life history of Akon

Biography of akon

Akon in Aliaune Damala Bouga Nacka Puru Badara Lu Lu Lu Akon Thiam, better known by his stage name Akon (/ekn/), is an American singer, record producer, and businessman who was born on April 16, 1973.

He became a well-known personality in contemporary global music in 2004 after the release of “Locked Up,” the lead single from his debut album Trouble (2004), which featured Styles P, and “Lonely,” the second single.

For Best Contemporary R&B Album and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for the songs “Smack That” (with Eminem) and “I Wanna Love You” from his second album, Konvicted (2006), he won three Grammy Award nominations. “Don’t Matter” and “Sorry, Blame It on Me” were the songs that came after both singles and entered the Billboard Hot 100’s top ten.

The lead single from his third studio album, Freedom (2008), was “Right Now (Na Na Na)”.Akon frequently contributes vocals as a featured artist and is currently recognized for more than 300 guest spots, more than 35 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, and five Grammy Award nominations.

He is the only solo artist to occupy the top two positions on the Billboard Hot 100 charts at the same time twice.

Akon later started two record labels, Konvict Muzik and KonLive Distribution, in addition to his own musical career. Through these labels, Akon has signed numerous successful artists, including Lady Gaga, T-Pain, R. City, Kardinal Offishall, Jeffree Star, and French Montana.

Akon works simultaneously as a record producer and songwriter, mostly for musicians signed to his labels, but also for well-known performers including Michael Jackson, Snoop Dogg, Lionel Richie, Leona Lewis, Sean Paul, and Whitney Houston.Akon was listed by Forbes as the 80th most powerful celebrity in the Forbes Celebrity 100 in 2010[4] and the fifth most powerful celebrity in Africa in 2011.

[5] Akon was named No. 6 on Billboard’s list of the Top Digital Song Artists of the ten years.[6]

Early life

time in Aliaune Damala Bouga Nacka Puru Badara Lu Lu Lu Akon Thiam was born to a Muslim household on April 16, 1973, in St. Louis, Missouri.[7][8][9] His father is the drummer Mor Thiam, and his mother is the dancer Kine Gueye Thiam (née Gueye).Mor Thiam was born in Kaolack, Senegal, to a Toucouleur family of Quranic scholars.

[10][11] Akon referred to Senegal as his “hometown” because he spent a big portion of his upbringing there. Akon has mastered five instruments, including the guitar, djembe, and drums.[12] He and his family moved to Union City, New Jersey when he was seven years old.

From there, he spent time both in the United States and Senegal before settling in Newark.[12] Akon struggled to get along with other kids growing up in New Jersey.

Music career

Devyne Stephens, president of Upfront Megatainment and founder of Discovery and Trouble Music, first learned about him in 2003 when rapper Lil Zane took him to Stephens’ practice space, where at the time Usher and TLC were developing their careers. Akon and Stephens first became friends and mentors, with the young musician frequently dropping by to seek assistance. Eventually, Stephens signed Akon to his production firm and started developing him professionally.SRC Records, a division of Universal, was alerted to the songs Akon collaborated on with Stephens.[17] Jerome “Knobody” Foster stated in an interview with HitQuarters SRC A&R, “What caught my attention right away was “Lonely,” and I said, “This kid is official.

On June 29, 2004, his Trouble solo debut album was made available. The singles “Locked Up,” “Lonely,” “Belly Dancer (Bananza),” “Pot of Gold,” and “Ghetto” were produced as a result. In the US and the UK, “Locked Up” peaked at number 8 and number 5, respectively.

After being remixed by DJ Green Lantern to incorporate lyrics by the rappers 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G., “Ghetto” became a radio success. The album combines East Coast and Southern beats with Akon’s smooth, West African-influenced vocals.

The majority of his songs start with the clank of a jail cell door and the word “Konvict” being said by the singer.[18]

He released the single “Lonely” in 2005, which features a sample of Bobby Vinton’s “Mr. Lonely.” The track peaked at number five.

2006–2008: Konvicted.

Under Interscope Records, he launched his own music distribution company, KonLive Distribution. In November 2006, he released his second album, Konvicted, which debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 after selling 286,000 copies in its first week.

Konvicted sold more than one million copies in the US in just six weeks. After seven weeks, the album was given a platinum certification; after sixteen weeks, it received a double platinum certification. It spent 28 weeks straight in the top 20 of the Billboard 200, peaking four times at number two.

The album was given the ‘triple platinum’ certification by the RIAA on November 20, 2007, after 3 million copies were sold in the US.

Collaborations with Eminem, Snoop Dogg, and Styles P were featured on the album. Released on August 2006, the first single “Smack That” (with Eminem) reached its highest point on the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks.

He set a record on the Hot 100 on October 5, 2006, when “Smack That” rose from position 95 to position 7—the biggest gain in the chart’s 48-year history. The increase was fuelled by its 67,000 downloads and sixth-place debut on Hot Digital Songs. Since then, the record has been repeatedly broken.

At the 49th Annual Grammy Awards, “Smack That” was up for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, but Justin Timberlake and T.I.’s “My Love” won the award.[21]

He debuted Konvict Clothing, his clothing line, in February 2007. It offers urban streetwear like hoodies, hats, T-shirts, and pants made of denim. For both men and women, Aliaune is the elite label that offers blazers, denim jeans, and other luxury products.[22]

The song “The Sweet Escape” by Gwen Stefani, which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, was produced by him and features him. At the Live Earth American leg, He performed. Later, he created a remix of Michael Jackson’s “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin'” for the album’s 25th anniversary reissue.

On All Up 2 You, he also collaborated with the reggaeton duo Wisin & Yandel and the bachata group Aventura. At the Premios Lo Nuestro 2010, the song was nominated twice: once for “Urban Song of the Year” and once for “Video Collaboration of the Year.” A Hispanic R&B and Reggaeton musician named Jayko was signed to his label.

2008-2009: freedom
On December 2, 2008, He released his third album Freedom, which featured the singles “Right Now (Na Na Na)”, “I’m So Paid” (featuring Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy), “Beautiful” (with Colby O’Donis and Kardinal Offishall), and “We Don’t Care”. In the US, Freedom received platinum certification.

Nelly, a rapper, claimed that in 2009, Akon, Pharrell, and T-Pain discussed launching a rap supergroup.[23] State of Survival, a 2009 album by the hip hop/rock combo Flipsyde, was produced by Him and Konvict Muzik and distributed by KonLive Distribution and Cherrytree Records.

[24] The fourth solo album by Kardinal Offishall, Not 4 Sale, was also produced by him. On the Billboard Hot 100, the debut song, “Dangerous,” with Him, reached at No. 5. He wrote a song with Lady Gaga of Kon Live.

David Guetta collaborated with him in “Sexy Bitch“, the first house track by Akon. The song reached number 1 in more than six countries and charted at 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. He produced and recorded “Oh Africa” for the 2010 World Cup with Pepsi.

According to Forbes, him grossed $13 million in 2011, $21 million in 2010, $20 million in 2009 and $12 million in 2008.

Stadium’s unreleased album from 2010 to 2018 and a break
In contrast to his previous releases, Guetta’s single “Angel” peaked at number 56 on the US Billboard charts and was released in September 2010.[30] He gave the song’s performance at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in 2010.

[31] In order to collaborate with Damian, Julian, and Stephen Marley, Akon went to Jamaica.[32] Akon, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg worked together on the song “Kush” around the same time, which peaked at number 36 on the Billboard charts. The song was originally going to be on Dr. Dre’s upcoming album Detox, however it was later taken off the track list and the album was never published.

He also participated to the charity song “We Are the World: 25 for Haiti” released in support of the 2010 Haitian earthquake.

Akon has announced his new record label Akonik Label Group and will release four studio albums in different genres. In May 2019, Akon released his first Latin single “Get Money”, featuring Puerto Rican rapper Anuel AA.

[^43][44] It was intended to be the lead single for his fourth album El Negreeto but didn’t appear on the final version of the album. The album was expected to be released on August 30, 2019, but was pushed back and released on October 4, 2019. On September 6, 2019, Akon released “Cómo No” featuring Mexican-American singer Becky G, as the lead single from El Negreeto.

^[45] He released the album Akonda on October 25, 2019,^[46] and his sixth album, Konnect, in December of the same year.^[47]

Philanthropy

In 2014, Akon also launched the Akon Lighting Africa project, which brings electricity to 15 nations in Africa.[48][49][50]

He also started the Konfidence Foundation, his own organization that supports disadvantaged children in Africa.

Pitbull’s “I Believe That We Will Win (World Anthem)” official music video features Akon as a guest appearance. All proceeds from the song’s sales, streaming, and views will go to Feeding America and the Anthony Robbins Foundation to help those suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic.[51]

Akon City.

In 2018, Akon announced he was working with the Senegalese government to build a tourist city with a cryptocurrency-based economy named Akon City, using Akon’s own cryptocurrency, Akoin, at the transactional center.

[52] On January 13, 2020, Akon shared on Twitter that the agreements for the city have been finalized and the project is underway. He captioned a photo of himself with Senegal president Macky Sall “Looking forward to hosting you there in the future.”[53] In June 2020,

it was announced that the engineering and consulting firm KE International (the same firm responsible for building Mwale Medical and Technology City) had been awarded a $6 billion contract to build the city.[54] Phase 1 of construction, which is due to begin construction in 2023.

Television and film.

A reality television program is in the works, according to Akon. The premise of the film, titled My Brother’s Keeper, is that Akon’s two almost identical brothers will go about Atlanta impersonating him and tricking people into thinking it is actually him. They will attempt to obtain special treatment and gifts. According to Akon,

his siblings have frequently been confused for him in Atlanta, the setting for the play.[when?][59]Akon will be the subject of the long-form film Illegal Alien, which will be based on his life, it was revealed in 2006.[60] According to several rumors, Mekhi Phifer will play Akon in the movie.[61]Akon affirmed in an interview from August 2007

Personal life.

In an interview with Blender in 2007, Akon stated that he had six kids with three different women, all of whom he had fantastic connections with. He claims he wants to shield his family from prying eyes.[66]

“I don’t believe in conflict diamonds,” declares Akon, who owns a diamond mine in South Africa, in reference to the nonexistence of blood diamonds (sometimes referred to as “conflict diamonds”).

Just a movie, that. Consider this. Before the publication of Blood Diamond, no one gave conflict diamonds any thought or attention.[1] He later clarified, though, that he does acknowledge the existence of blood diamonds and that he is a part-owner of an African mine that is committed to avoiding the usage of blood diamonds while also giving back earnings to the local area.[67]

legal problems
According to Akon, who spent four years in prison between 1999 and 2002, he was a member of an auto-theft organization. The Smoking Gun website, however, refuted his assertion in April 2008 with court documents and interviews with detectives involved in Akon’s case, coming to the conclusion that the singer had not been found guilty and had not served any jail time.[68][69][70] Akon addressed the report by claiming that he has served multiple shorter sentences totaling a total of three years in prison rather than a single sentence of three years.[71]

Akon received backlash in April 2007 for an onstage performance that featured simulated intercourse with Danah Alleyne, who was 15 at the time, the sister of Crime Watch host Ian Alleyne and the daughter of a minister.

Discography.

Main articles: Akon discography and Akon production discography

• Trouble (2004)
• Konvicted (2006)
• Freedom (2008)
• El Negreeto (2019)
• Akonda (2019)
• TT Freak (2022)