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Akon
Background information
Birth name Alioune Badara Akon Thiam Thiam
Born April 30, 1973 or October 14, 1981 in St. Louis, Missouri
Origin Flag of Senegal Dakar, Senegal
Genre(s) Hip hop, R&B, reggae, dance
Occupation(s) Singer, songwriter, record producer
Years active 1996—present
Label(s) Universal, SRC, Konvict, UpFront
Website www.akononline.com
Akon (IPA pronunciation: /ˈeɪ.kɑn/)[1] (born Alioune Badara Akon Thiam[2][3]
on April 30, 1973[4][5][6] or October 14, 1981) is a Senegalese-American hip
hop and R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. Akon rose to fame in
2004 following the release of his single "Locked Up" from his debut album
Trouble. His second album, Konvicted, earned him a Grammy Award nomination
for the single "Smack That". He is the founder of Konvict Muzik and Kon Live
Distribution. He is well known for singing hooks and has around 50 songs in
which he is featured to his credit.
Career
Name
Akon often goes by the shorter, Alioune Thiam,[7] though other sources have
said his name is Alioune Badara Thiam,[8] The long form of his name, "Alioune
Badara Akon Thiam," has been independently verified on an interview for
smash time radio.com.[9]
Background
He is the son of jazz percussionist, Mor Thiam. He was born in St. Louis,
Missouri but grew up in Senegal[10] until he was seven. He split time
between Senegal and the U.S. until he was fifteen, then his family
permanently moved to Jersey City, New Jersey and as such he speaks English,
French, and Wolof. He recorded his first song, "Operations of Nature," at
the age of fifteen. He was jailed for armed robbery and drug distribution
charges, and used his time in prison to work on his music. Upon release,
Akon began writing and recording tracks in his home studio. The tapes found
their way to SRC/Universal, which released Akon's debut LP Trouble in June
2004. The album is a hybrid of Akon's silky, West African-styled vocals
mixed with East Coast and Southern beats.
2004–2005: Trouble
Akon's solo debut album, Trouble was released on June 29, 2004. It spawned
the hit singles "Locked Up" and "Lonely," as well as "Belly Dancer (Bananza),"
"Pot Of Gold," and "Ghetto". Akon served a three-year jail sentence for
grand theft auto, an experience that inspired his "Locked Up".[7] "Locked
Up" reached the top 10 in the U.S. and the top five in the UK. His manager
Robert Montanez was shot to death following a dispute in New Jersey in
December 2005. "Ghetto" became a radio hit when it was remixed by Green
Lantern to include verses from legendary rappers 2Pac and The Notorious
B.I.G. In 2005, he released the single "Lonely" (which samples Bobby
Vinton's "Mr. Lonely"). The song reached the top five on the Billboard Hot
100, and topped the charts in Australia, the UK and Germany. His album also
climbed to number one in the UK in April, 2005. When music channel The Box
had a top ten weekly chart, which was calculated by the amount of video
requests, Akon's "Lonely" became the longest running single on the top of
the chart, spanning over fifteen weeks. Akon then released another single
featuring with a New Zealand rapper, Savage with the single Moonshine, which
had become a success in both New Zealand and Australia, becoming number one
in the New Zealand charts. In 2005, Akon gained more popularity after being
featured on Young Jeezy's debut album, Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101, on
the song "Soul Survivor" which became a top five hit on the Billboard Hot
100.
2006–2007: Konvicted
Akon's second album, entitled Konvicted, was released on November 14, 2006.
Konvicted included collaborations with Eminem, Snoop Dogg and Styles P. Late
August 2006, Akon released the single "Smack That" featuring Eminem, from
the album. This single peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 for
five consecutive weeks. The music video for "Smack That" was directed by
Raymond Garced. "I Wanna Love You", the second single off Konvicted, was
released in September 2006. It is a collaboration between Akon and Snoop
Dogg. This single earned Akon his first number-one single on the Billboard
Hot 100, and Snoop's second. "I Wanna Love You" topped the U.S. charts for
two consecutive weeks. In January 2007, Akon released his third single
"Don't Matter" which earned him his first solo number one and second
consecutive Hot 100 chart topper. So far, the album has spawned three hit
singles which have peaked within the top two of the Billboard Hot 100.
Konvicted debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 286,000 copies
in its first week. After only six weeks, Konvicted sold more than one
million records in the U.S. and more than 1.3 million worldwide. The album
was certified platinum after seven weeks, and after sixteen weeks it was
certified double platinum. Konvicted was able to stay in the top twenty of
the Billboard 200 for 28 consecutive weeks, where it peaked at number two on
four different occasions. Currently it has sold more than 2.4 million
records in the U.S. and 3.8 million worldwide in 30 weeks.
On October 5, 2006, Akon broke a record on the Hot 100, as he achieved the
largest climb in the chart's 48-year-history with "Smack That" jumping from
number 95 to 7. The leap is fueled by its number six debut on Hot Digital
Songs with 67,000 downloads. The record was broken on April 7, 2007 by
Beyoncé and Shakira's Beautiful Liar when it jumped from 94 to 3 on the Hot
100, because of their 150,000 digital downloads on the Hot Digital Songs.
In December 2006, Akon's "Smack That" was nominated for Best Rap/Sung
Collaboration at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards, but lost to Justin
Timberlake and T.I.'s My Love.
Other ventures
In 2006, Akon started his new record label Kon Live Distribution under
Interscope Records. The first artist to sign was Chilli from TLC. Her debut
solo album Point of View will be released under Kon Live. Earl Ray has also
been signed to the label.
He was featured on Gwen Stefani's latest album, The Sweet Escape. He made an
appearance on the title track and second single, "The Sweet Escape". Akon
produced the song. On December 10, 2006, Akon and Stefani appeared as
musical guests on Saturday Night Live, however they did not perform the song
as Stefani had not yet learned the lyrics. He performed the song live,
however, on American Idol on March 28, 2007 due to Gwen Stefani's appearance
as a coach the night before. "The Sweet Escape" has reached #2 on the
Billboard Hot 100. It reached #1 on United World Chart and is on the top for
eight weeks. The song is also Akon's first #1 on World Chart.
Akon collaborated with Chamillionaire on his mixtape, Mixtape Messiah 2. He
is featured on "Ridin' Overseas", which he also produced. The mixtape became
available for download on Chamillionaire's website on December 24, 2006.
Akon and Young Jeezy are doing a collaborative album together. In 2006,
after their 2005 Akon-produced single, "Soul Survivor", the duo said that
there is a lot more to expect from them in the future.[11][12]
Akon also appeared on appeared on Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's album Strength and
Loyalty and Three 6 Mafia's eighth studio album, Last 2 Walk, We The Best by
DJ Khaled, Fabolous's album, From Nothin' to Somethin', with 50 Cent on some
tracks for Curtis S.S.K.[13], T.I.'s 5th album, T.I. vs. T.I.P.[14], Mario's
third solo album Go![15], and will produce Daddy Yankee's El Cartel: The Big
Boss which was released on June 5, 2007.[16]
Akon will be the executive producer of Not for Sale, Kardinal Offishall's
fourth solo album. Akon will also be featured on the album's first single
"Graveyard Shift".
Akon holds the record for most guest appearances on popular television show
American Idol with two. He once sung The Sweet Escape with Gwen Stefani and
three weeks later he sung Don't Matter on the show while it was number one
on the Billboard charts.
Film
Akon is planning to work on a full-length movie titled Illegal Alien. The
film is based on some of the events of his life and actor Mekhi Phifer is
set to play him.[3] He was featured on a Verizon Wireless commercial. He was
also featured singing Snitch along with Obie Trice on a CSI: Crime Scene
Investigation episode named "Poppin' Tags."
Fashion
In February 2007, Akon launched his clothing line, Konvict Clothing. It
features urban streetwear including denim jeans, hoodies, t-shirts and hats.
Aliaune is the upscale version, or high-end line, for males and females,
which includes blazers, denim jeans and other items.[17]
Personal life
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Akon was born in St. Louis, Missouri. His parents moved to the United States
to avoid immigration problems and so he and his siblings could get a better
education. Akon spent a total of five years in prison and has said that his
time incarcerated made him what he is today. In late 2005, his long time
friend and manager Robert Montanez, who Akon referred to as a brother, was
killed in a drive by shooting; the album Konvicted is dedicated to him. Akon
was also in the car and was shot in the shoulder, however he made a full
recovery. He is a Muslim, and is a believer and practitioner of
polygamy.[18][7] He first disclosed it on a radio program saying, "I really
don’t bite my tongue for anybody and I always felt like if you’re going to
be real, you got to be truthful all the way around the board. Lies only make
things worse. But it got to a point where my coming out like that ended up
being a mistake."[19] He drives an orange Lamborghini Gallardo.[7] He also
has his own charity for underprivileged children in Africa called Konfidence
Foundation.[20] Akon also owns a diamond mine in South Africa and denies the
existence of conflict diamonds saying, "I don't even believe in conflict
diamonds. That's just a movie. Think about it. Ain't nobody thought about
nothing about no conflict diamonds until the movie came out."[21] He also
had a previous occupation as a drug dealer but states that he has never used
drugs. He also said that in spite of his previous criminal history, he has
turned his life around, as sung in "Tired Of Runnin'". In 2006, he ventured
to Africa to play a concert in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania [22] In the May 7,
2007 edition of Us Weekly, page 85, Akon admits to owning over 4,000 pairs
of sneakers.
Controversy
In April 2007, Akon drew criticism for a raunchy dance with a fourteen year
old girl at a Trinidad club, as part of a fake contest, despite the club's
claim to have an eighteen-years and over age limit.[23][24][25] The incident
was filmed by Akon's crew and later uploaded to the Internet. On April 20,
2007 local media, channel TV6, aired the video clip publicly. Amid criticism
on the radio, television, and from the blogosphere, Verizon Wireless has
removed ringtones featuring Akon's songs. Verizon has also decided not to
sponsor an upcoming tour where Akon was to be the opening act for Gwen
Stefani.[26][27] However, Universal Music Group did not take action against
Akon, but rather simply ordered the video clip be removed from video-sharing
site YouTube due to copyright infringement. Conservative commentator and
Parents Television Council founder Brent Bozell called this "corporate
irresponibility". [28]
In a newly released song, "Sorry, Blame It On Me", Akon apologizes to the
young girl and Gwen Stefani for the incident at the club, though citing the
club for admitting the girl because she was under 21, and the parents for
letting her go out. He sings "Even though the blame's on you, I'll take that
blame from you. You can put the blame on me." He also tells how Verizon
dropped promoting him and Gwen's tour, and stopped sale of his ringtones.
The song is available to listen to on Akon's MySpace page.
Conservative commentators Michelle Malkin, Laura Ingraham, and Bill O'Reilly
criticized Akon for "degrading women". Malkin uploaded commentary about Akon
to YouTube, using footage from music videos and the Trinidad concert, and
Universal Music Group then forced its removal by issuing a DMCA takedown
notice.[29] The Electronic Frontier Foundation joined Malkin in contesting
the removal as a misuse of copyright law, citing fair use.[30] In May 2007,
UMG rescinded its claim to the video, and the video returned to YouTube.
On June 3, 2007, at WSPK-FM's KFEST concert at Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill,
New York (near Poughkeepsie), a concert attendee threw an object towards
Akon on stage. Akon asked the crowd to identify who threw the object and
that he be brought on stage. Security staff grabbed the young man and took
him up to the stage. Akon then pulled him up from the crowd and hoisted him
across his shoulders. The rapper then tossed the attendee back into the
crowd from his shoulders. Video of the incident was reviewed by Fishkill
police and they are interested in speaking to the thrown boy to determine if
charges will be filed. [31]
Discography
Studio albums
* 2004: Trouble
* 2006: Konvicted
Number-one singles
* The following singles reached one in the United States, United Kingdom,
Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Ireland, Sweden,
Norway, Netherlands and/or Worldwide.
Year Title Chart positions Album
U.S. U.K. AUS NZ AUT CH GER BEL IRL FRA SWE NO FIN NL UWC
2005 "Lonely"
Trouble
"Moonshine"
Moonshine
2006 "Smack That"
Konvicted
"I Wanna Love You"
2007 "The Sweet Escape"
The Sweet Escape
"Don't Matter"
Konvicted
Total
Awards
* 2005: MOBO Awards - Best African Act
See also
* List of number-one hits (United States)
* List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
* List of number-one singles (UK)
* List of number-one albums from the 2000s (UK)
* List of number-one singles from the 2000s (UK)
* List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
* List of artists who reached number one on the Australian singles chart
* List of artists who reached number one in Ireland
References
1. ^ Pronunciation of Akon.
2. ^ Marielle V. Turner. "Akon – Artist Interview." Rapstation.com.
3. ^ a b Channel 4. "A pleasant chat...." Channel 4
4. ^ "Today in history" Boston.com, [1]
5. ^ "Akon apologizes for sexually explicit dance," CNN [2]
6. ^ "Akon Apologizes For Racy Onstage Dance" Billboard Magazine, http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003583281
7. ^ a b c d Peter Relic, 2006-11 02. "The Hook Man." Rolling Stone
magazine.
8. ^ Seneportal [3]
9. ^ http://www.smashtimeradio.com/archives/smashtimeradio_interview_akon.mp3
10. ^ C. Bottomley, 2005-05-02. "Akon: Trouble No More." VHI.
11. ^ Shaheem Reid, 2006-06-15. Saga Of Young Jeezy, Akon Continues With
Possible Duet LP. MTV News.
12. ^ Jolene Petipas, 2006-12-07. Young Jeezy Teams With Akon For Collabo
CD. SOHH.
13. ^ "My List: Akon". Rolling Stone
14. ^ Jonathan Cohen, 2007-04-14. "T.I. Stretches Out With Eminem, Timbaland,
Wyclef." Billboard.
15. ^ MTV.com "Mario Gets Back To Making Music With Akon, Timbaland,
Neptunes", April 2007. Retrieved April 13, 2007
16. ^ "Daddy Yankee Drafts Fergie, Akon For New Album". Billboard.
17. ^ Brolin Winning, 2006-10-23. "Akon - Got It Locked." MP3.com.
18. ^ Akon Clears Up The Polygamy Drama. Vibe.
19. ^ Coryn Brown, 2006-10-10. "A Whole New Trouble." Vibe.
20. ^ Founders. Konfidence Foundation.
21. ^ Akon: So what if I own a diamond mine?. Independent, 2007-02-16.
22. ^ Akon comes to region. All Africa Newswire, 2006-05-23.
23. ^ Akon 'cons' Trinidad, Trinidad Express, April 14th 2007
24. ^ Pastor defends daughter, Trinidad Express, April 20 2007
25. ^ Zen owner: Age limit 18 for club, Trinidad Express, April 20 2007
26. ^ Verizon Wireless ends Akon partnership. Michelle Malkin. Published
2007-05-04. Last accessed 2007-05-07
27. ^ Stefani brings glamour, girl power to Houston show. Joey Guerra,
Houston Chronicle. Published 2007-05-07.
28. ^ Bozell, L. Brent III (2007-05-24). Rapper Not a "Perfect Gentleman".
ParentsTV.org. Parents Television Council. Retrieved on 2007-06-24.
29. ^ "Akon's record company abuses DMCA to stifle criticism on YouTube",
MichelleMalkin.com, 3 May 2007
30. ^ "Malkin Fights Back Against Copyright Law Misuse by Universal Music
Group", Electronic Frontier Foundation press release, 9 May 2007
31. ^ http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070604/NEWS01/706040329/1006
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