The US Trends | Akon | Akon is a Senegalese American R & B recording artist & songwriter.According toForbes, Akon grossed $ 21,000,000 in2010, $ 20,000,000 in2009 and $ 12,000,000 in2008. Akon rose to prominence in2004 following the release of "Locked Up",the 1st single from his debut album "Trouble".His 2nd album, "Konvicted",earned him a Grammy Award nomination of the single "Smack That". Akon has since founded 2 record labels,Konvict Muzik and KonLive Distribution. Akon often.sings hooks for.other artists andIs currently credited with over 300guest appearances and 45Billboard Hot100songs. Akon has worked with numerous performers such as Dr.Dre, MichaelJackson, R.Kelly,Bone Thugs N Harmony,Quincy Jones, Eminem and WhitneyHouston. Akon is the 1st solo artist to hold both the number 1 and 2 spots simultaneously on theBillboard Hot 100charts twice. Akon has had 6Grammy Awards nominations and has produced many hits for artists such as Lady Gaga, ColbyO'Donis and LeonaLewis.LadyGaga and TPain are 2 artists who were given their chance at fame byAkon.
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Akon born Aliaune Damala Badara Thiam, on April 16, 1973 in St. Louis,Missouri,which his parents arranged so that Akon would haveAmerican citizenship,and not encounter future immigration problems. Akon is the son of Senegalese percussionist Mor Thiam, Akon was raised in a musical setting and taught to play several instruments including the djembe.At age7, Akon 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 inNew Jersey,Akon had difficulties getting along with other children.When Akon 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 has stated in interviews that his full name is Aliaune Damala Akon Thiam and that as a Muslim, Akon has never drunk alcohol or smoked.Although there is some ambiguity and debate about Akon's legal name and birth date. Akon is usually credited as Aliaune Thiam.In addition to the longer form, Akon's full name has been reported both as Aliaune Badara Thiam and Alioune Badara Thiam and the former was used on an official document issues against the rapper by the county of Dutchess, New York.
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In regards to his birth date, Akon is very protective of it,which is the reason many media outlets have reported incorrect dates.However,legal documents released byThe Smoking Gun list Akon's name as Aliaune Damala Thiam and his date of birth as April 16,1973. Akon's alleged 3years in jail saw him begin to recognize his music abilities and develop an appreciation for his musical background.Music mogul Devyne Stephens,president of Upfront Megatainment first heard about Akon when the rapper Lil' Zane brought him along to Stephens' rehearsal hall,a place that at the time saw talents such as Usher and TLC being developed.The relationship betweenStephens and Akon began as a friendship and mentor-ship,with the young artist regularly stopping by to ask for advice,but when Akon lost his deal with ElektraStephens signed him to his production company and began grooming him professionally.The songs Akon recorded with Stephens were brought to the attention of Universal's imprint SRC Records.In an interview with HitQuarters SRC A&R Jerome Foster said,"What caught my attention right away was "Lonely",and I said,'this kid is official -this is a huge record."Foster and SRC CEO Steve Rifkind immediately boarded a private plane to Atlanta to meet the young artist. Akon knew of Foster's work as producer Knobody and so there was a mutual respect for one another and the pair hit itoff.
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Akon's solo debut album, "Trouble" was released onJune 29,2004.It spawned the singles "Locked Up" and "Lonely", "Belly Dancer (Bananza)", "Pot Of Gold", and "Ghetto." "Locked Up" reached the top 10 in the U.S. and the top five in the UK. "Ghetto" became a radio hit when it was remixed by DJ Green Lantern to include verses from rappers 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G. 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's door with him uttering the word "Konvict". In2005, Akon 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, He made his first critically acclaimed guest appearance on Young Jeezy's debut album, Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101, with the song "Soul Survivor." In December the same year his manager, Robert Montanez was killed in a shooting after a dispute in New Jersey.
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Akon's 2nd album, Konvicted was released on November 14,2006. It included collaborations with Eminem, Snoop Dogg and Styles P.The first single "Smack That" featuring Eminem was released in August 2006 and peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks."I Wanna Love You," (featuring Snoop Dogg) was the second single released in September, it would go on to earn 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, a third single "Don't Matter" which earned him his first solo number one and second consecutive Hot 100 chart topper was released. "Mama Africa" was released as a European single in July 2007, making it the fourth overall single from the album reaching just 47 in the UK. To boincide with the release of the Platinum (deluxe) edition of the album "Sorry, Blame It on Me" was the album's fifth single, debuted in August 2007 on the Hot 100 at number seven. The deluxe version was fully released on August 28, 2007. The final single was confirmed by Akon to be "Never Took the Time." 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. It stayed in the top twenty of the Billboard 200 for 28 consecutive weeks and peaked at number two on four different occasions. On November 20, 2007, the RIAA certified the album ‘triple platinum’ with 3 million units sold in the US. It has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide.
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OnOctober 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 was fueled by its number six debut on Hot Digital Songs with 67,000 downloads. The record has since been broken several times. 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 four singles: "Right Now (Na Na Na)", "I'm So Paid" (featuring Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy), "Beautiful" (featuring Kardinal Offishall and Colby O'Donis) and "We Don't Care". "We Don't Care" has failed to chart significantly in many countries, only reaching 61 in the UK and 91 in Australia. After the unexpected death of The King Of Pop Michael Jackson, who Akon was working with in Jackson's last years, Akon released a tribute song called "Cry Out Of Joy". Akon & Michael Jackson were close friends near the end of Jackson's life.
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Speaking of his relationship with Michael Jackson to noted UK R&B writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning 'Blues & Soul' in October 2008, Akon stated: "Mike is the King Of Pop, and I think that it's a dream come true for ANY major artist/songwriter/producer to be able to work with the best in the business! You know, to work with someone like Mike – who's created opportunities, opened doors for so many people, and achieved so much in the music world, period – is just an experience which would be enough to take home for ANYONE! I mean, when I first flew up to Vegas and met him it was almost like we'd known each other for YEARS! LITERALLY! 'Cause musically we were on the same exact page! The chemistry was just INCREDIBLE! And, as a person, he was the most cool, humble dude I've ever met! I mean, we even actually got to go to the movies together – in broad daylight! Which was an experience in itself!" DavidGuetta collaborated with Akon in Sexy Bitch, a first house track by Akon, and has been a "summer anthem" across the globe. Reaching #1 in more than 6 countries, and charting at 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, it is featured on Guetta's One Love album. Which has made it his 19th Top 20 hit worldwide.
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It was announced in late 2009 that Akon's fourth studio album, Stadium, was set for release in the first quarter of 2010. However, following managerial commitments to other artists, work on the album has not been completed. Akon had also stated that the title of the album may change between now and that time, since originally it was titled Stadium Music and then Akonic, although there is some ambiguity and debate about the album name. The album's lead single, "Angel", was released to US radio stations on September 14, 2010, and was released as a single on September 27, 2010. It was produced by French producer David Guetta. Akon performed the song during the 2010 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. 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.
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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). 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." OnNovember 30,2007, Akon entered the BigBrother house in Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition2 as a guest so the housemates can meet him for only 100seconds. Akon also appeared onNovember 17,2008 edition of WWE Raw,with Santino Marella citing him in his speech. Because of Santino's Italian Stereotyping, he mispronounced Akon's name to "Akorn".
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OnApril 27,2008, Akon appeared with Colby O'Donis in Dance on Sunset.OnJanuary 27,2010, Akon performed on the Brazilian reality show BigBrother Brasil. InFebruary2007, Akon launched his clothing line, "Konvict Clothing".It features urban street-wear 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. TimothyHodge appeared on MTV's Direct Effect alongside Akon while promotioning the "Konvict Clothing"line.
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