The Weeknd’s nationality is not a secret. This information, including his origin has been announced since his debut. However, even though you know he is an Ethiopian who immigrated to Canada, you probably don’t know this ethnicity well. In this article, Leapice will summarize for you all the information about The Weeknd Ethnic so that you can understand this talented singer better.
What do you know about The Weeknd Ethnic?
1. The Weeknd Ethnic: What Is His Ethnic?
1.1. The Weeknd Family
1.1.1. The Weeknd’s Father
As you know, The Weeknd was born on February 16, 1990, into an Ethiopian immigrant family in Toronto, Canada. Both his father and mother are Ethiopians who immigrated to Canada before he was born.
His father, Makkonen Tesfaye, was described by him in an interview with Rolling Stone as a very strict man. He is well educated because he attended university in Ethiopia before immigrating to Canada.
The Weeknd and his father in a rare photo.
Makkonen loves traditional Ethiopian — The Weeknd Ethnic music and often plays traditional Ethiopian instruments in the house. The Weeknd admits that it was these early sounds that deeply influenced his musical taste. And later, when he became a singer and a musician, Ethiopian elements were also included in his songs.
The Weeknd Ethnic Instruments
The Weeknd really loves his dad, despite the fact that his dad left home when he was young. He left his son in the care of his mother and ex-wife, and he himself had a new marriage. The Weeknd admits that he rarely gets to see his dad after his dad leaves the house. “One night,” he said. It was the only time that he vaguely remembered that these two had a meeting.
He knew his father had a new family, and possibly other children. But when he was asked, he still spoke of his father with love and sympathy: “He wasn’t abusive, he wasn’t an alcoholic, he wasn’t an asshole. He just wasn’t there”. And he insists that he does not judge him.
In the album Starboy, The Weeknd once expressed his love for his father through sentences describing Mr. Tesfaye’s journey from Ethiopia to Canada and how he sacrificed for his family.
1.1.2. The Weeknd Mother
The Weeknd’s mother Samra Tesfaye is also of Ethiopian descent. We can not know her previous name before marriage because The Weeknd did not disclose this information on any social networks or media.
After immigrating to Canada, she met Mr. Makkonen Tesfaye. The couple decided to get married and gave birth to a boy named Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, who later went by the stage name The Weeknd.
The Weeknd and his mother
According to an unofficial source, Ms. Tesfaye was an educated woman but had a very hard life. After divorcing her husband, she had to raise her son and mother-in-law alone.
To pay the bills for the month and for Abel to go to school, she worked multiple jobs at the same time. During the day, she worked as a nurse and caterer and at night she attended a supplementary class to improve her education.
The Weeknd Mother sent a happy birthday to him. Screenshort sourced by The Weeknd Official Twitter
The Weeknd does not share much information about his relationship with his mother. But we can be sure that they still love each other very much. The Weeknd says that his mother is his biggest fan. And Mrs. Tesfaye has always cared for her child in many different ways. On Abel’s birthday, she often texted her son to wish him a happy birthday. A text message was shared on Twitter by The Weeknd in 2022.
He also sang about his mother in a song on the album Starboy. The lyrics talk about a mother’s tolerance for him and her pride when her son succeeds.
1.1.3. The Weeknd Ethnic
Like his father and mother, The Weeknd is also Ethiopian. He has a typical African look with curly hair and dark skin. Although he was born and raised in Canada, he has never once forgotten his roots. The Weeknd has always acknowledged that his music is influenced by Ethiopian heritage.
The Weeknd applies various materials and techniques from his Ethiopian heritage to his music.
The Hills with The Weeknd Ethnic heritage
A typical Ethiopian song is “The Hills”, which was released by The Weeknd in 2015. This is a hit song by The Weeknd. “The Hills” reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States and was nominated in many categories of major music awards.
In this song, The Weeknd used a piece of music from a song by Ethiopian artist Tilahun Gessesse to connect two sections of this song.
Starboy is a song including The Weeknd Ethnic Heritage
Another example of Ethiopian heritage’s influence on The Weeknd’s music is his song Starboy. This song is made up of distinctive sounds, reminiscent of a traditional Ethiopian musical instrument, the Krar. Needless to say more about Starboy’s success in The Weeknd’s musical career. But looking at the way he brought the Ethiopian spirit to the masses, it’s easy to see that he loves his roots.
2. The Weeknd Ethnic: Some Information About Ethiopian
2.1. The Weeknd Ethnic: Ethiopian Overview
Ethiopian is a community mainly living in the country Ethiopia on the Horn of Africa.
In this country, they live with more than 80 other ethnic groups such as Oromo, Amhara, Tigre, and Somali. Each ethnic group has its own culture, traditions, and customs. That is what makes Ethiopia a diverse country with a rich cultural and historical heritage.
The Weeknd Ethnic people live mainly on the Horn of Africa
Although Ethiopians are indigenous to Ethiopia, there is a group of people from this ethnic group who have migrated to new countries for a variety of reasons. We can meet people of Ethiopian descent in some countries other than Ethiopia, such as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Sweden and some others.
You can see Ethiopians in Canada and other counties such as the US, UK, Australia, Sweden…
Although they are far from their homeland, with the love of their blood, Ethiopians have built many cultural centers, maintained traditional activities, and contributed to promoting their uniqueness to the world.
2.2. The Weeknd Ethnic:: Ethiopian Canadians
2.2.1. The Weeknd Ethnic: Ethiopian Immigration to Canada
There are many reasons for Ethiopians to immigrate to Canada during the past half century.
Some people migrate because they want a better, better-paying job so they can take care of their families. They go in search of a better future, where there is no more war, poverty, disease. There, their children can go to school and get better care.
The Weeknd Ethnic people have to leave their country for many reasons
Others leave because they feel unsafe in their own country. Political instability led to frequent riots, high food prices and fear among citizens. They had to leave because they had no other choice to lead a safer life.
Another group of Ethiopians came to Canada because they were sponsored by their family members. Those are really touching reunions between family members who have been apart for many years. Now they have a more stable life and decide to live with their family.
The Weeknd Ethnic is Ethiopian
Because of mass migration since the 1950s, the Canadian government enacted a new immigration policy for people of color in 1962. Under this policy, people with education and skills would be given priority. first.
This policy is the government’s attempt to raise the level of immigrants due to the large number of unskilled workers entering the country.
2.2.2. The Weeknd Ethnic: Ethiopian Community in Canada
As of 2016, the number of Ethiopians in Canada has reached 440,000 out of 36.11 million Canadians. They live mainly in the cities of Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and Vancouver.
Ethiopian Canadians are on a trip to Ethiopia.
Ethiopians living in Canada have established vibrant cultural centers, schools, hospitals and businesses. They are making a significant contribution to Canada’s GDP every year. Besides integrating into other ethnic communities in Canada, Ethiopians are also very focused on preserving the traditions and culture of their community. They organize numerous trips to Ethiopia to introduce the next generation to their roots.
A demonstration of Ethiopian Canadians
Despite their important contributions to Canada, Ethiopians still suffer heavily from apartheid. There have been many Ethiopian protests taking place in this country against interference and racism against the black community in general and the Ethiopian community in particular.
Besides the Weeknd's Ethnic, you can read and discover about The Weeknd birth chart. Be a big fan!!!
3. About Leapice
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