The Weeknd Short biography
Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as The Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is considered one of his generation's most influential and successful artists, with numerous awards and chart-topping hits.
Tesfaye grew up in an Orthodox Ethiopian household. In 2020, he told Variety, in response to his religious beliefs, "I dunno... everything is a test, and if you are religious or spiritual, you have to go through things." He acquired Amharic, his native tongue, from his grandmother. Later, he attended a French immersion school and became fluent. West Hill Collegiate Institute and Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute provided him with additional education.
Tesfaye left school when he was seventeen and relocated to a flat in the Parkdale neighborhood with two companions, one of whom was his best buddy and current creative director La Mar Taylor. Due to their hedonistic lifestyle, he has compared this period to the 1995 movie Kids "without AIDS". Throughout this period, he has also been homeless and has served multiple jail terms, which have motivated him to “smarten up, to focus.”
