AKON
Akon, born Aliaune Thiam on 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.
Personal Life
Akon is the son of jazz percussionist, Mor Thiam. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri instead of Senegal because his family didn't want to go through immigration problems and so he and his siblings could get a better education until he was seven. Split time between Senegal and the U.S. until 15, then his family permanently moved to Jersey City, New Jersey and as such he speaks English, French, and Wolof. In Jersey City, he attended Snyder High School, where he discovered hip hop music.
Akon once was jailed for armed robbery and drug distribution charges, and used his time in prison to work on his music. A total of five years jail, Akon says that his time incarcerated that made him what he is today.
He recorded his first song, "Operations of Nature," at the age of fifteen. 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.
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. 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."
He reportedly has three wives. He drives an orange Lamborghini Gallardo. He also has his own charity for underprivileged children in Africa called Konfidence Foundation. 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."
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.
In the May 7, 2007 edition of Us Weekly, Akon admits to owning over 4,000 pairs of sneakers.
Record Label
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.
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. He was also featured on a Verizon Wireless commercial.
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, expensive denim jeans and other items.
2004-2005: Debut Album “Trouble”
Trouble (2004) is Akon's solo debut album. It was released on June 29, 2004 and spawned the hit singles "Locked Up" and "Lonely," as well as "Belly Dancer (Bananza)," "Pot Of Gold," and "Ghetto". His album also climbed to number one in the UK in April, 2005.
Akon served a three-year jail sentence for grand theft auto, an experience that inspired his "Locked Up". This song reached the top 10 in the U.S. and the top five in the UK.
"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". The song reached the top five on the Billboard Hot 100, and topped the charts in Australia, the UK and Germany. 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: 2nd Album “Konvicted”
Akon's sophomore 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 20 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.
Akon Name
Akon often goes by the shorter, Aliaune Thiam, though other sources have said his name is Alioune Badara Thiam, and About.com says the long form of his name, "Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam," has not been independently verified.
Controversy
Sponsor Cancellation
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. 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.
In a newly released song, "Sorry, Blame 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.
Akon's official website:
http://www.akononline.com/
