Akon
Category: World Celebrities/Entertainers
Real names; Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam, born April 16,
1973), he also uses Akon as his stage name.
Akon, is a
Senegalese-American singer, rapper, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur,
philanthropist and actor from New Jersey. He rose to prominence in 2004
following the release of "Locked Up" (featuring Styles P), the first single
from his debut album Trouble (2004), followed by the second single "Lonely".
He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to a Muslim family. His father
Mor Thiam was born to a Toucouleur family of Quranic scholars in Kaolack,
Senegal. He spent a significant part of his childhood in Senegal, which he
described as his "hometown". His mother—Kine Gueye Thiam (née Gueye) was a
dancer, and a percussionist.
Akon learned to play five instruments,
including drums, guitar and djembe. At age seven, he moved with his family to
Union City, New Jersey, splitting his time between the United States and
Senegal until settling in Newark, New Jersey. Growing up in New Jersey, Akon
had difficulties getting along with other children. When he and his older
brother reached high school, his parents left them on their own in Jersey City
and moved the rest of the family to Atlanta, Georgia. Akon attended William L.
Dickinson High School in Jersey City.
Later in his life, Akon founded two successful record labels, Konvict Muzik and KonLive Distribution. The labels served as home for many successful acts, such as Lady Gaga, T-Pain, R. City, Kardinal Offishall, Jeffree Star and Red Café, among others.
His second album, Konvicted (2006), received three Grammy Award nominations for Best Contemporary R&B Album, and for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Smack That" (featuring Eminem) and "I Wanna Love You" (featuring Snoop Dogg). Both singles became Billboard Hot 100 top ten hits, followed up by "Don't Matter" and "Sorry, Blame It on Me". His third studio album Freedom (2008) was led by the single "Right Now (Na Na Na)".
Forbes ranked Akon 80th (Power Rank) in the Forbes Celebrity 100 in 2010 and 5th in the 40 Most Powerful Celebrities in Africa list, in 2011. Billboard ranked Akon No. 6 on the list of Top Digital Songs Artists of the decade.
In 2018, Akon announced he was working with the Senegalese government to
build a tourist-city with a cryptocurrency-based economy named Akon City. At
the time, it was said that three square miles of land minutes from the Blaise
Diagne International Airport and around 50 kilometres from the capital of
Dakar was given to Akon by Senegal president Macky Sall. It is said to be
currently under development, and will be the first 100% crypto-based city with
Akon's own cryptocurrency, Akoin, at the transactional center.
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."
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. Phase 1 of construction, which is to be completed in 2023, is to
include roads, a hospital, residences, hotels, a police station, a waste
facility, a school, and a solar power plant.
On September 1, Akon
laid the first stone of the $6 billion city. Speaking four days after the
death of actor Chadwick Boseman, who starred in the film Black Panther, Akon
stated that he was partially inspired by the film in his desire to teach
African-Americans in the diaspora about African culture. He further stated:
"As you come in from America, or Europe or anywhere in the diaspora, and you
feel like you want to visit Africa, we want Senegal to be your first stop".
Akon has six children with three women, all of whom he has great
relationships with. There is no official report that he is married to any of
the women. He says he wishes to keep his family protected from the public eye.
He has n owns a diamond mine in South Africa and denies the
existence of blood diamonds (also known as "conflict diamonds") saying, "I
don't believe in conflict diamonds. That's just a movie. Think about it.
Nobody thought or cared about conflict diamonds until Blood Diamond was
released." However, he has since stated that he does accept that blood
diamonds exist, and that he is partial-owner of an African mine that is
dedicated to avoiding use of blood diamonds while also donating profits to
local communities.
News About Akon
- Akon Finalize Deal To Build His Own CITY in Senegal Named Akon City
- Singer Akon To Provide Electricity to 1 Million African Households
- Akon And Lighting Africa Team Meets Lagos Governor, Ambode
- Akon, Davdio, 2face Beaten by D'banj In "Africa’s World Best Male Artiste" 2014 World Music Awards (PHOTOS)
- Akon Signs Samklef For a Multi-record Deal With KonLive Records
- Akon loses his Ferrari, his brother Bu loses his mansion
- Photos: Akon Takes His Lighting Africa Initiative To Gambia, Meets Adama Barrow
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