Memes and funny clips on Instagram: "The Weeknd, born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye on February 16, 1990, in Toronto, Canada, is of Ethiopian descent. Raised by his mother and grandmother after his parents’ separation, he grew up speaking Amharic before English and was influenced by Ethiopian music alongside Western artists like Michael Jackson and Prince.  He initially wanted to use “The Weekend” as his stage name but dropped the “e” to avoid copyright issues with an existing band. His early music was