By Rob Markman
The Weeknd is one of the year’s most notable musical breakouts. Still, not much is known about the Toronto, Canada artist who dropped two well-received free Internet albums (House of Balloons and Thursday) earlier this year. While fans are eagerly awaiting The Weeknd’s third album, Echoes of Silence, Drake revealed that for his upcoming Take Care he’s collaborated with the alternative rock/R&B vocalist for a number of songs.
“He’s like a writer, collaborator on four songs on my album which I’m very proud of,” Drizzy told MTV News. “I usually don’t branch out writing-wise working with other people. I usually like to write all my own stuff, but we get it. We try to tap into the same emotions because we’re from the same city.”
It was Drake who originally helped spread the word about his fellow Canadian songwriter by tweeting lyrics to The Weeknd’s stand-out “Wicked Games” before most music fans caught on. In July the singer, born Abel Tesfaye, performed at Drizzy’s OVO Festival and The Young Money soldier appeared on “The Zone,” a trippy sex ode from The Weeknd’s Thursday album which dropped in August. Then on Saturday, the "Best I Ever Had" rapper tweeted, "OVOXO...Take Care...Echoes Of Silence."
The two are most certainly in cahoots, but Drake remains tight-lipped about the exact mechanics of their relationship. “It’s really nothing more than I support him. Oliver-- who’s my manager also along with Cortez and Gee, brought him to me and we’re just involved in his career man,” he said.
According to OVO general, while the two do business with each other, there is no deal in place. “He’s not signed right now, he’s still in the city, he hasn’t left. He’s never been on a plane before. I don’t think he’s ever left the city,” Drizzy said. “He’s a real Toronto kid that’s just one of the most talented people I’ve ever come across.”