Akon

This is the 92nd post in our Musician of the Day series.



Aliaune Badara Akon Thiam or Akon was born in 1981 in Missouri. But there has been some speculation as to his real name and date of birth as many independent researchers have come up with conflicting results. Even though he was born in Missouri he lived in Senegal until the age of 7 and afterward split his time between Senegal and America.

As a child Akon was raised in a very musical household and learned to play a number of different instruments. When he was 15 he moved to New Jersey permanently.

From 1999 until 2001 Akon claims that he spent time in prison but these claims have been disproven. He also claims to have been involved in drugs and an auto theft ring, but that as devout Muslim, has never touched a drop of alcohol.

His first album Trouble was released in 2004 and it spawned the popular single "Locked Up." He claimed that the inspiration for the entire album came from his three year prison stint for grand theft auto. In 2008 The Smoking Gun disproved these claims, to which Akon responded that it was a number of shorter sentences that added up to three years.

In 2005 he released the single "Lonely" which reached the top 5 in the Billboard Hot 100.

His second album Konvicted was released in 2006. Singles from this album rose to the charts and featured artists like Eminem and Snoop Dogg. The album was certified Triple Platinum in the U.S.

In 2007, Akon made headlines when he danced onstage with a 15 year old preacher's daughter in a very provocative and racy manner. Akon's defense was that the club was 21 and up, but the video clip made national news. Verizon wireless removed all Akon ringtones and refused to sponsor his upcoming tour with Gwen Stefani.

Two months after the incident with the preacher's daughter, Akon found himself in trouble again. When a teenage concert attendee throws something at the stage. Akon has him brought up onstage. The moment the teen sets foot on the stage Akon grabs him, hoists him over his shoulders and throws him back into the crowd. Despite the fact that Akon claimed it as a publicity stunt, local police brought him up on charges and he was arraigned in December of 2007. Makes you wonder if anyone has dared to throw anything at the stage since.

In 2008, Akon released Freedom which had four singles and was certified Gold. He plans to have another album out in 2010.

More allegations have followed Akron, including that he has three wives and has a conflict diamond mine in Africa. He has only admitted to having six children by three women and that he does in fact own an African diamond mine. He at first refused that conflict diamonds existed but later recanted and said that he had nothing to do with them.

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