"I have experienced enough darkness in my life for a lifetime."
The Weeknd talks about his dark personality, drug use and boycott of the Grammy Awards in a full-length interview in the first issue of "GQ".
The Canadian singer, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, describes in the magazine how he feels about people who think he is a dark person.
"I am not in the dark. My art is dark and I have gone through dark times. I used those dark times as inspiration for my art. "But I feel that because I'm not dark, I was able to channel it and put it into my music and my art."
The Weeknd added that he managed to do some of his best work when he was sad: "I think when someone is sad, they make better music."
"And I was definitely a victim and I wanted to be upset, because I am very aware. I definitely put myself in situations where he hurts himself psychologically. Because making great music is a drug. It is an addiction and you always want to have it ", he confessed.
"It simply came to our notice then. And I have experienced enough darkness in my life for a lifetime. "I feel lucky to have music and that is why I have not been very involved with psychotherapy, because I feel that music was my psychotherapy," he continued.
The Weeknd - iHeartRadio Music Awards 2021
The Weeknd also revealed that he no longer drinks as much and that he has stopped using drugs, although he admitted that he still smokes cannabis.
"Drugs were a button. I was the one who thought I needed them. And that I did not do the work to understand how not to need them. And I spent the last few years realizing it and thanking God that I do not need them. Because for many people, it is difficult to escape. "But I knew I did not want it," he said.
The 31-year-old artist also noted the difference between "The Weeknd" and "Abel": "The lines were blurred at first".
"And as my career progressed and I evolved as a person, it became very clear that Abel is someone I go back to every night. "And The Weeknd is someone I go to as if I were going to work," he explained.
In November 2020, The Weeknd called the Grammy Awards "corrupt" after the album "After Hours", which was at No. 1 on the Billboard charts and went platinum several times, did not receive any nominations for the event.
"When it happened, I had all these ideas and thoughts. I got angry and confused and I was upset. "But now, looking back, I never want to know what really happened," he told GQ.
When asked if he intends to re-submit his music at the Grammy Awards, he insisted: "I have no interest. Everyone says, "No, just do better next time." I will do better, but not for you. I will do better for myself ".
