Information AboutAkon |
Akon (. CAREER Name Akon often goes by the shorter, Aliaune Thiam,Relic, Peter. " The Hook Man ", ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, . 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.Nero, Mark Edward. Akon Profile , ''About.com''. His age has also been under scrutiny recently. Some media institutions reported that he was born in 1981 making him years old. However, recently the AP has been reporting he was born in 1973 and is years old. Akon says he doesn't know his exact age nor does he understand the importance in releasing his age, but claims he has been "blessed to look young for a long time". In a September, 2007 interview for an Israeli magazine Akon hinted that he was around 25 or 26.de Silverio, Victoria. " Who Does Akon Think He Is? ", ''Blender'', September 2007. His age is still uncertain. Background He is the son of jazz percussionist, . until he was seven. He split time between Senegal and the U.S. until he was fifteen, then his family permanently moved to Jersey City, New Jersey and as such he speaks English , French , and Wolof . He recorded his first song, "Operations of Nature," at the age of fifteen. He was then subsequently jailed for armed robbery and drug distribution charges, and used his time in prison to work on his music. 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. 2004–2005: ''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 served a three-year jail sentence for grand theft auto, an experience that inspired his "Locked Up". "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 Remix ed 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 '', on the song " Soul Survivor " which became a top five hit on the Billboard Hot 100. 2006–2007: ''Konvicted'' 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'' 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. Currently it has sold more than 2.4 million records in the U.S. and 3.8 million worldwide in 30 weeks. 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 . On July 7 , 2007 Akon performed at the American Leg of Live Earth . From April to July Akon performed in The Sweet Escape Tour with Gwen Stefani . From July to September he will embark on his worldwide Konvicted Tour . In September, Akon will start on the Canadian leg of the Good Girl Gone Bad Tour with Rihanna . On . Akon will release a Platinum Edition of his album Konvicted in UK on October 1. OTHER VENTURES In 2006, Akon started his new record label Kon Live Distribution under Interscope Records . His first signed artist was Earl Ray . 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. It reached #1 on United World Chart and is on the top for eight weeks. The song is also Akon's first #1 on World Chart. 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 . Akon also appeared on . Akon will be the . Akon holds the record for most guest performances on popular television show American Idol with two. He once sung The Sweet Escape with Gwen Stefani and three weeks later he sung Don't Matter on the show while it was number one on the Billboard charts. Television 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.Sawjani, Archna. Akon: Real Talk , ''AllHipHop.com'', 2007-08-06 . Film Akon is planning to work on a full-length episode named "Poppin' Tags." 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.Winning, Brolin. " Akon - Got It Locked ", ''MP3.com'', 2006-10-23 . PERSONAL LIFE Akon was born in St. Louis, Missouri . His parents moved to the United States to avoid immigration problems and so he and his siblings could get a better education. He has spent a total of five years in prison and states that his time in jail has made him what he is today. Akon once considered a career in basketball until he injured his knee, which required surgery. He still remains an avid New Jersey Nets fan. He is also a soccer (football) fan. He currently splits time residing between Atlanta, Georgia and Dakar, Senegal 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 . He first discussed 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." Akon has recently said in an interview with an Israeli magazine that he only has one main wife whose name is Tomeka and claims to have five children with three different women in an interview with '' Blender ''. He drives an orange Lamborghini Gallardo , and refers to this car in his song " Smack That ". In the May 7 , 2007 edition of US Weekly Akon admits to owning over 4000 pairs of shoes. He also has his own charity for underprivileged children in Africa called Konfidence Foundation.1 Akon also owns a diamond mine in . 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 . CONTROVERSY The Trinidad incident In April 2007, Akon drew criticism for a raunchy dance with a fourteen year old girl at a club in . In a newly released song, " 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 the parents for letting her go out. 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 and wife 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 . The . In May 2007, UMG rescinded its claim to the video, and the video returned to YouTube. The staged Fishkill incident On . Akon has confirmed that the incident was staged and that he in fact used the act to set up for the next record. DISCOGRAPHY See Also: Akon discography AWARDS See Also: List of Akon awards and nominations REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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