As The Weeknd’s third studio album Starboy begins to break records around the world, the singer has opened up in a series of interviews about his writing process. The singer, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, has spoken in particular detail to The Guardian about his drug use, and its subsequent influence on his music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34Na4j8AVgA

Speaking about his early musical career, when a then-21 year old Tesfaye released a striking trilogy of mixtapes, the singer said that “When I had nothing to do but make music, it was very heavy. Drugs were a crutch for me.” Havsing said this, Tesfaye did then admit that as his music has progressed, so has he, elbaorating “I can’t see myself doing that now.”

The Weeknd was also questioned about his lyrics themselves, particularly those that involve women. Again, the potential callousness of his lyrics were attributed to being younger and less experienced in life. “The mind of a 19-year-old is very different from the mind of a 26-year-old. You grow. You get into better relationships. You experience more, meet more people, better people. But when you’re in a dark hole, at an earlier point in your life – you write about the mindset you’re in at that moment.”

Tesfaye also discussed the brushes he had with the law in his younger years. Without going into details, Tesfaye did reveal that the experience was “bad enough for me to smarten up, to focus”, expanding by sayig “A lot of people don’t get that second chance. But around that age, you usually get one second chance after a slap on the wrist. And you either take the experience and think, ‘This is it, final straw’, or you don’t. And the next move after that? It’s your entire life. You become who you become because of the next move you make.”

Despite the clear message that his drug use has lessened over time, Tasfaye did disclose that even with his most recent record, that he does “get back to that” in terms of using drugs: “You have writer’s block. And sometimes you’re like, I can’t do this sober.” When pressed about any drug use in his musical future, Tasfaye was honest: “Right now, I feel in control […] where it takes me after, I don’t know.”

Earlier this week, in an interveiw with Zane Lowe on Beats 1 radio, Tasfaye was very happy to have sheared his distinctive dreadlocks for the new album, and loved the new privacy it affords him. “It was the greatest feeling of all time [cutting it off]. It was so good. I could sleep better, I felt lighter, and when I perform, I perform better and feel better, it’s cool. The best part about all of it, I get to wear fucking hats again. Wear a fucking cap and walk into a restaurant and nobody knows  it’s you, It’s the greatest feeling.”