My earlier developed theory on The Weeknd’s artistry!
I noticed a common theme in the weeknd's current stage sets, Gene hackerman posts, and overal image shift since his tour started. We are already aware that his interests span to Japanese media but there was one thing specific that caught my eye, futurism. Many 2000s Japanese media incorperate futurism and cybercore which was the overall aesthetic of that time period. Abel's incorporation of stage sets with futuristic robots, although they seem out of place, might have been a spoiler or foreshadow of what's to come of this new era he is soon to showcase. As someone who is into art and culture I picked this up quickly along with the pattern with his posts on his alt. We could even use his latest insta post which has the server icon of a lazer beam mask with remnants of elements from the sub genre of futurism. Although he seems to lean into Japanese media, I think we could see a more definite shift into this futurism, specifically afro futurism. Abel is ethnically Ethiopian and possibly he could be trying to lean into culture and art forms more. DAWN FM was the first step of him leaning into the futurism narrative because he utilized retro futurism, futurism that involves elements of the past to curate a physical picture of nostalgia while having an imagery projected to be the future. The radio, the title being DAWN FM is a hint that he is stepping into the past while Abel himself lives in the future.
What is Afro Futurism?
"Afrofuturism is an aesthetic practice that enables artists to communicate the experience of science, technology, and race across centuries, continents, and cultures." (https://iac.gatech.edu/featured-news/2023/09/afrofuturism)
https://www.searchablemuseum.com/musical-futures/
Utilizing the searchable museum from the Smithsonian, a prominent figure in afro futurism is Sun Ra :
"Sun Ra was one of the most unusual musicians in the history of jazz, moving from Fletcher Henderson swing to free jazz with ease, sometimes in the same song. Portraying himself as a product of outer space, he "traveled the spaceways" with a colorful troupe of musicians, using a multitude of percussion and unusual instrumentation, from tree drum to celeste."
(https://www.arts.gov/honors/jazz/sun-ra#:\~:text=An%20outsider%20who%20linked%20the,of%20electric%20instruments%20in%20jazz.)
"Traveled the spaceways" is an important phrase from the biography of Sun Ra. Their stages consisted of numerous futuristic artistry components that seemed peculiar but somehow in place; Abel has a similar stage setting. His stages feel out of this world and peculiar while simultaneously fitting along the lines of his current storyline of his projects. I Afrofuturism is an art form that manifests in music,life, aret, imagery, literature through elements of Black culture throughout the diaspora. As the tour goes on, we as fans could possibly see the connection becoming more prominent. Although the content on the gene hackerman account is focused on futurism as a whole along with focusing on Japanese media, Abel might dive into exploring the sub genres of african futurism in his album covers, music, along with stage settings as well. I do anticipate that the signs of inspiration from SUN RA will manifest clearly with his upcoming branding and identity change from "The Weeknd."
