late / Live at AMAs* / Save Your Tears
*Though all live performances could count as part of the narrative, these one relate directly with the videos that follow.
He’s is first seen in Vegas with Metro Boomin (Heartless), intoxicated on various substances. He dives deeper into his high until he licks a frog, after that he faces the true effects of this high. He’s frightened by the result and runs far away from Vegas. (Blinding Lights) He’s then found in LA, where he’s dancing in the street, hypnotized by the singer, beat up by guards, and races past all those bright lights in his Benz. Ultimately realizing the shallowness of the Los Angeles fantasy.
(Blinding Lights Live on Kimmel) We then find him performing Blinding Lights live, while he attempts to find more reason in within the madness city; he couldn’t find it on the streets so he goes to the stage. (After Hours short film) Even then there’s no meaning to anything in the city, he mindlessly wanders into the depth of the subway where he’s dragged by the reality of it all and ends up possessed. (In Your Eyes) After being possessed he chases the woman whose boyfriend he just murdered, she runs into a club falls deeper into the After Hours fantasy, in a successful attempt to defend herself she beheads the red suit character and dances all over LA with his head, iconic behaviour.
(Until I Bleed Out) Then in an ethereal dreamscape, red suit character finds himself in a House of Balloons. He’s trying to escape, but the people there keep pulling him in; he’s getting higher while observing Glass Table Girls. He spirals into the antarctic, the other side of the world. From Heatless to this point in his story, his vices lead him back to the lowest point in Abel’s life. Is it Hell, Heaven or Las Vegas? (Snowchild) He relives his career up until the point where his story began. Considering he’s dead, his life basically flashed before his eyes.
(Too Late) LA girls find the red suit character’s head and live their best life. They wanna have sex with him so they find the best boy parts by calling up a stripper who could be the body. The stitch the head up with the body and do what they want. But now he’s brought back to life. (Live at AMAs) He’s had work done… He went in to get his nose fixed and the doctor said “you sure that’s all you want?” The red suit character’s face is healing while he tries to celebrate his life on top of a bridge.
(Save Your Tears) Surrounded by a masked cult he debut’s his new face. Do they like it? Are they impressed? Not instantly, their masks translate no expression so how’s he to know? Is any of this worth it? Nope red suit character continues to die inside. He finds a maskless girl in the crowd, she’s lively unlike the rest; but even then, nothing on the inside nothing on the outside. He wants death again, somehow a second chance with this city is still pointless. He tries to kill himself via the girl and himself but it’s all a facade; theatrics.
His story continues but that’s all we know so far.
The videos make a lot of film references. This post by explain these references very well, as well as past album references here (part one) and here (part two).
After Hours is inspired by a lot of movies, since Abel is in fact a cinephile. The main movies that inspired the aesthetic and storytelling are believed to be Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), Casino (1995), Joker (2019), Uncut Gems (2020), and After Hours (1985). The album tells two sad narratives but remains one of The Weeknd’s best works yet. He’s expanded his videography and enhanced the interest of people who casually enjoy his music and of course his fans.
But the era isn’t over, by the time this is posted his Super Bowl Halftime show is yet to happen. And it’ll continue the red suit character’s story.
Videos for After Hours (so far)
Fun Fact—The Heartless video features a reference to Thursday. When he’s trying to run from Vegas, a sign behind him flashes “Heartless / Heaven or Las Vegas.” This could be a reference to Abel running from his past, after all Heartless is about him returning to his vices.

END.

Thank you for reading this, again, I didn’t realize it would end up being this long. But I hope this this served as a nice refresher for any fans who wanted to revisit Abel’s work before the Super Bowl.
And I really hope that anyone interested in getting into his music finds this helpful. Once again, the theories/interpretations mentioned aren’t conclusive, they’re widely based on fan discussion/mutual interpretation.
Due to the character limit I couldn’t add too links to the albums, so here are some artist links.
Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube | The Weeknd’s Shop | Tidal | Genius

Artist: Run The Jewels
Album: RTJ4
Date Released: June 3rd, 2020
Listen
YouTube
Spotify
Tidal
Apple Music
Artist Background
The duo consisting of Atlanta rapper Killer Mike, and legendary underground produceMC El-P, known together as Run The Jewels, originally came together as a result of Adult Swim executive Jason DeMarco who introduced the two in 2011. After his 2011 album PL3DGE peaked at #115 on the US charts, Killer Mike told Jason that he wanted to make his own AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted. Jason informed Mike, “If you want AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted modernized, the only producer I know who comes close to the Bomb Squad-level of production is El-P”. The duo’s chemistry was immediate, as El-P went on to produce all of Killer Mike’s 2012 last solo album R.A.P. Music, and Mike featured on El-P’s final solo album Cancer 4 Cure. Mike and El’s respective albums released within a week of each other in May 2012, and the two embarked on a twenty-city US tour in the following months. After returning from tour, the pair had found a friendship growing between themselves, and made the decision to put other projects on hold and focus on the chemistry that had been sparked. Recording at an upstate NY studio beginning in April 2013, the duo re-appropriated the phrase “Run The Jewels” from the LL Cool J track “Cheesy Rat Blues", and released their self-titled collaborative album, for free via digital download, only a mere 2 months later in June 2013.
36” Chain vs. Pistol & Fist
Run The Jewels discography currently exists in a distinct pairing. With Run The Jewels as their debut, this record set the group's tone as a light-hearted, braggadocious duo with as much confidence in their abilities as swag in their punchlines. Just over a year later, the sequel Run The Jewels 2 took the foundation set from their freshman effort and dialed the insanity up to 11. RTJ2 pushed the boundaries of their aggression and flows to new heights; with incredible energy in their verses, and absolutely impeccable beats, blending El-P’s signature industrial sound with sharp synth arpeggios, chopped Zach De La Rocha vocals, and absolutely bonkers Travis Barker drums.
It was then nearly 3 years before Jamie and Mike followed up their breakout RTJ2, with Run The Jewels 3 being released again ahead of its scheduled release date via free digital download, this time on Christmas Eve 2016. Instead of these two attempting to outdo the pure insanity and in-your-face attitude found in their predecessor, Mike and El decide to evolve themselves as a group. The duo had noticeably pulled back on the swag and dick jokes which made such a splash on RTJ2, instead choosing a more subdued, electronic approach to their beats, as well as a clearly stronger political approach in their lyrics. This change in sound and style is demonstrated in the album cover’s artwork. The first two records featured the distinctive RTJ “Pistol and Fist”, with the fist tightly gripping a chain. The chain, in my opinion, represents the swag and braggadocio that drove the aggressive nature of their first two albums. In RTJ3 the chain is removed, leaving only hands that have transformed from bleeding and bandaged, to a pristine gold.
This brings us to early 2020. It’s been nearly 4 years of living in a post-Trump America, and El-P announces that Run The Jewels fourth record has been completed. Mike and El live-stream the first single “yankee and the brave” on Instagram on March 22nd, 2020. Lyrically and sonically, RTJ4 exists as the successor to Run The Jewels 3, with Mike and El again taking the good from their previous effort and launching it into the creative stratosphere. El-P’s beats are again leaning towards the synthetic, electronic side, this time with the intensity dialed all the way up to 11. From a lyrical perspective, RTJ takes the politically-charged lyrics from their predecessor, and again, up the ante, laying down some of the hardest hitting and politically poignant bars either of these two have ever spit.
Album Review
2020 was a year that none of us will soon forget. An unprecedented global health crisis kept the majority of us inside for months at a time. RTJ4 was announced on May 12th, 2020, with a release date slated for June 5th, 2020. However, with 2020 as the gift that won’t stop giving, the end of May was highlighted by the unjust killing of George Floyd. The phrase heard around the world, “I can’t breathe” instantly became a rally-cry for the oppressed to finally take to the streets to demand systemic police reform, as Floyd’s death was not the first time this phrase was uttered in an unjust police killing. In fact, a 2020 study by the New York Times showed that at least 70 people have died in police custody after using the same phrase over the past decade. As millions of American’s began organizing protests and demonstrations in the wake of Floyd’s death, Run The Jewels made the decision to release their latest chapter two days ahead of the scheduled release. El-P tweeted, just minutes ahead of the drop, “Fuck it, why wait. The world is infested with bullshit, so here’s something raw to listen to while you deal with it all. We hope it brings you some joy. Stay safe and hopeful out there and thank you for giving 2 friends the chance to be heard and do what they love”. In line with all past Run The Jewels releases, the album was made available for free digital download, two days ahead of its scheduled release date, on June 3rd, 2020.
THE RETURN (we don’t mean no harm but we truly mean all the disrespect)
RTJ4 opens with the first single, “yankee and the brave (ep. 4)”. Using the team names from their respective hometown baseball teams, Mike and El use the opening track to prove that they’re not just a hip-hop duo, they’re brothers, for better or worse. El-P kicks this installment off with rapid-fire, machine-gun esque snares, matching Killer Mike’s aggressive flow and tightly packed rhymes, before El jumps in to trade some dense rhymes as well. Mike and El depict themselves as outlaws, with Mike surrounded by cops with only one bullet remaining. He contemplates suicide instead of allowing the police to take him alive, until El-P jumps back in, offering Mike a way out, with a getaway car waiting outside. This tense situation is depicted lightheartedly in this song’s music video, which was released via Adult Swim and features the duo animated.
The trade-off between Mike and El’s short verses are reminiscent of late-80’s EPMD flows, while the production sounds like boom-bap that’s been sent to us from the future. This distinctive blend of old-school rap roots and forward thinking production is what continues to separate Run The Jewels from absolutely all of their contemporaries. While so many artists are continually playing catch-up with the latest trends, RTJ are side-stepping the trendy and moving forward with the mind-bending.
FLEXIN’ (ayo one for mayhem, two for mischief)
The second single “ooh la la” samples a Gang Star track "DWYCK (feat. Nice & Smooth)" as the basis for the chorus. I say “samples” as that’s how it is credited in the album’s liner notes, however it’s truly an interpolation of Greg Nice’s bar, slowed down slightly, and sung by El-P and Greg Nice himself. El-P is a true old-head at heart, and it’s abundantly obvious in his work, even going as far as to recruit legendary producer DJ Premiere to handle the scratching on the back end of this banger.
Out of key piano chords are looped to quickly create an unsettling aura surrounding the track, before El-P’s voice cuts through the infectious piano like a whip. Pounding, up-tempo drums are introduced after the chorus’ first iteration, creating what is possibly El-P’s first danceable beat. Lyrically, Mike and El-P initially seem scattered on this track, however the music video quickly makes their point very obvious.

”we imagined the world on the day that the age old struggle of class was finally over. a day that humanity, empathy and community were victorious over the forces that would separate us based on arbitrary systems created by man.
this video is a fantasy of waking up on a day that there is no monetary system, no dividing line, no false construct to tell our fellow man that they are less or more than anyone else. not that people are without but that the whole meaning of money has vanished. that we have somehow solved our self created caste system and can now start fresh with love, hope and celebration. its a dream of humanity’s V-DAY… and the party we know would pop off.”

The video envisions a society celebrating the fact that the class system we currently exist within has finally imploded. Money is worthless, and we have rejected the desire to bind ourselves to the constraints of capitalism. All creeds and colors unite to burn the system that has so effectively controlled us for over a century. It’s a party, and if there was a song to celebrate the end of the world as it is currently known, “ooh la la” is that song.
Mike’s last verse features a few metaphors and comparisons celebrating the destruction of capitalism, saving the most poignant for last:

I used to love Bruce, but livin' my vida loca
Helped me understand I'm probably more of a Joker
When we usher in chaos, just know that we did it smiling
Cannibals on this island, inmates run the asylum

Premo’s expertly cut scratches lead us into the equally hard hitting sample flip of “Misdemeanor”, by Foster Stevens as the basis for the beat to “out of sight”. Lending yet another nod to the old-school greats that laid the foundation for RTJ, “out of sight” samples the same track as The D.O.C.’s “It’s Funky Enough”, only adding a bouncy, electronic synth atop the inverted chord hits, and uptempo, industrial drums, to create an absolutely infectious groove for Mike and El’s dynamic chemistry to shine, rapidly jumping between each other’s two line flows in the first verse.
“out of sight” shows each MC providing insight into how each of them earned a living and achieved their current status. Mike and El’s opening verse each details themselves robbing people in order to eat. El alludes to the fact that he crossed his accomplices in crime for the whole bag, while Mike details the fact his assailant tells him it’s an “honor” to be robbed by his mother’s only son.
While El-P’s production is the obvious stand out on first listen, Killer Mike comes through with one of the most sonically pleasing and technically proficient verses of 2020.

We the motivating, devastating, captivating
Ghost and Rae relating product of the fuckin' '80s
Coke dealin' babies, never regulating, bag accumulating
It would not be overstating to say they are underrating
The pride of Brooklyn and the Grady, baby
We don't need no compliments or confidence
Our attitude and latitude is "fuck you, pay me"

The dense, intricate rhyme schemes smack you in the face, almost distracting you from Mike’s delivery and blistering flow on the verse; flexing his legendary status while paying homage to his drug-dealing past. This absolutely stunning display of technical skill, story telling, and complex rhyming illustrates how RTJ seamlessly integrates the best of both old school and new school hip-hop.
“out of sight” also features a guest verse from 2 Chainz, and he continues to lay the braggadocio on thick. Considering Tity Boi’s dedication to trap stylings, his verse feels right at home on the flex track, despite it’s late 80’s tribute sample, a considerable departure from his usual sound palette.
Up until this point, I haven’t mentioned any of the El-P’s lyrics specifically. El-P is a great rapper, but Killer Mike… Well, Killer Mike is an incredible rapper. He’s the guy who draws you in. El-P is the one who lays the foundation for greatness and Mike is the show stopper, and that’s generally the case for most RTJ tracks. But on “holy calamafuck”, El-P seems determined to make people stop and ask, “Who the fuck is this?!”.
A sharp, yet nearly minimalistic drum kit backing a heavily distorted synthesizer melody lays beneath rhymically knocking cow-bells. This aggressively set stage allows Mike and El to flex as the dynamic duo they are, until the beat suddenly takes a turn for the chaotic. A gnarled, ultra-menacing synth overtakes everything while Mike screams into the abyss, until a distorted snare, enormous 808s, and skeletal hi-hats cut through and launch the beat switch into another dimension. The minimal, yet incredibly dark soundscape allows El-P to snap in a way I have never heard from him previously. His rhymes schemes are reminiscent of an old MF DOOM lyric notebook, while his topics flawlessly combine flexing, psychedelic use, and his well-cemented legacy in the hip-hop community. Cutting and pasting a few of his bars into this review could not convey a fraction of how stunning El-P’s performance on “holy calamafuck” is.
Slightly later in the track list, making liberal use of the Ether song “Gang of Four”, “the ground below” samples and loops the sharp guitar riff and adds aggressive, pounding drums as the basis for the beat; this is finally reminiscent of the forward-thinking, stridulous production El-P has built his reputation on. Capitalising on the classic RTJ moment, Mike and El both flex in their own unique ways. Mike compares himself to Godzilla taking on Tokyo, and El-P demands respect for his name as the legend he is, threatening to smack dying children for mispronouncing his name with his middle finger to the world; his complete disregard for human life and confidence in his abilities are summed up at the end of his verse.

You see a future where Run the Jewels ain’t the shit
Cancel my Hitler-killing trip
Turn the time machine back around a century

SO¢IAL JU$T-ICE (until my voice go from a shriek to whisper...)
While the first few tracks aren’t without their social and political themes, the back-end of RTJ4 is where Mike and El start to bust out the heavy topics. “goonies vs. E.T.”. starts off light, with El-P pointing to the irony of how once he finally started to make it “big” in the industry, the world began to descend into chaos due to climate changes, increasingly obvious social injustice, and political madness. He culminates his frustration with our disregard for the Earth with a fantastic quotable.

Fuck y’all got, another planet on stash?
Far from the fact of the flames and our trash
That is not snow, it is ash, and you gotta know
The past got a wrath, it’s a lover gone mad

Mike’s verse takes the light-hearted frustration expressed by El-P, and turns the aggression to the next level. Aiming his sights against the ruling class and their society that’s been designed to oppress people for profit, who have very meticulously painted themselves as celebrities and idols to the American public. Mike accepts that he will be villainized by these people for speaking against them, but he welcomes the nefarious role, knowing that the working class will eventually eat the rich, no matter how much they are stomped into the dirt.
And this is just the warmup.
If it’s possible for a song to represent a moment in time that captures the absolute shit storm that has been 2020, “walking in the snow” is that song. It’s release coincided perfectly with the protests for George Floyd which were sweeping the nation. Killer Mike’s verse directly references the phrase “I can’t breathe”, the last words of Eric Garner, which also happened to be the last words of Floyd as well. The fact that this verse was reportedly written in November 2019 perpetually underscores the importance of the content and perfectly represents how persistent this problem is. “walking in the snow” is a true encapsulation of both a defining moment in time and an ever-persisting issue.
But he doesn’t just stop at the racial injustice. Mike goes on an absolute rant about the American education system; how it’s not designed to teach people, but to discriminate against poor populations, limiting their legitimate opportunities, and therefore disproportionately leading them into a criminal lifestyle. He calls out the media as fear-mongers, and the apathy of the American public in the face of indecency. Fortunately for Mike, by the time we finally had the chance to hear this masterpiece, we were already on our feet, using this album as a war cry to mobilize against a tyrannical government that militarized against its own citizens simply for asking that we recognize systemic racism and demanding change. Killer Mike has the best verse of the year, no doubt in my mind.
The only drawback is that Mike’s verse is so fucking good that it completely overshadows El-P’s, which is also amazing. A menacing guitar riff and haunting synths kick the track off into a bouncy groove, where El-P unleashes a flurry of internal rhymes that does not relent for about half his verse. Even adding layers of social commentary within the densely packed bars, El refuses to quit and continues on his political tirade; criticizing ICE’s detainment center practices and the “pseudo-Christians” who support them, with a bar that now lives in my head:

Pseudo-Christians, y’all indifferent, kids in prison ain’t a sin? Shit
if even one scrap of what Jesus taught connected you’d feel different
what a disingenuous way to piss away existence, I don’t get it
I’d say you lost your goddamn minds if y’all possessed one to begin with

The combination of two of the best verses spit by any rapper(s) this year and production help from El-P and long time RTJ collaborator Little Shalimar, create a bouncy, aggressive, deeply truthful banger. “walking in the snow” not only encapsulates the crux of 2020 with lyrics that will become more powerful as they age, but will also forever be associated with the Black Lives Matter movement and the determination to expose continuing racial and societal injustices.
The sonic palette of RTJ4 holds an extremely unique place in El-P’s discography. Jamie is the definition of a self-made 90’s hip-hop legend. This is the dude who put New York underground hip-hop on the map with Company Flow, and he did it with his unique flavor of dark, noisy, dense, boom-bap. Whether he was doing it with the help of Rawkus, or completely independently during his Definitive Jux run, El-P has never made music with the intention of becoming famous. Funcrusher Plus, Fantastic Damage,I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead, and Cancer 4 Cure are all highly revered as industrial, technical, abrasive, and completely unsuitable for the radio or a party. The fact that three songs on RTJ4 could easily be heard on the radio, at a party, or in a TV series credits scene is frankly, astounding. In a 2002 interview/documentary on El-P’s budding record label Def Jux, he stated that his friend bet him $500 that he could not make a beat that was “happy”. At the time of the interview, El-P said that he had not won that bet yet. While I might not qualify the beats on RTJ4 as “happy”, if you showed El-P the beat for “JU$T” in 2002, I believe he might have won that bet.
Pharell opens “JU$T” with the pre-chorus, spitting varied examples of how we’re all slaves to our current system throughout the track, over echoing snares and bouncy 808s before bright synth chords and up-tempo hi-hats burst in while Killer Mike delivers the chorus, pointing to the fact that the majority of the people featured on American currency owned slaves at one point in their lives. Mike’s verse touches on the fact that he has committed crimes to get where they are today. Mike is publicly open about his past as a drug dealer. So why is he a criminal, but Benjamin Franklin isn’t? These are the people who built our country, and they built it on the backs of slaves. He illustrates this theme with a more recent examples:

You believe corporations runnin marijuana? Ooh (how that happen?)
and your country gettin ran by a casino owner (ooh)
pedophiles sponsor all these fuckin’ racist bastards (they do)

When corporations are able to sell cannabis legally, but the government continually incarcerates people who trap, our president is a notoriously fraudulent businessman, and the people who helped put him in power run a pedophile ring, yet none of them face consequences and are allowed to continue to profit and remain in power while people suffer; well, we might be closer to slaves than previously imagined.
Rage Against The Machine frontman Zach de la Rocha also makes his mandatory feature appearance at the end of “JU$T”. As the only artist to feature on three Run The Jewels albums, Zach is essentially an unofficial member of the group at this point. His fiery verse is spit with the same “Rage” energy that set him apart in the mid-90’s, ending the track questioning his place in a capitalist society as a recipe for his inevitable demise, since his “breath”, or art, as his weapon to express himself is still being exploited for other’s profit.
Continuing with RTJ4’s heavily synthetic sonic palette, “never look back” features wavering synth leads resting above the slow-jams snappy snares and thumping bass, while a haunting voice echoes in the background. This unsettling aura provides additional gravity for Jamie and Mike to continue self-reflecting on defining moments in their childhood, and as well as how far they’ve come from those moments. Mike and El are both self-made men, and while they have a certain fondness for those gritty moments that defined them, moving forward in life is undoubtedly more important.
Skeletal drums reminiscent of a slowly pounding heart opens “pulling the pin”, before rhythmic hi-hats and textured, watery synths fluttering in the upper register resting above a bouncy synth lead, and punchy 808s, burst in. The track digs itself into a slower, marching groove and shows the duo figuratively doing exactly what the title implies. Painting a portrait of a society that has turned on itself, Mike and El are ready to pull the pin and start over.
The duo both detail their despise for the ruling class, pointing out multiple examples of how the elite have designed our society to keep poor people in their class. Simultaneously recognizing their own hypocrisy for profiting in a system that inherently discriminates; Mike reflects on his own success, knowing that living the lifestyle he enjoys is one built on oppression, and expresses the guilt that has caused him. El-P opens with a brutal metaphor for police, implying that they’re the root cause of the “wretched state of danger” our society exists within, and that the only effective corrective action is to numb yourself with drugs. Despite his advice, Jamie knows this is not a permanent solution, but one that causes more self-inflicted wounds.
The final piece of the puzzle that is RTJ4, “a few words for the firing squad” begins to close the album with ever crescending strings, and loud, thunderous drums which never seem to resolve, continuing throughout their verses. While the drums that lead to nowhere can be sonically unpleasant, the unresolved melodies are intentionally representative of their current mindsets. Their verses are reflective and grim, but simultaneously optimistic and envisions a world where tragedy is a less common occurrence.
El is grateful for what he has now but recognizes his entire life has been skewed by traumas, so out of place feels normal for him. He reflects on his current success, noting that the worst people tend to end up with the most, which makes becoming “rich” something not as desirable as it once was.
Mike opens up about the death of his mother who died while he was on an airplane, admitting his struggles to not cope with his trauma with opioids. However, his wife provides him the most important reason to stay clean “but my queen/say she need a king/not another junkie rapper fiend” while a heartbreaking saxophone solo highlights the gravity of his lyrics.
The track ends with what sounds the like wrap-up voiceover to a TV show, a conceptually satisfying ending, as the opening track “yankee and brave (ep.4)” began with El-P stating:

”This week, on Yankee and The Brave”

This voiceover paints the duo as brothers on the run from the law and crooked cops, and while this does close this “episode” out as intended, the critic in me is bothered by the slightly kitschy outro to such a spectacular album. The voices singing over and over, “Brave, brave, braaaaaave, Yankee and the Brave” would be, simply put, better left on the cutting room floor. The ending of this track alone is what knocks my score of this album down a few points. Despite its stellar lyrical content, with drums that never seem to reach that “holy shit!” moment, and the easily skippable outro, it’s upsetting to me that an album this great ends on such a low note.
Overview
RTJ4 is by far my favorite album of the year. El-P’s cutting edge approach to their sound, blended with lyrical content that continues to be more relevant by the day, the duo have come together with what is objectively their most accessible album to date. RTJ4 is the natural evolution of sound and subject matter for the duo; taking the foundation set by Run The Jewels 3 and evolving it into a more concise, more accessible, and more conceptual album. While I still personally prefer the “fuck the world” intensity and experimental nature of Run The Jewels 2, RTJ4 opens themselves up to a whole new world of exposure, and when you’re as talented as these two, you know they’re going to capitalize on it. RTJ is currently at their apex, and they’ve created an album that will make many new life-long fans going forward.
9.2/10
Discussion Points

• How does this compare to other RTJ releases? How about in comparison to the member’s solo works?
  
• Does the overwhelmingly positive critical reception of this album surprise you?
  
• How will this be looked back on in 5 years?
  
• What are your favorite lyrics?
  

I'm looking to sell (all sealed and all have some sticker residue)
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe $41 shipped https://imgur.com/a/4HtM7PE
Mario Maker 2 $41 Shipped https://imgur.com/a/cpeqeQp
Link's Awakening $44 Shipped https://imgur.com/a/lFO20Cm
Please feel free to make offers
I'd like to buy these games (Only looking for sealed on 3ds. Prefer sealed for ds but I would consider really nice CIB). Any type of offer works, either trade or Paypal
3DS
Batman Arkham Origins Blackgate
Detective Pikachu
Hyrule Warriors: Legends
Kirby Triple Deluxe
Kirby Planet Robobot
Mario 3d Land
Mario and Luigi Paper Jam
Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympics
Mario and Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympics
Miitopia
Monster Hunter Stories
Pokemon Omega Ruby
Pokemon X
Pokemon Y
Poochy and Yoshi's Wooly World
Rhythm Thief
Shinobi 3d
Tomodachi Life
Warioware Gold
DS
Ace Attorney
Advance Wars Days of Ruin
Again
Age of Empires The Age of Kings
Alice In Wonderland
Animal Crossing Wild World
Anno 1701
Assassins Creed II Discovery
Barnyard Blast: Swine of the Night
Batman the Brave and the Bold
Battle of Giants Dragons
Battles of Prince of Persia
Beat City
Bejewlled 3
Big Bang Mini
Blue Dragon Plus
Bookworm DS
Brain Assist
Brain Buster: Puzzle Pak
Break em All
Bust a Move DS
C.O.P the Recruit
Chibi Robo Park Patrol
Children of Mana
Chronicles of Mystery Tree
Chrono Trigger
Club House Games
Contact
Cookie and Cream
Dagedar
Dementium the Ward
Diddy Kong Racing
Dig Dug Digging Strike
Dirt 2
Doodle Jump
Draglade
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker
Drawn to Life
Drone Tactics
Dual Pack: Pacman world 3/Namco Arcade Ds
Electroplankton
Elite Beat Agents
Feel the Magic
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time
Fossil League
Freedom Wings
From the Abyss
Front Mission
Geometry Wars
Ghost Trick
Glory Days 2
Glory of Heracles
GTA Chinatown Wars
Guilty Gear Dust Strikers
Harvest Moon DS
Henry Hatsworth
Hero’s Saga
Infinite Space
Iron Man 2
Honeycomb Beats
Jake Hunter
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Kingdom Hearts Re:coded
Kirby Canvas Curse
Kirby Mass Attack
Kirby Squeak Squad
Kirby Super Star Ultra
Kururin (Japanese DS Game)
Kuruputo
Legend of Spyro: A New Begining
Legendary Starfy
Locks Quest
Lost Magic
Lufia Curse of the Sinistrals
Lunar Knights
Magical Starsign
Magnetica
Mario Hoops 3 on 3
Master of the Monster Lair
Mazes of Fate
MechAssault Phantom War
Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes
Monster Rancher DS
Monster Tale
Moon
Moto Racer DS
Mystery Dungeon Shiren the Wanderer
N+
Namco Museum DS
Need for Speed Prostreet
Neopets Puzzle Adventure
New Zealand Story Revolution
Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword
Nintendogs
Nostalgia
Ontamarama
Orc’s and Elves
Pac-Pix
Panzer Tactics
Peggle Dual Shot
Pheonix Wright: Ace Attourney: Justice for All
Picross 3d
Planet Puzzle League
Plants vs. Zombies
Point Blank DS
Prey the Stars
Prince of Persia the Fallen King
Prism Light the Way
Professor Layton and the Last Specter
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future
Puchi Puchi Virus
Puyo Pop Fever
Puzzle Expedition
Puzzle Quest Galactrix
Quickspot
Radiant Historia
Resident Evil: Deadly Silence
Rhythm Heaven
Robocalypse
Rondo of Swords
Roogoo Attack
Rune Factory
Scurge: Hive
Shin Megami Tensei Devil Survivor 2
Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution
Skate it
Snowboard Kids
Sonic Sega All-Stars Racing
Sonic Colors
Sonic Rush
Spectrobes
Speed Racer
Spiderman Shattered Dimensions
Spiderman Web of Shadows
Squishy Tank
Starfox Command
Steal Princess
Summon Night
Super Collapse 3
Super Dodgeball Brawlers
Super Mario 64 DS
Super Monkeyball: Touch and Roll
Teenage Mutant Ninjs Turtles 3
Tetrs DS
Tetris Party
Theresia
Thor: God of Thunder
Thundercats
Time Hollow
Tony Hawk's American Skateland
Trace Memory
Trackmania DS
Trackmania Turbo
Ultimate Mortal Kombat
Wario: Master of Disguise
Warioware DIY
Wire Way
Worms Open Warfare 2
XG Blast!
Yoshi’s Island DS
Zoo Keeper
Zubo
Other: DS Download Stations 1-19

So in probably 2012 I remember downloading a free wiiware game on the eshop that was a Batman racing game. Even though it’s licensed, I couldn’t find anything on it online. The only thing I remember is racing around Gotham city at night as Joker racing against Batman and other Batman characters. If anyone has any questions that might retract my memory since that’s the only thing I can remember.

Don't know if this is anywhere else, I couldn't find it posted anywhere else, so I typed it all directly from my switch. Enjoy. [Originally from the Nintendo Switch Indie Channel News Feed. Not available on the internet AFAIK.]
Have you heard the news? DELTARUNE Chapter 1 is coming to the Nintendo Switch system on Feburary 28th courtesy of 8-4! This will be a free download, and you can even pre-load it today.
Now, if you haven't heard of it, DELTARUNE is the latest RPG adventure from Toby Fox, the creator of the hit RPG, UNDERTALE. You don't need to play UNDERTALE first, but UNDERTALE fans may appreciate certain aspects of DELTARUNE a bit more.
Since the game is coming out soon, let's hear from the creator himself, Toby Fox!
Spoiler warning for DELTARUNE Chapter 1.
Switch News: How did you feel about the response to the unveiling of the PC version of DELTARUNE?
Toby Fox: It was good, but most importantly I don't have to avoid talking about what I'm working on anymore. Freedom!! Freedom USA, baby!! (Howls at the moon alongside Mario as the national anthem plays)
SN: How long has the idea for DELTARUNE been kicking around in your head?
T: In 2011, when I was away at school, I got very sick. I ended up having a terrible fever and couldn't get any medicine for it, and while I was sleeping I had a vivid dream about the ending to a game. Since then... I felt like I had to make the game with that ending. I attempted to make that game in 2012 using character designs by an artist I really liked called Kanotynes. However, I stopped making it even before I made a single room of the game.
That game.. I ended up repurposing a few of the songs from it for UNDERTALE. For example, "Heartache" was originally called "Joker Battle" and "Bonetrousle" was originally the main battle theme. Then I decided around when I did the Kickstarter to UNDERTALE (2013) that if I ever completed UNDERTALE, my next game would be a mix of UNDERTALE and that concept.
I have to make what I saw in my dream. I don't even know if it's particularly good, but I have to do it...
(picture depicting some concept art. I would screenshot it then post it on twitter but maybe later. the picture will be available elsewhere soon anyways probably.)
SN: Where did the ideas for the three protagonists in DELTARUNE come from?
T: I feel like Kris and Ralsei have fairly obvious origins. As for Susie, I originally designed her right after I had played Phoenix Wright for the first time. At first, she was essentially like Maya Fey, and would serve you as your small, friendly, sassy companion. There really wasn't any tension at all, she was just nice and cute.
But...as I wrote more and more, she eventually transformed into something totally different from Maya, Now she's more like the tough guy getting framed for a crime or something. Then Kris points out at the courtroom and it goes "OBJECTION!!" and hearts come out of their finger. Then they're disbarred due to flirting with the witness...
SN: We'd love to hear about any ideas you have for types of magic you're looking forward to working in, or about any kinds of magic that you've decided to leave on the cutting room floor.
T: I was going to give a certain character a fire spell, but decided against it for the first chapter. As for what I'm looking forward to... well, it's hard to describe this without spoiling anything, but a certain character will learn a certain type of spell that they aren't really good at. Actually, they're so bad at it there's essentially no reason to have them use it at first. But the fact that they learned it and keep practicing it is really heartwarming.
SN: Any projected release window for DELTARUNE Chapter 2 and beyond? Also, how far along is development?
T: I've been writing a lot of dialogue and composing a lot of music recently. But programming is still at 0% and I don't have a team, so actual development is still at 0%. You know how when your internet is super slow, it'll give you an estimate like "20 years..." for how long it'll take to download a file? It's like that.
SN: In closing, do you have anything you'd like to say to all the people out there who will be checking out the Nintendo Switch version of DELTARUNE?
T: Thank you so much for checking out the game. I really hope you give it a shot. If you're familiar with UNDERTALE I mean. If you aren't then I don't even really know why you're reading this right now. Is this what you do for fun!? ...Guess I can respect that.
SN: Thanks for your time, Toby! And for our readers, you can check out UNDERTALE or pre-load DELTARUNE Chapter 1 by using the link below.
(link to eshop)

 ##Worlds 2012 Version!! 

In this Zengm File, you will go back into the past and you'll relive the glory days of teams like M5, AZF, AZB, TPA, and much more!
Q: What should I expect?

• Should expect a chance too manage teams like Team SoloMid, Moscow 5, Azubu Frost, Taipei Assassins, World Elite, and Saigon Jokers!

Tier list
G.O.A.T: 100 OVR
Great: 99-90 OVR
Good: 89-80 OVR
Average: 79-70 OVR
Bad: 69-60 OVR
Really Bad: 59-50 OVR
Things to Note

• Once again, I am aiming to improve this file as we go on, so if you see any glaring issues with how I rated a player, composed the team, etc, please be free to tell me!
  
• 2014 Rookies coming up next!
  

CHANGES

• Buffs/Nerfs to the potential across most players
  
• Orbit Gaming Added
  
• Typos and some mistakes removed or changed
  
• The 2013 Rookies were added to prospects (Example: Faker, Meteos, Bjergsen, Tnt, and Ziv)
  

DOWNLOAD

Worlds Season 2 File 2

In response to this thread.
Hello edmproduction. I thought I'd make this post as a way of giving back to the community. This post is going to be dissecting the style of Rustie, a Glasgow producer associated with Warp Records, LuckyMe and Hyperdub. Rustie's style could be likened to acts such as Hudson Mohawke, Zomby, Nightwave, Danny Brown, Cashmere Cat, Sam Gellaitry, S-Type and a few others I'll list down below.
I think it's easy to say that Rustie is an incredibly artistically and aesthetically powerful producer, from his extremely textured work to his manic blasts of energy to his 80's synthpop and dubstep fusions to tracks that are just massive. I'm writing this post in hopes of helping other producers here (as well as myself) dive deeper into Rustie's production style.
Disclaimer: I'm not really that talented. But, I promise I will make this guide to the absolute best of my ability.
This is my first guide so I apologize if it's bad. I will correct any mistakes immediately. Well, let's just jump right in.
Table of contents:

1. Biography and a quick Discography
   
2. A quick description of Rustie's music
   
3. Production Techniques
   
4. Sample Packs + Rustie's own Samples
   
5. Compositional Techniques
   
6. Who Rustie has influenced (artistic impact)
   
7. Afterword
   

Biography
Rustie, or Russel Whyte, was born in Glasgow in 1983. He first started getting into music with his first instrument, a guitar. He also bought his first set of decks at 15. This mirrors Hudson Mohawke, who also was DJing at around 15 and was winning a few DJ competitions. Rustie picked up a copy of Fruity Loops from his brother when Rustie was around 20 years old. Before that, Rustie said he had been in a rock band. This rock band background explains why there are so many progressive rock influences on Glass Swords and EVENIFUDONTBELIEVE.

From this interview
What drives you to write music? How did you get into it?
Rustie: I got into producing through DJ-ing and being into dance music since I was 15. My brother got a computer with Fruity Loops on it when I was 20 or something and I started messing about on that. I’ve always been into music. Before I got into DJ-ing I was into rock bands and stuff, I used to play the guitar. My family are into music. My dad plays guitar and my mum collects albums, rock bands and stuff.

Rustie first started gaining attention when he released the Jagz the Smack EP on Stuff Records, which sounds like a hybrid between Hyperdub and Flying Lotus. Rustie brought a fresh sound of Boom-Bap electro. Mixing in a hip hop groove with some wonky, synthesized sounds. You can hear a lot of the Boom Bap influence on the song "Crooked" from the Jagz the Smack EP. After that, Rustie had some successful single releases with Joker - "Play Doe" and remix of Zomby's Spliff Dub.
From there Rustie went on to release the Sunburst EP in 2010 on Warp Records to high praise. Sunburst had a mixture of all the things that was making Rustie great at the time. Electronic Hip Hop fusion with Progressive Rock influences on "Neko," plastic-y synths, glitchy samples and Dubstep influences on the track, "Dragonfly," "Beast Nite" and "Hyperthrust" had some synth-y electric guitar-esque riffs mixed in with Street Fighter samples and gritty basslines.
Then, in 2011, everything changed. Rustie dropped the single "Ultra Thizz/Dreamzz" on Warp Records, which would lead up to Rustie's debut album, Glass Swords. Glass Swords was released to critical acclam. He won the Guardian's first album award in 2011.
A reduced interpretation of Rustie's Glass Swords: Cheesy R&B, Trance keyboards, dirty south hi-hat patterns, pitched vocal chops, prog rock riffs and IDM soundscapes. Songs like "After Light," "Ultra Thizz," "Death Mountain," "Surph," "City Star," "Crystal Echo" and "All Nite" are heavy, manic blasts of energy. Whilst songs like "Glass Swords," "Globes," "Flash Back" and "Ice Tunnels" are toned down pieces meant to be momentary breaks to all the craziness (in a good way).
Rustie released Green Language on Warp Records in 2014. The album recieved mixed reviews. Some said it was too mainstream, and others commended Rustie on his attempts to reach a wider market. Rustie had a lot of guest vocalists in an attempt to make a crossover, producer curated album with more mainstream appeal. A lot of the instrumentals on Green Language were either ambient soundscapes, or trap influenced bangers. I personally liked Raptor, Velcro, A Glimpse and Attak (feat. Danny Brown). Green Language didn't quite have the lasting charm of Glass Swords, but was still an alright album nonetheless. Green Language was meant to be a more "coherent" album, similar to Hudson Mohawke's album Lantern, which was HudMo's attempt at a big coherent project.
A year later, Rustie decided enough was enough. He didn't like how Green Language had turned out. So he decided to just drop an album almost out of nowhere. Rustie said that Green Language was too "A&Red" and that he was feeling pressure from management. From this interview. Anyways, Rustie released EVENIFUDONTBELIEVE which got mostly positive reviews (a 7.3 from Pitchfork). EVENIFUDONTBELIEVE was Glass Swords on every stimulating drug imaginable. This album was extremely rough and raw, and you can tell that these songs lacked the "studio quality" that Green Language, or even Glass Swords, had. EVENIFUDONTBELIEVE was Rustie completely embracing his Trance and Rock influences, with Rustie doing some vocals and some guitar riffs (some songs say "feat. Rustie").
Short description of Rustie's musical style
From what I've read in interviews, Rustie is heavily influenced by Progressive Rock, video games, 90's RnB, Trance, Happy Hardcore, Electro and Boom Bap. Rustie is sort of like HudMo, if HudMo's music took even more adderall. Rustie's songs have a lot of Trap or Hip Hop style drum patterns or sometimes Dubstep's infamous half-step pattern. Rustie utilizes lots of video game samples, R&B vocal samples and glitchy cuts in his music. So, a mix of Trap, Boom Bap, Grime, Trance, Rave, Dubstep, UK Garage, 90s R&B, Juke, Progressive Rock and Happy Hardcore. Yeah, he has a lot of influences.
Fun fact: Rustie said that he and Nightwave did most of the vocals for the songs on Glass Swords and that Rustie played the riffs on a midi controller.
Another fun fact: Rustie was in choir for a few years, so that explains why he can sing.

Who is singing on Surph?
Rustie: That’s me, through a bunch of effects. And my girlfriend does some backing vocals as well.

Also:

Are you planning to ‘Glass Swords’ live?
Rustie: Not like live live, with a full band but I’ll probably do it live with a little bit of improvisation, with guitar and keyboards. But I don’t think I could ever do it totally live [laughs].

Production Techniques
Rustie uses Ableton and ITB soft synths in order to get that 80's synth sound. He said that the entire album was recorded on a PC with a midi guitar, midi keyboard and a microphone. Rustie also uses some tape emulators to dirty up the sound.
From what I've heard, Rustie is using lots of automation to make his sounds evolve throughout the song. This is most present on songs like "Flash Back," "Ice Tunnels," "First Mythz," his remix of A.G. Cook's "Beautiful," and "Death Mountain." Probably some EQ automation, volume automation and some well placed panning automation here and there.
Another interesting thing I've noticed about his music is his use of sidechaining. During the breakdown of "Death Mountain," you can tell that the kick is more heavily sidechained to the Trance-like synth leads, but the sidechaining becomes more subtle during the drop. "First Mythz" has Rustie utilizing sidechaining more heavily at the drop which is around 1:37. From what I infer, Rustie is sidechaining his kicks heavier during the breakdowns or drops (depending on the context and intensity of the song) and having his kicks more subdued during verses and main instrumental parts leading up to the drop.
For his synths you are going to want to get a sparkly, kind of Lo-Fi vibe which can be achieved with a number of VSTs. A few of the ones I'd recommend are: Image Line's Harmor, Synth1 (almost perfect for his 80's synth leads and gritty basslines), Dexed, TAL-U-No-62, TAL Elek7ro, FM8 or Massive, but any synth will work if you know how to use it well enough.
I'm not an expert in synthesis, but I can tell that Rustie is using supersaws on "Big Catzz" and "Slasherr." Big Catzz sounds like it has a few layers to it: a supersaw with possible a Saw-Square combination (with the saw wave being louder) and perhaps a higher pitched lead added on top around 1:35. Slasherr sounds like he took a bunch of supersaw chords and either used the LFO for their rhythmic stuttering pattern or he maybe just bounced them to audio and did micro chops while fading in each chop to lead in and out.
Rustie also utilizes a lot of the techniques that gave Future Bass its sound. Supersaws, lots of Claps sometimes being pitched to different notes, Marimbas and Kalimbas, 808 drums, rough hi-hats, metallic Snares, R&B vocal samples, chiptune-like tones and high-pitched staccato sounds.
His saw lead stabs sound like they are slightly detuned, unisoned, chorused, low-pass filter modulated, reverbed, chorused again and brightened to infinity with lots of white noise on top + lots of voices. The whole 80's sound was about abusing chorus, and Rustie is heavily inspired by 80's and 90's era music. His bass stabs almost sound like pitched bass guitar hits at some points.
To make his chords sound huge he spreads them across a few octaves and uses Major 7th chords. This is evidenced in his song After Light. I tried to recreate the chords to the best of my ability with the proper voicing, although I may be wrong.
Sample Packs and Rustie's own Samples
Both Rustie and Hudson Mohawke use a lot of heavily distorted bass drums, which are mostly present on his EVENIFUDONTBELIEVE record in Rustie's case. Glass Swords seemed to utilize a lot of Hip Hop Kicks ("Flash Back," "Surph," "Hover Traps" and "Death Mountain"), acoustic sounding snares with an almost metallic quality to them ("Death Mountain," "After Light" and "Cry Flames"). His hi-hats are simple Dirty South hi-hat samples and occasionally Rustie likes to use 808 drum kits ("Crystal Echo").
What you want to look for in drum samples depends on which era of Rustie you're inspired by. If you love his early work (Jagz the Smack EP, Zig-Zag, Spliff Dub Remix and his Sunburst EP) you might want to try layering some Boom Bap drums with some crisp newer drum samples.
If you love Glass Swords, then I'd recommend taking either 808 or some Hybrid Trap drums and layering them with some acoustic sounding drum samples.
If you love Green Language, then basically any basic Trap kit will do.
If you're more of an EVENIFUDONTBELIEVE kind of guy, then you should be combining heavily distorted bassdrums (possibly Happy Hardcore drums) with some Hybrid Trap snares used by the likes of Sam Gellaitry, whereisalex and S-Type.
Sample Pack recommendations for Splice Sounds users. I've put the type of samples that correspond most to Rustie in parenthesis:
Decap Drums That Knock Vol. 1-3 (Drums, but mostly Kicks and Snares)
Electric Mantis Sample pack (especially the Snares)
Singular Sounds Future Bass pack (perfect for Future Bass, although you can probably download this pack for free somewhere else)
Future Bass & Chill keys by freakyloops (Perfect synth sounds)
SteLouse Sample Packs Vol. 1 & 2 (Drums, percussion, some synths and FX)
KRNE sample packs Vol. 1-3 (Drums and percussion)
Just Blaze Meow The Drums (Drums, but mostly Kicks)
Zaytoven Drum Kit (Drums and chants)
Rankin Audio Future Beats & RnB 2 or Rankin Audio Future Soul (Snares and hats)
Loopmasters Hip Hop Instrumentals Vol. 2 (some instrument samples and drums)
Sonic Mechanics presents Boom Bap Breaks (Drum breaks with a few ok Claps)
Medasin Microdose Vol. 1-3 (Kicks, Snares, Chords, 808 Subs and Hats)
Black Octopus Downtempo Delights (organic sounding drum samples)
Black Octopus Leviathan (Kicks and some Snares. Probably more Glitch Hop territory)
Black Octopus Skyfall (Loops, Kicks, Snares and Hats)
Loopmasters presents Atlanta Chill Vol. 1-3 (acoustic drum samples + some drum machine breaks and loops)
Black Octopus - The Golden Hip Hop Principle Vol. 1 & 2 (melodic one shots)
Capsun Pro Audio - Grime Revival (Drums, synth shots and vocal samples)
Primeloops - Hybrid Trap (Snares)
W.A. Production Future Bass & Trap Ammo (Drums and percussion)
Modular Techno (synths)
Dirty Stacked Kicks (Kick drums)
Sounds of KSHMR Vol. 1 & 2 (great for most subgenres of EDM in general)
Wave Alchemy Claps and Stacks (try looking for distorted 707 and 909 claps in here)
The Raw Cutz Super Pack (some fantastic Hip Hop drums and melodic oneshots)
If you aren't a Splice Sounds user:
AAKHU Essentials Kit
Stones Throw Drum Kit
Metro Boomin Kit HULKx Trap Pack Mid 2016
Nodusk Future Waves, Nodusk Future Bass Drums, Nodusk Future Vocal Chopsand Nodusk Future Bass Movements
Noir Sound Drumkit Vol 1
Samples Rustie has used
Rustie used the Navi sample of "Hey! Look! Listen!" in Hover Traps.
He also used an R&B sounding vocal hit from a Roland preset(?): 169 Aaah!
Rustie sampled a small hook/vocal phrase from the song My Love Is Like...Wo by Mya
In Glass Swords (the song itself), Rustie used a choir-like synth very similar to the choir sound in the tweakbench tapeworm vst at 1:42
Compositional Techniques
I've already mentioned voicing chords around several different octaves, but we'll get into a bit more here. Rustie uses lots of "standard" chord progressions, but voiced in interesting ways. "After Light" is in the key of Emin and has a i-VII-VI-v progression (Em-DMaj-CMaj-Bm) with a suspended chord thrown in. I don't think the type of chord progression matters so much as what kind of chords you are using.
Rustie tends to use lots of Major 7th, Minor 7th and Suspended chords. He's really great at rhythm in his chord progressions ("Slasherr," "Surph," "After Light" and A.G. Cook's "Beautiful" Edit).
Rustie's melodies seem all over the place, but the reason is most likely because he plays them in with a midi guitar. A lot of his melodies sound like rock riffs ("Beast Nite," "Neko," "Ultra Thizz," "Crystal Echo," "City Star" and "Cry Flames"). In After Light, the intro melody follows the format A-B-A'-C format. Ultra Thizz utilizes Call and Response (which I am not personally good at). Raptor utilizes mostly the same melody throughout. Death Mountain has a lower pitched vocal chop(?) playing a melody independant to the higher-pitched vocal chop, but these two aspects of the songs work together to enhance the overall vibe.
His earlier work like Zig-Zag seemed to focus on repetitive melodies with the second part of the drop being a slightly pitched down version of the main melody (with some chords behind it) leading into a breakdown where the synth feels a lot less gritty and the song has less parts happening at once. There is some subtle sub-bass during that breakdown. Things get kinda crazy around 2:06 with lots of an arp playing something very reminescent of the main melody with the actual main melody coming back in at 2:17, which gets sped up for the second drop. All Nite and Attak have small little portamento saw melody motifs playing with the vocals.
Surph repeats the same melody (or two-note chord stabs) almost completely throughout the entire song, but Rustie uses some automation on the synth + changes the surrounding parts to give off the illusion of change. The parts being added are Nightwave's vocals, the bass stabs and drums. He lowpassed the melody around 1:20 and then the melody became front and center during 1:45, where it seems that the synth is louder and has some of its higher frequencies back.
Who Rustie has influenced
I don't think Rustie gets nearly enough appreciation for his contributions to the Electronic music scene. First off, if it wasn't for Glass Swords (and HudMo's Butter) I doubt that Future Trap would be what it is now. Flume may have brought the sound to the mainstream, but Rustie and HudMo were the ones who practically invented the "Future Bass" sound (not to be confused with Future Beats).
Rustie also helped lead the Wonky Hip-Hop (or "Aquacrunk" as Rustie calls it) movement alongside producers like Flying Lotus, Ikonika, Starkey, HudMo and Lunice. Rustie's special brand of Wonky was influenced by Crunk, Chiptune, Electro, Boom Bap, Grime and Instrumental Dubstep. Wonky Hip Hop in general is Hip Hop mashed together with some Dubstep and IDM influences. Wonky is heavily inspired by Madlib and J Dilla.
Rustie's BBC Essential Mix and HudMo/Lunice's sideproject TNGHT both help spearhead the trap movement and bring it to the mainstream (obviously alongisde RL Grime, Carmack and many others). I'd argue that TNGHT is the Daft Punk of Trap, paving the way for many incredible producers in its stead (Mura Masa, Ekali, KRNE and more).
Rustie has influenced a lot of different producers. Wave Racer's "Rock U Tonite" is heavily based on Surph. It even has the low-passing during the vocal sample phrases and being brought back for the more energetic parts of the track.
SADKEY's "Ought" is basically a mixture of Raptor and Big Catzz.
S-Type subtly includes some Rustie-esuqe flare in his song "Billboard".
Sam Gellaitry borrows influences from Rustie in "glacier", "zircon caves", "Odyssey" and "1959".
Deon Custom is very heavily influenced by Rustie and Hudson Mohawke with the songs "Razors", "Royal" with KRNE and "Tell Me" from Deon Custom's album, Ametrine which is heavily inspired by Glass Swords and Butter.
Afterword
Rustie is an incredible artist. He's evolved and improved exponentially from the Jagz the Smack EP to Sunburst EP to Glass Swords. Rustie's extremely unique style has essentially spawned the genre known as Future Bass and Rustie certainly helped impact the trap scene with his Essential Mix and the song "City Star." I think Rustie is an absolute beast when it comes to production, with a lot of nuance to his work that we may not have noticed during our first listen. Whether its the heavy dubstep basslines of "All Nite" to the Progressive Rock inspired "Cry Flames," Rustie has proved himself to be a versatile and skilled producer that can truly paint scenes with his music.
Well, that's all. Hope you enjoyed and found some use in this guide. If this guide turns out to be good, then I'll probably do more (most likely on Sam Gellaitry, Porter Robinson, Cashmere Cat, HudMo or Mura Masa).
I hoped I could help some people out a bit.
Cheers

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Happy Happy Birthday to Me Box set (HHBTM singles club 2000, 12 handmade 7" eps/singles, E6 elephant 6 bands etc... incs handmade box. RARE! 100 made) $125
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”Circus devils “capsized” (blue vinyl) 500 $40”
”Comet 'chandeller musings' (the sleeve is in G condition) $8"
”Cornelius 'point' (1st press, in shrink, played a few times) $40”
Cornelius '69/96' (1st press) $60
Cornelius 'untitled' 12" ep (promo orange wax) $5
Cornershop 'wog' (12" single) $5
Cotton Mather “ I’ll be gone/animal show” 7” 300 $5
Creaky Boards 'brooklyn is love' $18
Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse 'dark night of the soul' $20
The DBs 'the sound of music' (1st press UK) $10
Disco Inferno 'd.i.go pop' (1st press uk 1994 vg/vg+) $95
Django Django “s/t” (including the poster) $19
Donner Party s/t (sam coomes from quasi) $13
Dope Body 'kunk' $10
Dream Boat 'eclipsing' (features members from elephant 6) $8
Duster “contemporary Movement” (1st Press. Excellent condition I am og owner) $200
”Eagles 'greatest hits' (1st press) $5”
Early November 'imbue' (1st press purple vinyl) 1500 $15
Early November 'in currants' (180 gram, Hardcover book edition) 1000 $30
”El Grupo Sexo 'mom's home' (1st press 1986) $3”
Electric President 'sleep well' (german press 2008) $18
Emitt Rhodes s/t (1st press 1972 usa, vg/vg-) $5
Eric Chenaux 'sloppy ground' (1st press canada 2008) $7
Ex-Action Figures 'global kid' 7" $3
Fad Gadget 'incontinent' (1st press, strumm6, uk 1981) $20
Fireworks 'bonfires' ep 7" (1st pressing, white wax, postcards) 300 $8
Fran Healy 'wreckorder' (180 gram, w/poster and download card, lead singer of travis, not flat but plays all the way through) $15
Franklin Bruno 'a bedroom community' (1st press) $10
From Indian Lakes 'absent sounds' (1st pressing 180 gram black wax) $18
”Further “fakers and the takers” 7” $6”
”Futurebirds Ep (hand painted and numbered #301/400) $100”
Futurebirds “seney stovall” (rsd 2012) 1000 $20
”Glass Animals 'zaba' $20”
Godheadsilo 'skyward in triumph' (includes booty trap 7" ep, 1st press 1996) $27
Godheadsilo 'the scientific supercake' (1st press 1994) $15
Gomez 'a new tide' (no cd) $40
”Grammatics 'double negative' 7" $3”
”Grammatics 'shadow committee' 7" $3”
Grand Hallway 'winter creatures' 500 $5
Grifters 'crappin you negative' (1st press) $18
Grifters disfigurhead and the kingdom of jones' 10" ep $7
Groomes 'comb the feelings through your hair' $5
”Grouplove 'never trust a happy song' (1st press usa rj sterling master) $16”
”Grouplove 'spreading rumours' (usa) $17”
”Gruff Rhys 'american interior' (singer from super furry animals) $10"
”Guided by voices “mag earwhig” (newbury press green and orange swirl) 500 $30”
Guided By Voices 'alien lanes' (newbury exclusive on blue vinyl SEALED) 500 $30
Guided By Voices “under the bushes under the stars” (newbury exclusive on blue and white splatter wax SEALED) 500 $50
”Guided by voices 4x7” lot! Limited to 2500. “everywhere with helicopter”, “Cheyenne”, “back to the lake”, “universal truths and cycles”. $20 shipped for all 4”
Guns n Roses “welcome to the jungle/mr brownstone” 7” (picture sleeve is vg, usa 1988 Press) $5
Headlights 'wildlife' $8
Hebronix 'unreal' (dan bloomberg from yuck, green wax) 150 $15
Helium 'ends with and' (newbury exclusive 2x12 pink wax) 500 $19
Henry Cow 'the henry cow legend' (1st press, v2005, uk 1973) $45
Henry’s Dress “Henry’s dress” 10” ep (1st press USA 1995) $45
Holopaw 'academy songs vol 1' $8
Holopaw 'quit +/or fight' (black wax) 500 $8
Hood “cabled linear traction” (slumberland press) 1000 $25
Hushdrops 'summer people/radio 1990' 7" 200 $9
Hushdrops 'transmission/miami rap/amelia airhead' 7" 200 $9
I Call Fives 'bad advice' (hand #'d, etched b side, seafoam green wax) #49/50 $30
I can make a mess like nobody’s business “Enola” (1st press pink and white starburst wax with CD. Ace Enders of early November) 1000 $22
Illyah Kuryahkin 'lotus pool' (yellow wax) $2
Imagine Dragons 'night visions' $12
Jacob's Mouse 'rubber room' (1st press) $18
Jacob's Mouse 'wryry smilers' (1st press) $15
Jagwar Ma 'the time and space time machine dub sessions' 12" $12
Jeff Rosenstock/Skasucks split 7" ep (black and blue wax) 1000 $25
Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hearafter 'like, love, lust & the open halls of the soul' (2x12, no sleeve) $8
”Joe Pernice 'it feels so good when I stop' (uk press) $15"
Knox Fortune 'paradise' (VMP press #258 orange blob wax with poster and lyric insert) $40
Last days Of April 'gooey' (sweden 2010) $20
”Lees of memory "ain't no changing baby's mind" 7" (mono, members of superdrag) 300 $5"
Lemonheads 'lemonheads' (1st press 180 gram) $65
Let Me Run ‘let me run’ 7” (white vinyl) $2
Let's Active 'cypress' (1st press, emw deadwax pressing, translucent brown wax, usa 1984) $6
Liars 'pro anti anti' (flesh wax) $5
Lightships 'electric cables' (1st press, gerard love from teenage fanclub) $24
Lilys 'eccsame the photon band' (signed sleeve on rainbow splatter wax, NM) 200 $60
Look Mexico 'to bed to battle' (sealed, do not know what color it is?) $10
Los Campesinos! 'sick scenes' (180 gram black UK press) $10
Lunar Maps 'lunar maps' (mitch wilson from no knife, white wax) 300 $20
Mae 'destination beautiful' (sEaLeD!! baby blue/aqua blue swirl with white, sea blue and electric blue splatter, spartan records) 200 $55
Man Overboard 'hung up on nothing' 7" ep (half pink/half bone) 314 $15
Man Overboard 'passing ends' 7" ep (white with black splatter) 450 $5
Mansions 'new best friend' (2nd press, black with white haze wax) 208 $23
Margot and the Nuclear So and So's 'rot gut domestic' (black wax) 1900 $75
Matt Pond Pa 'the green fury' $8
Mayday parade 'black lines' (1st press bone with black splatter) 500 $18
Meneguar 'strangers in our house' (1st usa press, features members of the band woods) 700 $8
Microdisney “everybody is fantastic” (1st press U.K. this is Sean o’hagan’s first band before the high llamas) $10
Mind Bomb 'do you need some' (10" single) $2
”Modest Mouse 'we were dead before the ship even sank' (180 gram) $20”
Moon socket 'feeling around' 7" ep (1st press 1995) $6
Moose Blood 'blush' (1st press, black + pink split wax with exclusive honey pink 7") 2500 $30
Motel Beds 'mind glitter' $6
Munroe Mustang “plain sweeping themes for the unprepared” (1st press, sleeve has shrink on it) $20
”Neon Indian “era extrana” (1st press black vinyl) $15”
Neon Neon 'years of lead' (trans orange wax UK) $4
Nick Piunti 'beyond the static' (transparent light aqua wax) 300 $20
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds 'in the heat of the moment' 7" $7
Notwist '12' (repress 2x12, sealed) $15
Oh No Oh My 'people problems' $6
Ola Podrida 'belly of the lion' 250 $18
”Olivia Tremor Control 'california demise' 7" ep (1994) $30”
”Olivia Tremor Control 'peel sessions' $10”
”Olivia Tremor Control 'giant day' 7" ep $5”
Oneida 'rated o' (3x12 set) $20
”Oranges Band 'all around' (spoon side project) $20”
Oranges band 'the five dollars ep' 7" ep (incs cd with 5 tracks, spoon side project) $5
”Pain Teens 'born in blood' (1st press with insert U.K. 1990) $17”
Panda Bear 'panda bear meets grim reaper & crosswords ep' (deluxe edition with mr noah ep and the crosswords ep) $25
Papercuts 'fading parade' (white marble wax) $10
Papermoons 'no love' (1st press trns red wax) 100 $15
”Pavement 'wowee zowee' (rj sterling master) $18"
”Pavement 'quarantine the past' (2x12 best of...both records don't sit flat but play and sound well) $15”
Pavo Pavo 'young narrator in the breakers' (green wax) $15
”Photon Band 'easy pop art research' 7"' $4”
”Photon Band 'superstard/sitting on the sunn' 7" $4”
”Pinegrove 'cardinal' (1st press, blue wax) 300 $50”
”Polvo 'todays active lifestyles' (1st press with lions on sleeve usa 1993) $70"
Prawn 'kingfisher' (1st press, clear with orange and blue splatter wax) 200 $25
Psapp 'the only thing I ever wanted' (1st press gatefold usa) $12
Pugwash 'here we go round again' 10" ep (uk) $10
”Queen 'a night at the opera' (1st press usa, VG+) $24”
Quiet Company 'a dead man on my back' (2x12 white wax, signed by the band) $20
Radio 4 'live in france' 1000 $8
Railroad Jerk 'the third rail' (1st press matador 1996) $8
Real Friends 'everyone that dragged you here' (royal blue marble wax) 250 $20
Release the Sunbird 'come back to us' (rogue wave side project, orange wax, sleeve is vg due to a crease) $13
Richard Edwards 'lemon cotton candy sunset' (vip edition, 2x12 with 7" flexi, numbered on lemon and pink swirl wax) 500 $30
Royal Trux 'twin infinitives' (1st press 2x12, drag city 1990) $40
”Schematic 'color (n.) inside the lines' (2x12 half & half blue/red & green/yellow, lead singer from mae) 250 $15”
Sebadoh 'soul and fire' 7" ep $4
sELF "porno, mint & grime" (2x12 colored wax) 2000 $20
Set Your Goals 'burning at both ends' (180 gram black wax) $8
”Six Finger Satellite 'law of ruins' (1st press 2x12 clear wax 1998) $55”
Sloan 'double cross' $20
Slow Runner 'new monsters' (slight warp but plays through) 300 $15
Smith Westerns 'soft will' $8
Sonny and The Sunsets 'talent night at the ashram' (red wax) $10
”South 'you are here' $6"
Stephen Kellogg 'blunderstone rookery' $18
Stephen Kellogg 'south, west, north, east' 2x12 $15
Stephen Kellogg 'wolf/black muddy river' 7" sealed (greatful dead cover) $4
Stickup Kid 'future fire' (1st pressing, purple marble) 150 $15
Strapping Fieldhands 'the caul' 10" ep $9
Superdrag 'jokers with tracers' (1st press 2x12) 500 $55
Technicolor Teeth 'blood pool/drips' 7" (amos pitsch from tenement, smokey clear wax) 100 $12
Tenement 'taking everything/daylight world' 7" ep (black wax) 390 $6
The Besnard Lakes “are the roaring nights” (sEaLeD!) $12
The black heart procession “the spell” $15
The Camberwell Now 'meridian' (1st press UK, members from this heat, sleeve is vg) $35
The Darcys 'warring' (180 gram) $15
The Deathset "worldwide" $7
The Drowning Men 'all of the unknown' (translucent gold wax) $10
The Drums 'portamento' (1st press europe 2011) $30
The Fall “perverted by language” (1st press U.K. 1983) $55
The Feelies 'the good earth' (1st press, coyote label) $20
The Go Find 'stars on the wall' (1st press german 2007) $10
”The Homosexuals “hearts in exile/soft South Africans” 7” (1st Press 1978) $55”
The Kinks 'mister pleasant' 7" ep (rsd 2016) 3000 $15
The Mice 'for almost ever' 12" ep (cut corner) $100
”The Monkees 'live 1967' (1st usa press rhino 1987) $10”
The Mommyheads 'acorn' (1st press, fang records) $10
The Neighbourhoods 'I love you' (1st press 2014 2x12 180 gram, urban outfitters exc) Sealed! $30
The New Amsterdams 'at the foot of my rivals' (get up kids side) $65
The Reindeer Section 'son of evil reindeer' (gary lightbody's side from snow patrol, 1st press, uk 2002 grade VG) $50
The Remains s/t (rsd 2016 SEALED remaster MONO white wax) 2500 $20
The Replacements 'all shook down' (1st press, German 1990, NOTE: skipping for a minute of track 1) $18
The Residents 'diskomo/goosebumps' (1st press ralph records 1980) $12
The Shivas 'you know what to do' $10
The Sound 'all fall down' (1st press new zealand) $50
”The Tower Recordings 'transfiguration of the nice price and other jerk off' 7" ep (1st press 1996) $4”
The Wrens 'life stories from the union' 7" $14
The wrens "napiers" 7" (white wax). $9
The Wytches 'all your happy life' (1st press, purple wax) $15
This Heat 'health and efficiency' (1st press uk 1980) $40
”Title Fight ‘spring songs’ 7” (blue vinyl) $4”
”Toad the Wet Sprocket 'pale' (1st press green milky marble wax) $50”
Tokyo Police Club 'elephant shell' $15
Tom Tom Club 'close to the bone' (1st press usa) $7
Tom Tom Club 'tom tom club' (1st press, srk3628, usa 1981) $15
Tommy Keane 'based on happy times' (1st press) $18
”Toro Y Moi 'june 2009' 7" box set (5x7" singles, includes inserts) $13”
Travis 'where you stand' $10
Tuns 'tuns' (includes members from sloan, super friendz and the inbreds) $10
Trumans Water 'spasm smash xxxoxox ox and ass' (1st press 2x12 uk 1993) $25
”Turnover “peripheral vision” (1st press Halloween swirl wax) 700 $65”
U2 ‘with or without you + 2’ 7” (1st Press specialty press usa 1987, picture sleeve is vg) $2
UkaiSeiji + Gebo 'my first soondie' (uk 2001) $10
Uncle Wiggly 'jump back, baby' $10
Urusei Yatsura 'fake fur' 10" ep (white wax, uk 1997) $8
Urusei Yatsura 'we are urusei yatsura' (1st press blue wax uk 1996) $20
Valencia 'we all need a reason to believe' (red/brown split wax) 300 $45
Various "comp for mom" (red wax) #334/1075 $15
We Shot The Moon 'love on' (yellow wax) 100 $20
Weaves 'weaves' (neon pink wax) $12
Where the wild things are and other stories (1977 usa press) $10
Wingtip Sloat 7" 'half past I've got' (2x7, hand made paper bag sleeve) 1000 $7
Wingtip Sloat 7" 'm31 + 3' (handmade sleeves w/unique inserts, dark maroon wax) 500 $5
Wingtip Sloat 7" 'return of the ardent straggler ep' (handmade sleeve w/unique inserts) 500 $5
Wingtip Sloat 'chewyfoot' (hand made sleeves w/7" and other empheria) 500 $15
Wire 'document and eyewitness' (1st press PROMO japan with OBI on 2x12) $80
Wire 'a question of degree' 7" (1st press uk 1979) $33
”Wire 'snakedrill' 12" ep (1st press uk mute) $7”
”Wire '154' (1st usa press 1979, EX) $45”
Woo “it’s cosy inside” (1st press USA 1989) $55
”Woods 'woods family creeps' $7”
”Woods 'sun and shade' $13"
Zammuto 'anchor' (hand screened, hand #'d with white wax with blue splatter) #975/1000 $20
Zeus 'classic zeus' (white wax) $10
Zookeeper 'pink chalk' (coke bottle wax, lead singer of mineral) 300 $5

Quick overview of things they talked about on the E3. Since the previous one got removed, I removed the links..

EA

Titanfall 2: There will be a single player campaign. The multiplayer will be “deeper than ever”. The game also features 6 new titans. New pilot abilities. Before the launch you’ll be able to play the beta. Will be out on October 28th / 2016.
Madden NFL 17: “Take your team all the way.” The game will have special moves, a fakeout system, ball carrier mechanics, blocking & improved AI.
Mass Effect Andromeda: Worlds with adventure, danger, and the unknown are waiting to be discovered. Everything is new. A new galaxy where you as a human will be the "alien". You will be given more freedom than ever. The game will be powered by frostbite and released in early 2017.
Fifa 17: Will have a story mode called “The Journey”. It follows a character called Alex Hunter and you will be able to follow his path into the English Premier League. Powered by Frostbite.
Fe: EA announced a new program aimed for indie games, called “EA Spotlight”. Their first game is called “Fe”, from the Swedish studio Zoink. It's a game without words, celebrating the beauty of nature. Music is involved as well.
Lots of Star Wars games are in development by various studios: Dice & Motive are making a new Battlefront game together. Visceral Games is making a new action game. Respawn is working on a third person action adventure game.
Battlefield 1: Battlefield 1 is the most dynamic Battlefield ever. No battle is ever the same. It will be a unique take on WW1 and you'll have to adapt to the weather (you’ll have to fight in the heat, in a storm etc). Tank combat will have high energy with lots of brutality. Open beta coming later this summer.

Bethesda

Quake Champions: id Software brings back another another old PC shooter. It's an arena-based (competitive) first person shooter that will work for both beginners, as well as veterans. It will feature a big variety of warriors with various traits, have a very high speed and sharp graphics. There will also be leagues and tournaments.
The Elder Scrolls Legends: Bethesda is making a Heartstone like card game for the PC platform and the iOS. It will also work for the iPad, as well as Android tablets. There’s a single-player campaign, arenas, as well as your choice when it comes to playing against another human or AI.They’re planning a release sometime during 2016.
The Elder Scrolls Online: Will receive a new update, called One Tamriel, that lets the players explore the world more freely. The game will make it’s way to Japan in June! Later this year, Skyrim will come out in HD for PS4, Xbox One and PC.
Fallout 4 & Doom will enter the world of VR. Coming to HTC Vive in 2017.
Fallout: The mobile game Fallout Shelter is getting a PC version. They will also update the game, giving you a chance to see new places, fight new enemies and get new characters to your shelter. There’s also an all new combat system.
They’re planning more Fallout 4 DLC, which starts next week as they release the Contraptions Workshop update. This includes conveyor belts, machines and track kits. In July, another update will give you a Vault-Tec Workshop where you can build your own vault. The last release will be Nuka-World. a run down amusement park that the players can visit and explore.
Prey: The IP Prey is getting a new game, but it’s not a remake or a sequel Instead it’s a reimagination. It’s a thriller, set in 2032, and you play a character called Morgan. You will be able to explore large sets of areas, a lot of them being very hostile.
Dishonored 2: Will star a female character called Emily Kaldwin. She got banished from Dunwall and needs to set things straight by uncovering the reasons behind her banishment. It’s set in a place called Carnaca. The player will have a lot of options and pathways through each mission. Emely can transform into a shadow figure, that’s very helpful during stealth. She can also jump between time frames and alter both worlds. Will be out for PC, PS4 & Xbox One on November 11, 2016 (Along with a very limited collector’s edition).

Microsoft Studios

Xbox One S: A white, smaller (40%), slimmer and sleeker version. It'll also support HDR and 4K video and will have a 2TB harddrive. The price will be 299USD.
Project Scorpio: A whole new Xbox console. Stronger & faster than ever. Works really well together with VR.
You will also be able to customize your own Xbox One controller the way you want it.
Play Anywhere: A new features that lets you play on more than one platform. If you buy a game for the Xbox, you will be able to play it for free on your computer. You will also be able to carry over achievements and save files.
Xbox Live: Gets new features like: play music while you game, support of more languages & Cortana. There will also be clubs, a "looking for groups" system & arena tournament.
Gears of War 4: Will have campaign & multiplayer. There will also be a co-op mode that’s wave-based. Gears of War 4 also gets a special edition elite controller. Will be released on October 11 / 2016 for Xbox One & Windows 10.
Forza Horizon 3: Open world racer. Play with your friends across PC & Xbox.
ReCore: They showed a first gameplay trailer. The release date was set to September this year.
The Division Underground: A new DLC coming soon.
INSIDE: From the creators of LIMBO. A dark and violent game.
We Happy Few: They showed off a new gameplay trailer.
Gwent: The Witcher Card Game: This will be a standalone release for console and PC. Based on the popular card game that you can play in the Witcher series. Scheduled for a release in September.
Tekken 7: Comes to Xbox One & will include a whole new story mode.
Dead Rising 4: The zombie game got a teaser. Is Frank West making a return?
Scalebound: Scalebound will have a 4 player co-op, each player having their own dragon. There will be massive boss fights with huge beasts and other creatures. The game is scheduled for a 2017 release.
Sea of Thieves: They revealed a gameplay trailer for this online multiplayer pirate game.
State of Decay 2: Launches in 2017 as a part of the new Play Anywhere feature. Focuses a lot on co-op.
Halo Wars 2: Launches February 21st / 2017.

Ubisoft

Just Dance 2017: Ubisoft’s next dance game is coming to Nintendo NX. The game will have 40 new tracks as well as the new feature “Just Dance Machine”. It’s a feature that challenges you to dance in various ways. Launches this October on many consoles, including PC for the very first time.
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands: Will have 4 player co-op, with each player doing something different / unique in order for the mission to succeed. Releases March 7th, 2017.
South Park: The Fractured But Hole: Matt Stone and Trey Parker came on stage to talk about their new South Park game. While some elements will be the same as the previous games, some features has been changed and updated as well, like combat system. This time it’s all about super heroes. Comes out on December 6:th, 2016.
The Division: The DLC Underground comes out August 2nd on PS4. Will launch first (in June) for Xbox One and PC as a timed deal. If you’re registered to the Ubisoft Club you’ll get 3 new costumes when Underground is released. These are theme based around Ubisoft’s other big franchises.
The Divison will also release a Survival expansion this September:
Eagle Flight: A multiplayer VR game.
Star Trek - Bridge Crew: A multiplayer game for VR. Each player gets a task to do and they have to work together to succeed. A game for all the Star Trek fans out there.
Grow Up: A follow up to Grow Home. The little red robot Bud returns and this time you’ll need to reach the moon by any means.
For Honor: There’s a war going on between the vikings, samurais and knights. We got a glimpse of the single player campaign, and how you could play as the viking. He and his crew kept destroying and killing as much as possible while trying to reach the samurai leader.
Watch Dogs 2: A new trailer was shown - hack everything.
STEEP: Ubisoft is releasing a new Snowboard game. It has an open world where you can play on your own or side by side with someone else. You’ll also be able to record and share your stunts.

Sony

God of War: Kratos is back in a new game, harder than ever. But this is a new type of God of War.
Days Gone: This is a totally new IP. It’s an action / zombie game. We also saw a lot of bike riding. You’ll play a guy who needs to find a reason to live even though confronted with tragedy, loss and desperation.
The Last Guardian: The game gets a release date: October 25th / 2016.
Horizon: Zero Dawn: They showed off gameplay for this game. It’s very vibrant and has a lot of mechanics that you can play with to take down and trick your enemies.
Detroit: Become Human: Look for information, find various ways to deal with a certain situation. You create your own story in this world of AI among humans.
Resident Evil 7 Biohazard: A new game from the RE franchise was announced. It looks like they’re focusing on horror again. It will work with VR and Playstation Plus members can play the demo right now.
Sony VR: Releases on October 13th / 2016 and the price is 399USD. The system will feature 50+ games.
Batman Arkham VR: The Joker (Mark Hamill) spoke about Batman. Batman Arkham joins the world of VR. Releases on October 13th.
Final Fantasy XV VR experience: Yes, FFXV is coming to the VR. You’ll be able to play as one of Noctis's friends, Prompto. We don’t know yet if the whole game is playable this way though.
Crash Bandicoot Remastered: Sony & Activision works together to bring back Crash. They’re remastering Crash Bandicoot 1, 2 and Warped. Death Stranding: A game from Hideo Kojima starring Norman Reedus from The Walking Dead.
Spider-man: Ratchet & Clank developers makes a new Spider-man game, exclusively for Playstation 4.
UPDATED:

PC Gaming show

They announced and talked about a few interesting games during the PC Gaming show. Here's some of the titles:
Oxygen Not Included: The creators of Don’t Starve is working on a new game. This is a space-colony simulation game where you can manage your colonists and help them build, as well as maintain a subterranean asteriod base.
Giant Cop: This is a VR game where you play as a big policeman who has to do everything in his power to keep the citizens safe. The people are very tiny compared to you. You can throw all kinds of stuff around, spy with a camera and stop protesters, everything in a fun and lighthearted way.
Serious Sam & SUPERHOT joins the VR world.
Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord: This was announced in 2012 and is a prequel to Mount & Blade: Warband. It’s an upcoming action RPG, set in medieval times.
The Surge: The studio behind Lords of the Fallen, Deck13 are working on the upcoming action RPG, The Surge. Earth is falling and you need to survive in a dystopian future.
LawBreakers: This is a new first-person shooter where even the laws of physics can be shattered, creating unprecedented gravity-based combat across a bloody rebuilt landscape in America. You can sign up for the Alpha right now.
VAMPYR: Dontnod Entertainment, the creators of Life is Strange, are working on a action RPG, starring doctor Jonathan Reid, a vampire who is trying to life with his new undead condition.
Observer: A horror game with a cyberpunk setting that explores the world of hackable nightmares.
The Turing Test: This is a first-person puzzler, where you’ll play as the space engineer Ava Turing. Progress through a narrated story while uncovering the hidden mysteries of Europa. Push your brain with logical and methodical thinking and with puzzles constructed in a way that only a human mind could solve.
Overland: Overland is a turn-based, real-time strategy game, trying to approach the typical zombie game in another, refreshing way. Set in an apocalyptic North America.

Other

Here’s some smaller news & updates about things that we might’ve missed the first time, as well as news that was announced outside of the conferences (but still E3 related):
If you pre-order South Park: The Fractured But Whole, you’ll get South Park: The Stick of Truth for free.
Sony didn’t talk about the game Gravity Rush 2, but ended up uploading a new trailer to the Playstation EU channel.
Crash Bandicoot makes a cameo in Activision’s Skylanders: Imaginators.
BioWare continues development on Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Capital Games does the same for Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered will be playable on Playstation 4, 30 days early. The game will be avaialble to those who buys the new Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.
DOOM gets a DLC pack called Unto The Evil and will include new multiplayer maps, new armour and a new demon. There will also be other updates, free for all players.
Ubisoft celebrates their 30th anniversary and decided to give away a free PC game each month for the rest of the year. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time will be the first free game. To claim your free game, check out Ubisoft Club / ubi30.
Trials Fusion meets Blood Dragon in Trails of the Blood Dragon. It’s inspired by 1980’s action movies, retro style. It’s already out and you’ll find it for PS4, Xbox One & PC.
Right now, you can download the Playstation 4 demo for Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Sony announced a VR game called Farpoint. It’s a space adventure set on a hostile alien world and after a crash landing, it’s up to you to explore and uncover the secrets of the planet.
Star Wars: Battlefront gets X-Wing VR Missions.
General RAAM from Gears of War joins the cast of Killer Instint.
Minecraft gets Minecraft Realms, a multiplatform version of Minecraft, powered by Xbox Live. It will have a dedicated server support which means you’ll be able to visit your friends and vice versa, host for others to join your world & your adventure.
A 22 minute long gameplay video of Mafia 3 was released. Release date is set for October 7th / 2016.
Pokémon Sun & Pokémon Moon releases on November 18th / 2016.