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.

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