The Weeknd says 'it was very flattering' when Usher allegedly ripped his mixtape sound for 2012 hit 'Climax'
The Weeknd made some interesting comments recently, where he took credit for Usher's sound on the 2012 hit song 'Climax' which was engineered by star producer Diplo.
The young R&B singer claimed he was practically responsible for Usher choosing to push 'Climax' in an alternative R&B direction, after the 'Yeah!' singer presumably heard and then copied The Weeknd's fresh new sound off his debut mixtape which was released back in 2011.
The 30-year-old Canadian artiste The Weeknd aka Abel Tesfaye is currently basking in the adulation of his fourth consecutive No. 1 album 'After Hours'.
Speaking to Variety in their recent April 8 cover story, he revealed that 41-year-old hitmaker Usher had probably been inspired by the sound of his debut mixtape 'House of Balloons' in 2011.
At the time, The Weeknd wasn't as famous as he currently is, and was actually still climbing the ladder to stardom. However, he reacted positively to Usher and Diplo's imitation game, realizing that he was helping pioneer a new hit style of music and bringing alternative R&B to the modern mainstream charts.
"'House of Balloons' literally changed the sound of pop music before my eyes," The Weeknd revealed in the interview. "I heard 'Climax', that Usher song, and was like, 'Holy f***, that's a Weeknd song."
Although the hardworking singer admitted he was initially upset after hearing Usher's tune blatantly rip off his own sound, he eventually took the steal-the-feel incident as the ultimate compliment to his own musical genius.
"It was very flattering," The Weeknd candidly stated. "I knew I was doing something right, but I also got angry. But the older I got, I realized it's a good thing."
The Weeknd's manager agreed with him. "People saw the rise, but have no idea how hard Abel and our small team worked for years before we got the recognition," Wassim Slaiby revealed in the same interview. "Abel created this whole new R&B wave everyone is on now."
However, the producer of Usher's 'Climax', the chart-topping Diplo, had this to say about Usher's new sound in 2012. Speaking to the Guardian at the time, Diplo stated, "The production actually started as a house thing with a chord progression that I wrote, but with some time in the studio alone, I was making a sort of ‘wildfire’ beat out of it."
Diplo added, "The idea of pushing cut-off on a synth used so much in progressive house music, but pulling back. I was making something like a minimal techno record with Atlanta strip clubs in mind." So it's probably just a case of great minds think alike.
Diplo also admitted, "Usher has the power to take a record into any lane." He added, "He's that big. He brought house music to the R&B crowds in America, and with 'Yeah!' he brought synths to Atlanta hip-hop."
"I think he wasn't going to these producers for their sounds... We all know what they do. Usher is a smart man, he has been doing this for long enough. He’s using the producers instead of the other way around," he added.
More updates on this story to follow if either Usher or Diplo make further comments on The Weeknd's startling revelation.