Wyclef Jean has discussed the life of Avicii in a new book, and has compared one of the late EDM star’s musical traits to that of Michael Jackson.

Tim: The Official Biography Of Avicii was released last week, written by Swedish journalist Måns Mosesson. For his research, Mosesson conducted hundreds of interviews and sifted through Avicii’s (real name Tim Bergling) personal texts and emails going back a decade.

One of the interviews he conducted was with Fugees co-founder Wyclef, who collaborated with Avicii twice before his death in 2018: ‘Can’t Catch Me’, which appeared on Avicii’s 2015 album, ‘Stories’; and Wyclef’s 2014 single, ‘Divine Sorrow’.

In a new interview with Billboard, Mosesson discussed the creation of the book and shared some of the stuff he discovered about Avicii while working on it.

At one point during the interview, he’s asked about a quote from Wyclef, “who said he’d only met one other person whose brain functioned like Tim’s, where he could hear everything in his mind exactly as it was supposed to be – and that that other person was Michael Jackson.”

Mosesson put this unique trait down to Avicii being a “very stubborn guy”.

“There are a lot of factors in play here that combined makes him into this phenomenon, but that’s one of the main things I think that musically he always trusted his gut,” he explained.

“I’ve been working on this book for almost three years, and during that process I’ve been reflecting a lot on how destructive it can be to just look at the end result and not take the time to reflect on ‘How am I feeling during the process?’ If you asked Tim, he would talk in terms of mindfulness and how the ego strives to accomplish, but that’s not necessarily good all the time. So, I hope that readers can also start to reflect on their own well being.”

Elsewhere during the interview, Mosesson explained his decision to not reveal the way Avicii took his own life.

“It’s really going back to research, to science… I think it’s a pretty non-controversial thing that, especially when you deal with someone that is admired – and even more so someone admired among young people – you really have to be careful about the specifics.”

“You don’t want to give people something to emulate,” the interviewer interjected. To which Mosesson replied: “Exactly. That’s the point. And also, that’s not the book I wanted to write. I want people to feel that this book is dealing with the bigger picture. Of course you have to talk about the trip to Oman, but I don’t even see the point in being too specific. I think it’s more interesting to discuss and understand the more general ideas.”

Avicii took his own life in 2018. In a statement released at the time, his family said: “Tim was not made for the business machine he found himself in; he was a sensitive guy who loved his fans but shunned the spotlight.”

Tim: The Official Biography Of Avicii is out now via Sphere Books.

Avicii’s father Tim Klas recently opened up about the death of his son, and called for more mental health support for new artists – saying fame and fortune are “a very dangerous combination”.

For help and advice on mental health:

• Help Musicians UK – Around the clock mental health support and advice for musicians (CALL MUSIC MINDS MATTER ON: 0808 802 8008)
• CALM – The Campaign Against Living Miserably
• Music Support Org – Help and support for musicians struggling with alcoholism, addiction, or mental health issues (CALL: 0800 030 6789)
• YOUNG MINDS – The voice for young people’s health and wellbeing
• Time To Change – Let’s end mental health discrimination
• The Samaritans – Confidential support 24 hours a day