It might be shocking, but plenty of your favorite musicians listen (and enjoy!) to music and genres far outside of what they tend to play. Levi Benton of Miss May I famously loves hip-hop, while legendary rapper Ice-T’s rock and metal side comes out in Body Count – that’s just two prominent examples.
The Weeknd, whose three mixtapes in 2011 (Thursday, Echoes Of Silence, and House Of Balloons) launched the R&B star to huge heights, draws from a variety of influences as well. His experiments with trip-hop are documented handily on those three mix tapes, his song “Heaven Or Las Vegas” references the Cocteau Twins’ 1990 dream pop masterpiece of the same name, and mega-single “Blinding Lights” draws heavy influence from synthwave music. It appears, though, that The Weekend’s influences run deeper than you’d think – tapping a prominent alt-metal icon as a key influence, and honoring one of the most iconic vocalists of the last 20+ years in the same breath.
In a recent tweet, Abel Tesfaye noted Deftones as a key influence on the aforementioned Trilogy mixtape series, which oddly enough you can draw similarities from the sensual nature of both bands. Especially the dream pop aesthetics of both.
R.I.P CHESTER #MementoMori
— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) August 18, 2021
Tesfaye also honored Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington with a simple tweet, and while it’s unclear if Bennington (or Linkin Park) inspired him in any way, it’s always good to see musicians from other genres paying tribute to legends.
DEFTONES HUGE INSPO DURING TRILGOY ERA #MementoMori
— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) August 18, 2021
