A K O N
Akon is one of the fastest rising star in the music industry today bec. he has given a nice break by his producers & the songs that he sung are well composed that is why he is gathering so much listeners bec. his songs are quite addictive.I really love his song " Right Now" I fell in love with it the first time i heard it.
| Akon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Aliaune Thiam |
| Born | April 16, 1977 , St. Louis, Missouri, USA |
| Genre(s) | R&B, hip hop, pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, record producer |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Label(s) | Universal, SRC, Konvict Muzik, UpFront |
| Website | www.akononline.com |
Aliaune Thiam (born April 16, 1977),[1] better known by his stage name Akon (pronounced /ˈeɪkɒn/)[2], is a Wolof[3]Senegalese-American hip hop singer-songwriter,and record producer. Akon rose to prominence 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 two record labels, Konvict Muzik and Kon Live Distribution. He is well known for singing hooks and has over 155 guest appearances and 23 Billboard Hot 100 songs to his credit. He is the first solo artist to ever accomplish the feat of holding both the number one and two spots simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100 charts twice.[4]
Contents[hide] |
Career
Early life
As the son of famed jazz musician Mor Thiam, Akon was raised in a musical setting and taught to play several instruments. At the age of 7, he moved to New Jersey. During Akon’s alleged time in jail, he began to understand his music abilities and developed an appreciation for his musical background. When he was released he immediately began recording his music and sending out demo tapes. Akon's unique blend of West African-style vocals and hip-hop lyricism eventually caught the ears of executives at Universal Records.[5]
Name and age
The full name of Akon is, Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam, as announced by himself.[6] Other sources say his given name is Aliaune Thiam.[7] Some sources have written his name as Aliaune Badara Thiam or Alioune Badara Thiam.[8] However, About.com claims that this middle name has never been independently verified.[9] In addition, some media institutions have incorrectly reported that he was born in 1981. Sources such as the AP have indicated he was born in 1973. Legal documents released by The Smoking Gun list his name as Aliaune Damala Thiam and date of birth as 1973-04-30[10] or 1973-04-16.[11] According to the Smoking Gun article, "By all indications, he was born April 16, 1973."[12] When asked his age during an interview with VIBE, Akon reportedly responded, "The only thing I hide is my age... before I lie to you, I'd rather say nothing."[12]
Background
He is the son of the Senegalese percussionist Mor Thiam. He then spent split time between Senegal and America until he was 15, and then permanently moved to Jersey City, New Jersey.[13] He recorded his first song, "Operations of Nature", at the age of fifteen.[citation needed] 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. Most of Akon's songs begin with the sound of the clank of a jail cell with him uttering the word "Convict".
2004–2005: Breakout with 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 allegedly served a three-year jail sentence for grand theft auto, an experience that supposedly 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."
2006–2008: Konvicted and Freedom
In 2006-2007 Akon has had one of the most successful spans any singer has ever enjoyed with eleven songs in the Billboard Hot 100. 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. "Mama Africa" was released as a European single in July 2007, making it the fourth single. It debuted in the UK at number 47. "Sorry, Blame It on Me" is the album's fifth single which debuted in August 2007, on the Hot 100 at number seven, which also happened to be a career best. The song is not available on the original album, but instead part of the Deluxe Edition of Konvicted, which came out August 28, 2007. The sixth and final single was confirmed in an interview by Akon to be "Never Took the Time."[14] 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. On November 19, 2007, the RIAA has certified the Konvicted album triple platinum status with 3 million units sold in th United States. Currently it has sold more than 4 million worldwide.
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".
Akon released his new album Freedom on December 2, which spawned three singles: "Right Now (Na Na Na)", "I'm So Paid" (featuring Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy) and "Beautiful" (featuring Kardinal Offishall). Akon is also confirmed to feature in Flo Rida's upcomingalbum with the song Guarentee.
Other ventures
In 2006, Akon started his new record label Kon Live Distribution under Interscope Records. His first signed artist was Ray Lavender.
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.
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.[15][16]
Akon also 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,[17] T.I.'s 5th album, T.I. vs. T.I.P.,[18] Mario's third solo album Go!,[19] and produced for Daddy Yankee's El Cartel: The Big Boss which was released on June 5, 2007.[20]
In November 2007, Akon recorded a remix of "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" with Michael Jackson. In February 2008, the remix was released on the Thriller 25 of Michael Jackson's Thriller. The remix was released as a single and charted in the top 10 in most countries. Akon has mentioned in various interviews that he is also working with Jackson on his upcoming studio album. In July of 2008, a song was leaked on the internet, which is a duet of Michael Jackson and Akon. Entitled "Hold My Hand," the song features both artists singing together over a R&B/Hip-Hop style backing track, more similar to Akon's songs rather than Jackson's. It is not known whether it will be released as a single or as part of Akon's upcoming album or Jackson's rumoured new album. However it has already caused a comotion with websites such as Youtube; many videos have either been muted or deleted due to copyright issues with the song. There is also no official mention of the recording on either artist websites, and it is not included in the tracklist of Akon's upcoming album Freedom.
Akon holds the record for most guest performances on popular television show American Idol with two. He once sang "The Sweet Escape" with Gwen Stefani and three weeks later he sang "Don't Matter" on the show while it was number one on the Billboard charts.
Akon is also credited with producing the track entitled "Echo" on Latin Boy band Menudo's latest album, released in the spring of 2008.
Akon has been featured in Kat Deluna's "Am I Dreaming."
Akon has recorded a song with E-40 titled "Wake It Up" for E-40's album, The Ball Street Journal. Akon experiments with the auto-tune effect in the song.
On July 7, 2007 Akon performed at the American leg of Live Earth.
Akon co-wrote and recorded "Put It on My Tab" with New Kids on the Block for their 2008 reunion album The Block.[21]
From April to July 2007 Akon performed in The Sweet Escape Tour with Gwen Stefani. From July to September he embarked on his worldwide Konvicted Tour, and in September, he toured with Rihanna on the Canadian leg of her Good Girl Gone Bad Tour.
Akon will be making a guest appearance on singer Ciara's new album "Fantasy Ride" due out in early 2009.[22]
Akon is the executive producer of Not 4 Sale, Kardinal Offishall's fourth solo album, which was released on September 9, 2008. The street single "Graveyard Shift" features Akon rapping,[23] and Akon also appears on the first official single "Dangerous."
Akon co-wrote and produced Leona Lewis' hit record Forgive Me, off her debut album Spirit.
Television and film
Akon has confirmed that a reality television show is in the works. It will be called "My Brother's Keeper" and the point is that Akon's two nearly identical brothers will go around in Atlanta posing as him fooling people into thinking that it is in fact Akon. They will try to get VIP treatment, girls and free things. Akon has claimed that people have mistaken his brothers for him many times in Atlanta which is what the show is based on.[24]
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. Besides Akon confirmed in August 2007, in the interview with Polish website INTERIA.PL, that he works on a movie "Cocaine Cowboys," which tells the story of Jon Roberts, the main pilot of Medellin Cartel (Colombian drug traffickers).[25] He was also featured on a Verizon Wireless commercial and singing Snitch along with Obie Trice on a CSI: Crime Scene Investigation episode named "Poppin' Tags."
On November 30, 2007, Akon entered the Big Brother house in Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition 2 as a guest so the housemates can meet him for only 100 seconds.
He also appeared on November 17, 2008 edition of WWE Raw, with Santino Marella citing him in his speech.
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. Timothy Hodge appeared on MTV's Direct Effect along side Akon while promotioning the Konvict clothing line.[26]
Personal life
Akon has been rumored to have three wives, but recently has said to only have one.[27] Akon nominally belongs to the Sunni sect of Islam. Both his parents are Muslim.[citation needed] Polygamy is illegal in the United States of America and in many Muslim countries[citation needed]. He claims to have five children with three different women in an interview with Blender.[28]
He also has his own charity for underprivileged children in Africa called Konfidence Foundation.[29] Akon owns a diamond mine in South Africa and denies the existence of conflict diamonds (Otherwise casually referred to as 'blood 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."[30] He also allegedly had a previous occupation as a drug dealer but has stated in interviews that he's never used drugs, though some of his lyrics would suggest otherwise. Despite his alleged criminal history, he proclaims that he has turned his life around.
In 2006, he ventured to Africa to play a concert in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.[31]
Controversy
| | This article's Criticism or Controversy section(s) may mean the article does not present a neutral point of view of the subject. It may be better to integrate the material in such sections into the article as a whole. |
Trinidad and Tobago incident
In April 2007, Akon drew criticism for having on-stage simulated sex with Danah (Deena) Alleyne, a preacher's [at the time] fifteen-year-old daughter, at a club in Trinidad and Tobago, as part of a fake contest, despite the club's claim to have a 21 years and over age limit.[32][33] 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 removed ringtones featuring Akon's songs. Verizon also decided not to sponsor The Sweet Escape Tour where Akon was to be the opening act for Gwen Stefani.[34] 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 irresponsibility."[35]
In one song from his album, "Sorry, Blame It On Me," Akon apologizes to the young girl for the incident at the club, though citing the club for admitting the girl because she was under 21 and her parents for letting her go out dressed like an adult. He also tells how Verizon dropped promoting him and Gwen's tour, and stopped sale of his ringtones. He also makes several other apologies to his children, wife, and mother as well. The song is available to listen to on Akon's MySpace page and was released onto iTunes (U.S.) on July 17, 2007.
Political commentators Michelle Malkin, Laura Ingraham, and Bill O'Reilly criticized Akon for "degrading women."[36][37] 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.[38] The Electronic Frontier Foundation joined Malkin in contesting the removal as a misuse of copyright law, citing fair use.[39] In May 2007, UMG rescinded its claim to the video, and the video returned to YouTube.
Fishkill incident
On June 3, 2007, at WSPK's KFEST concert at the Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill, New York, 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 singer then tossed the attendee back into the crowd from his shoulders. Video of the incident was reviewed by Fishkill police.[40] Akon has claimed that the incident was staged and that he in fact used the act to set up for the next record.[24] Charges of endangering the welfare of a minor, a misdemeanor, and second-degree harassment, a violation, were filed, according to police Chief Donald F. Williams, and Akon was arraigned the two charges on December 3, 2007 in the town of Fishkill Court.[41]
In December 2008, Akon pleaded guilty to the charge of harassment in the second degree; he was sentenced to 65 hours community service and $350 in fines. [42]
Biographical fabrications
The Smoking Gun reported in April 2008 that much of Akon's purported criminal and incarceration history has been dramatically embellished.[43][44][45] In particular, Akon's claims to be part of an auto-theft ring and his claim to have spent three years in prison were challenged with court records and interviews with detectives involved in Akon's case.
Akon has only been convicted of a single felony, that of gun possession in 1998. He received 3 years probation after pleading guilty. He ended up spending several months in jail on remand following the theft of a BMW, but the charges against him were dropped.
According to The Smoking Gun's article, Akon was not convicted of any crime and did not serve any time in prison from 1999 to 2002 as previously claimed.
Akon stated that The Smoking Gun's attempt to "discredit" him "makes no sense" to him, and that he benefits from it because that part of his past is something he has been "trying to forget."[46]
akon
[Verse 1]:
It's been so long
That I haven't seen your face
I'm tryna be strong
But the strength I have is washing away
It won't be long before I get you by my side
And just hold you, tease you, squeeze you
Tell you what's been on my mind
[Chorus]:
I wanna make up right now now now
I wanna make up right now now now
Wish we never broke up right now now now
We need to link up right now now now
I wanna make up right now now now
I wanna make up right now now now
Wish we never broke up right now now now
We need to link up right now now now
[Verse 2]:
Girl I know mistakes were made between us two
And we show our eyes that night even said somethings weren't true
Why'd you go
I haven't seen my girl since then
Why can't it be the way it was
Cause you were my homie, lover, friend
[Chorus]:
I wanna make up right now now now
I wanna make up right now now now
Wish we never broke up right now now now
We need to link up right now now now
I wanna make up right now now now
I wanna make up right now now now
Wish we never broke up right now now now
We need to link up right now now now
[Bridge 1]:
I can't lie
(I miss you much)
Watching everyday that goes by
(I miss you much)
Till i get you back I'm gonna try
(Yes I miss you much)
You are the apple of my eye
(Girl I miss you much)
(I miss you much)
I can't lie
(I miss you much)
Watching everyday that goes by
(I miss you much)
Tell I get you back I'm gonna try
(Yes I miss you much)
You are the apple of my eye
(Girl I miss you much)
(I miss you much)
[Chorus]:
I wanna make up right now now now
I wanna make up right now now now
Wish we never broke up right now now now
We need to link up right now now now
I wanna make up right now now now
I wanna make up right now now now
Wish we never broke up right now now now
We need to link up right now now now
[Bridge 2]:
I want you to fly with me
(want you to fly)
I miss how you lie with me
(miss how you lie)
Just wish you could dine with me
(wish you could dine with me)
One that would grind with me
(one that would grind with me)
I want you to fly with me
(want you to fly)
I miss how you lie with me
(miss how you lie)
Just wish you could dine with me
(wish you could dine)
One that would grind with me
(one that would grind)
[Chorus]:
I wanna make up right now now now
I wanna make up right now now now
Wish we never broke up right now now now
We need to link up right now now now
I wanna make up right now now now
I wanna make up right now now now
Wish we never broke up right now now now
We need to link up right now now now
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