The Weeknd gives his first-ever interview to Complex (cover story no less – dope!). Thought maybe they’d touch on Jeremy Rose and his Vice interview (which I totally forgot to post when it came out so here’s the link) but guess not. Kiss Land on tha way…

The Weeknd has always let his music do the talking—dark, debauched mixtapes that changed the sound of modern R&B and profoundly influenced Drake’s sophomore album, Take Care. Now, As Abel Tesfaye prepares his debut album, Kiss Land, he’s speaking out for the first time. Listen up.

The Weeknd wants to be a star. Perhaps he’s given you another impression—because he’s never done an interview (until now) and he rarely poses for photos. But the 23-year-old singer, songwriter, and producer, born Abel Tesfaye in Scarborough, Ontario, doesn’t plan to languish in obscurity. Nor will he be one of those indie artists who wields tremendous influence but whose names are only known by “purists.” Fuck that.

The Weeknd’s plans are just as big, or bigger than, those of his peers and idols. But in order to accomplish them he must first master the art of stardom. Part of which means opening up to the media. The other parts—great music and live shows—he’s already got a handle on. His smoky, 3 a.m.-after-party-in-my-hotel-room debut, House of Balloons (released March 21, 2011), had fans and critics hailing him as one of R&B’s new torchbearers. The music caught the attention of another Canadian star by the name of Drake, who shared some of The Weeknd’s songs on his blog, invited him to perform on the first two OVO Fests, and enlisted the second-generation Ethiopian to work on his Grammy-winning sophomore album, Take Care.

The Weeknd closed out 2011 with two more stellar offerings via free download—Thursday and Echoes of Silence. He collected these, along with Balloons, as a three-disc album titled Trilogy after signing a joint venture deal with Universal Republic (not through OVO) in September 2012. Even though all three albums were available for free, Trilogy managed to move more than 300,000 copies.

The next test for The Weeknd will be his major label debut, Kiss Land. If the other three albums described life for a young man on the cusp of success, Kiss Land represents the thrill—and the horror—of tasting and savoring stardom.

Tesfaye knows the world is waiting to see if he can deliver a project anywhere near as good as his first ones. That’s why he’s been taking his time with the recording, honing in on the strengths and weaknesses of his past work. In his L.A. studio session there are no girls with their noses on his keyboard, no pills or weed scattered about—just The Weeknd in full go-mode, sipping Cabernet, perfecting drums and vocals. The next night, at the hotel restaurant where he and his XO crew are staying, he’s a little less at ease, but ready to speak his piece.

Why haven’t you done an interview until now?
I felt like I had nothing to say. I still feel I have nothing to say. I’m the most boring person to talk to.

So why now? Is your label pushing you to do press for the album?
No, labels always push. I mean, Trilogy was a rerelease, but they still said, “Maybe you should do some interviews.” Honestly, I want to do interviews now because it’s one thing that I haven’t mastered. Even Prince did interviews. Michael did interviews. And I can tell in the interviews they’re uncomfortable. Why are they doing this? Because they feel like they have to do it to be a complete artist. I felt like this was my time. And maybe I wouldn’t have done it if I thought you were an asshole. I probably would have been like, “Fuck this guy.”

Is the air of mystery intentional?
Yes and no. In the beginning, I was very insecure. I hated how I looked in pictures. I just fucking hated this shit, like, crop me out of this picture right now. I was very camera shy. People like hot girls, so I put my music to hot girls and it just became a trend. The whole “enigmatic artist” thing, I just ran with it. No one could find pictures of me. It reminded me of some villain shit. But you can’t escape the Internet. There are super fans, and I was really testing their patience. At the end of the day you can’t deny the music. That was my whole thing: I’m going to let the music speak for itself. I’ll show them that this is what I do. But I’m very good at letting shit slide. If I wasn’t…

READ FULL INTERVIEW HERE

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