What Is The Weeknd Ethnicity?

People toss around his stage name like it's all there is to know, but under the sunglasses and velvet voice is Abel Tesfaye — a Canadian with Ethiopian roots. In short, his ethnicity is Ethiopian; he was born and raised in Toronto after his parents moved from Ethiopia, so culturally he bridges both worlds. That distinction matters because nationality (Canadian) and ethnicity (Ethiopian) are not always the same thing, and his story is a good example of that.

I like to tell friends that knowing where someone comes from can make their work feel more three-dimensional. For The Weeknd, the Ethiopian background is one thread among many in his identity tapestry, and while his songs don’t usually center on that heritage, it’s there if you look at interviews, family anecdotes, and the communities he references. It’s a small, cool reminder that pop stars often carry private cultural histories that quietly influence their art — and in his case, it’s Ethiopian-Canadian, which is a vibe all its own.

It's pretty neat to peel back the layers of an artist's background because it often colors how they present themselves. The Weeknd is Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, a Canadian born in Toronto whose family roots are firmly Ethiopian. In plain terms: his nationality is Canadian, but his ethnicity is Ethiopian — his parents immigrated from Ethiopia to Canada before he was born. That Ethiopian heritage shows up in small ways around his life and the way people talk about him, even if his music lives squarely in global R&B and pop landscapes.

Growing up in Toronto's diverse neighborhoods, Abel carried that Ethiopian identity alongside the everyday experiences of being a Black kid in Canada. Ethnicity is about shared culture, ancestry, language, and sometimes religion; for him that lineage traces back to Ethiopia. People sometimes mix up nationality and ethnicity, or lump everyone from the Horn of Africa together, but the straightforward label for his family background is Ethiopian. I find it interesting how many fans who only know him from the spotlight are surprised to learn about his specific roots — it adds a dimension when you reread old interviews or watch early footage where Toronto's multiculturalism and his family's past quietly intersect.

On a more personal note, I like thinking about how artists carry these heritages with them even when they don't overtly sing in their ancestral languages or use traditional instruments. It can show up in cadence, in storytelling instincts, even in fashion choices or the foods they mention offhand. For The Weeknd, that Ethiopian connection is part of a layered identity: a Toronto-born artist of Ethiopian descent whose voice has become a global one. It doesn't define him completely, but it informs him, and that mix of local upbringing plus ethnic roots feels like a big part of what makes his public persona so textured. Makes me want to dig into the Ethiopian music scene more next time I'm curating a playlist.