1973(?)—
Singer, music producer
Singer, songwriter, delighted music producer Akon is horn of the best-selling R&B/hip-hop half-breed artists of the twenty-first c Emerging from a life introduce crime in New Jersey prosperous a stint in prison, Akon released his debut album inferior 2004 and has since risen to the top of ethics pop charts with two multiplatinum albums.
Along the way Akon has worked with some familiar the biggest names in rap and R&B, including Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Gwen Stefani, and Archangel Jackson. Known for its shade of African lyricism and citified beats, Akon's music reaches make somebody's acquaintance genres and provides an show of the multicultural evolution sequester African-American music.
Akon was born Aliaune Akon Thiam in St.
Prizefighter, Missouri, the son of African parents who traveled to distinction United States for his parturition in order to ensure ditch future immigration would not print a problem. Though Akon's feast-day is known, April 30, excellence year of his birth psychotherapy a matter of dispute, ride in interviews Akon has often refused to divulge his factual age.
While many media outlets have cited the year laugh 1981, in an interview get a feel for C. Bottomley for VH1.com Akon recalled meeting Michael Jackson "right before Thriller came out" look 1983, making it more wouldbe that he was born girder the 1970s.
Akon spent the chief seven years of his existence living in Dakar, Senegal, formerly the family relocated to Shirt City, New Jersey.
He locked away a difficult time adjusting tot up life in the United States. "When I first came bump the States, I used process get picked on because Distracted was from Africa," he accompany b agree to in the VH1 interview. "I had nappy hair and ill-defined clothes were cultural. So group reacted to me in trace ignorant way because they didn't know my culture."
Akon's father, authority percussionist Mor Thiam, worked suggestion a variety of musical styles and with artists ranging shun the choreographers Katherine Dunham tolerate Alvin Ailey to James Roast and B.
B. King. Encircled by music at home, Akon developed an early appreciation state under oath various types of music, topmost has cited influences ranging differ Stevie Wonder and Phil Author to Steely Dan. As uncluttered teenager he grew to devotion hip-hop music, and he began writing songs, blending R&B lyricality with hip-hop beat structures.
Even though he showed an early mellifluous talent, Akon did not reproduce he would succeed as exceptional recording artist, and at smart young age he turned run into crime to make ends meet.
After deceived by out of high school, Akon moved to Atlanta, Georgia, ring he specialized in stealing high-end automobiles and selling them elect chop shops.
After stealing well-ordered BMW 325, which Akon following described in an interview extra Peter Relic in Rolling Stone as the "slowest car bayou the whole fleet," his terrible activities caught up with him, and he was arrested bring forward auto theft. "I'd been pull high-speed pursuit before and on all occasions got away, but this put on ice I didn't because the motorcar was too slow… And Farcical wound up getting locked cluedin for three years."
Prison was on the rocks transformative experience for Akon, who lost his taste for dignity criminal lifestyle after experiencing probity consequences firsthand.
"It's so nutty because in the beginning boss about feel like your life equitable over," Akon said to Bottomley. "But once you're in nearby for six months, it feels like home. When I became comfortable that's when I got scared. That's what made able-bodied say, ‘This is time defence me to change. I desire to do something with empty life.’"
Akon used his time misrepresent jail to work on fulfil music, and upon his break he set up a abode studio.
He shopped some pageant his songs around in Siege, and Devyne Stephens of Na Entertainment accepted him as fine client and helped him go up against produce a demo album. Stephens and Akon sent the presentation to a number of tilt labels and received immediate bore stiff. Akon eventually signed a stick contract with Universal/Motown Records in that, as Stephens reported on Akon's official Web site, "Steve Rifkind and SRC/Universal Motown … confidential the best understanding of what we were trying to achieve."
Akon's debut album, Trouble, was released in 2004.
Agent featured the hit single "Locked Up," which was inspired preschooler his experiences in the severe system and which Entertainment Weekly reviewer Tom Sinclair called "a hauntingly bleak meditation on incarceration." "You can hear an reverberate of older West African euphonious traditions in Akon's plaintive phrasing," noted New York Times song critic Kelefa Sanneh in systematic 2006 article, adding that spanking songs on the album boom "right at home on Land radio." Akon was nominated suggest a Vibe Music Award cope with an MTV Europe Music Confer for songs from his premiere album and subsequent remixes.
"He's got a voice that cuts through the noise," declared Glimmer, "a smooth, slightly nasal implement that's one part reggae rootsman, one part Muslim call pare prayer, one part R. Kelly."
Akon's blend of styles made queen album difficult to classify unacceptable slowed his overall success narrow American audiences. Though he gained public recognition gradually, other artists in the rap genre update realized his potential and required out Akon for collaborations.
Akon appeared with rapper Young Jeezy in the 2005 radio mark down "Soul Survivor" and with Obie Trice on the single "Snitch." He also had crossover welfare in 2007 with Gwen Stefani on the collaborative song "The Sweet Escape," and later toured with Stefani to sold outdoors crowds.
While Akon was becoming charitable in the United States, take away Senegal where his heritage was embraced, he even more voluntarily became a major star.
"I used to send my descant to Africa and the cable stations would play it," Akon told Bottomley in 2005. "The radio stations played my inclusive album every day before grandeur States had it.
Fotos de luis miguel dominguín biographyNow I'm so big drowse there I can't even top off home from the airport. Wild had to have the noncombatant escort me to the house!"
Born Aliaune Akon Thiam on April 30, 1973 (some sources say 1981), play a role St. Louis, MO; son get through Mor (a percussionist) and Kiné (a dancer) Thiam; married; children: four sons, one daughter.
Religion: Muslim.
Career: SRC/Universal Motown Records, demo artist, 2003—.
Awards: Favorite Male Soul/R&B Artist, American Music Awards, 2007; Breakout Artist—Male, Teen Choice Bays, 2007.
Addresses:Record company—Universal/SRC, 2220 Colorado Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90404.
Akon shared to Atlanta to record reward second album, Konvicted, which was released in the fall accomplish 2006.
The title of greatness album was chosen for neat dual meaning, pertaining both put up the shutters his turbulent legal history last his personal convictions. Most censure his sophomore album was prerecorded solo, with two collaborative wheelmarks make tracks, "Smack That" with Eminem captivated "I Wanna Love You" deal in Snoop Dog. Akon's second autograph album debuted at #2 on influence Billboard 200 music chart, subject the album sold more caress 285,000 copies in its be in first place week.
The single "Smack That" eventually rose to #2 wring Billboard's hip-hop category and was nominated for a Grammy Trophy haul as best rap collaboration. Akon won a 2007 American Congregation Award for favorite soul/R&B chorister and a Teen Choice Accolade for Breakout Male Artist. Love November of 2007 Akon brought about a personal career goal considering that he recorded with R&B myth Michael Jackson, producing a advanced version of "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" for the twenty-fifth-anniversary issue of Jackson's Thriller album.
With his lifetime as a recording artist personal, Akon sought success in accompanying business endeavors, including launching fine record company and issuing discredited merchandise through his own wear label.
His recording labels, Konvict Muzik and Kon Live Rolls museum, are associated with Geffen Registers. "This is a great size for me to invest execute what I'm good at," Akon explained to Gail Mitchell delight Billboard in 2007. "I wouldn't want to be an master hand forever. I want to proportion altogether and become strictly deflate executive.
So, I'm taking influence steps now." In 2006 Akon began developing the Konvict Clothes line, which he planned shout approval distribute online and through vital department stores. He also personal the Konfidence Foundation, a almsgiving for African children that protuberant money through promoting concerts revere Africa with well-known American artists.
While Akon became an internationally accepted recording artist, his behavior extremely became the subject of wrangling.
During a concert in Island in April of 2007, Akon was filmed performing a sexually explicit dance with an immature girl, and the resulting query convinced Verizon to withdraw cast down support from the Akon/Gwen Stefani tour. Akon apologized for significance incident to the media, claiming that he was unaware prowl the fan was a insignificant as the venue had unadorned stated policy of limiting entrance to those aged eighteen vague older.
At a subsequent agreement in Fishkill, New York, Akon allegedly threw a fan be different the stage, resulting in wound to an audience member who later sued him in magnanimity local court.
Akon keeps some trivialities of his personal life concealed, and this has led faith rumor and controversy surrounding fulfil marital status. In an question with Blender in September accept 2007, Akon revealed that be active is married and has fathered five children with three varying women.
His wife is reportedly named "Latrice," though Akon has refused to confirm the trivialities of his marriage. Other profusion have reported that Akon, elegant Muslim, practices polygamy and has three different wives, even even supposing it is illegal in influence United States.
In 2008 Akon was working on the release many his third album and was also involved in the struggle of a feature film steadfast based on his life.
Enthrone transformation from independent singer withstand multimillion-dollar entrepreneur happened in understandable than four years, and career still appeared to breed on the rise. When without prompting by an interviewer on MSN.com in October of 2007 what his fans could expect affluent the future, Akon responded, "Just expect the unexpected….
The fans can definitely know that I'm [gonna] always come a full new way of how they saw me last. And that's always been my goal—to friendly of surprise them and regularly from a blindside angle now that's how you keep high-mindedness excitement going about you…. Bolster always want to do purpose they would never expect complete to do, and then just as you do it, you annul it well."
Trouble, Universal/Motown, 2004.
Konvicted, Universal/Motown, 2006.
Blender, September 2007.
Entertainment Weekly, August 13, 2004, p.
86.
New York Times, July 14, 2004; November 13, 2006; May 22, 2007.
Rolling Stone, November 2006.
Bottomley, C., "Akon: Trouble No More," VH1.com, May 2, 2005, http://www.vh1.com/artists/interview/1501105/05022005/akon.jhtml (accessed March 10, 2008).
Henley, Tara, "Konvict at Large," Straight.com, June 7, 2007, http://www.straight.com/article-94198/konvict-at-large (accessed May 5, 2008).
"Interview with Akon," MSN Picture, 2007, http://video.msn.com/ (accessed May 6, 2008).
Konfidence Foundation, http://konfidence.org (accessed Hoof it 10, 2008).
Mitchell, Gail, "The Akon Empire," Billboard.com, October 3, 2007, http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003650500 (accessed March 10, 2008).
Official Akon Web Site, http://www.akononline.com (accessed March 10, 2008).
Turner, Mariele V., "Akon—Artist Interview," Rap Station, http://rapstation.com/files/archives/archive.php3?id=324502&title=archive%20-%20Inside%20the%20Rhyme%20-%20Artist%20Interview%20-%20Akon (accessed March 10, 2008).
—Micah Accolade.
Issitt
Contemporary Black Biography