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. Growing up in New Jersey, Akon had difficulties getting along with other children. At age seven, he and his family relocated to Union City, New Jersey, splitting his time between the United States and Senegal until settling in Newark. Akon learned to play five instruments, including drums, guitar and djembe. Akon spent a significant part of his childhood in Senegal, which he described as his 'hometown'. His mother is dancer Kine Gueye Thiam ( née Gueye), and his father is percussionist Mor Thiam, Mor Thiam was born to a Toucouleur family of Quranic scholars in Kaolack, Senegal. 2.5 2019–present: Return to music, Akonik Label Group, El Negreeto, Akonda, and KonnectĪliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam was born on April 16, 1973, in St.

2.4 2010–2018: Unreleased Stadium album and hiatus.6 on the list of Top Digital Songs Artists of the decade. Akon sports a concurrent career in producing and songwriting records mainly for artists on his respective labels, as well as for other mainstream artists including Michael Jackson, Snoop Dogg, Lionel Richie, Leona Lewis, Sean Paul, and Whitney Houston.įorbes 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. City, Kardinal Offishall, Jeffree Star, and French Montana have been signed to Akon through these labels. A multitude of successful acts, including Lady Gaga, T-Pain, R. He was listed by Guinness World Records as the number-one selling artist for master ringtones in the world.Īlong with his own musical career, Akon later founded two record labels, Konvict Muzik and KonLive Distribution. Akon has had four songs certified as 3× platinum, three songs certified as 2× platinum, more than ten songs certified as 1× platinum and more than ten songs certified as gold by the RIAA. He is the first solo artist to hold both the number one and two spots simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100 charts twice. His third studio album Freedom (2008) was led by the single ' Right Now (Na Na Na)'.Īkon often provides vocals as a featured artist and is currently credited with over 300 guest appearances and more than 35 Billboard Hot 100 songs, resulting in five Grammy Award nominations. Both singles became Billboard Hot 100 top ten hits, followed up by ' Don't Matter' and ' Sorry, Blame It on Me'. 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). 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'. Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam ( / ˈ eɪ k ɒ n/ born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon, is a Senegalese-American singer, record producer, and entrepreneur.

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