The Weeknd has a desire to address social issues in America.
In the Fall/Winter 2016 cover story of V Man magazine, the Grammy Award-winner shared his thoughts on some of America’s ongoing issues surrounding race relations. The singer said that prior to the fatal police shootings of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, [the singer said that] he was apprehensive about discussing politics in a public forum.
“I promised myself that I would never tweet or talk about politics and focus on the music, but I was just so bewildered that we lost more of our people to these senseless police shootings,” he said in the interview. “It’s hard to wrap my head around the fact that there are people who can’t or won’t see what Black Lives Matter is trying to accomplish.”
For his part, last month the 26-year-old showed his support for the Black Lives Matter movement by pledging $250,000 to the organization. The motivation to do so is something he wants to convey in the recording studio.
“I wish I could make music about politics,” he said. “I feel like it’s such an art and a talent that I admire tremendously, but when I step into the studio I step out of the real world, and it’s therapeutic. It’s an escape, but recently it’s been very hard to ignore, and it’s also been very distracting. Maybe you’ll hear it in my voice, but it is not my forté.”
Hopefully, the singer will change his mind before the release of his next album. One would hope.
Read more of The Weeknd’s interview with V Man here.
Before You Go
