When it comes to mysterious men, we often think of Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, and Nicholas Cage. However, Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (a.k.a The Weeknd) might have them all beat. The rising hip-hop artist doesn’t give many interviews and let his music do all the talking. While that’s beautiful and all, sometimes the people need a more direct answer to the mystery. Fortunately, that’s what we’re here to talk about today. A few secrets managed to make their way through the musician’s tough defense. Hence, here’s five.
1. THE WEEKND LOVES THE JOKER
Perhaps the mysterious similarities between Batman and Abel are not a coincidence. According to the artist, the Joker “is my favorite villain of all time.” Now, to anyone who knows the Joker, this may seem like a scary person to admire. However, Abel assures us that while he may like and even relate to the Joker, he’s not going to destroy the world anytime soon.
2. THE WEEKND IS MULTILINGUAL
He may sing in English, but that’s hardly his only language. Abel really appreciates Ethiopian poetry and can even speak Amharic. Furthermore, Abel cites Ethiopian music as a major inspiration as well.
3. THE WEEKND IS FRIENDS WITH LANA DEL RAY
In Lana Del Rey‘s music video Ultraviolence, there’s a mysterious man playing the “love” interest of Lana. Apparently, this is Abel and the two have been friends for quite some time. They’ve both inspired each other through music yet we don’t know if the relationship goes any further than that.
4. THE WEEKND LOVES MICHAEL JACKSON, PRINCE, AND R. KELLY
It’s hard to find anyone who’s not a Michael Jackson, Prince or R.Kelly fan. Abel is certainly a big one and he cites all three as huge inspirations to his music.
5. THE WEEKND USED TO COVER BOYZ II MEN
Many aspiring artists start off their careers with covers and Abel is no different. In the past, he would take a mic and computer to record Boyz II Men songs for practice and perhaps a little bit of fun too.
