Akon
Akon was born Aliaune Akon Thiam, most likely in 1979 in St. Louis,
Missouri, although most reports have him being born in Senegal, West
Africa. He grew up in Dakar (the capital city of Senegal), where his
father, Mor Thiam, was a well-known jazz percussionist, who was
acquainted with James Brown and Michael Jackson. He went to school in
the U.S. but spent his summers in Senegal, finally ending up in New
Jersey.
In 2004, Akon released his debut album, "Trouble." The single "Locked
Up," reached the top ten in the U.S. and was a top five in the U.K. The
single "Ghetto" was a radio favorite after it was remixed to include
verses from Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur. The next year, he
released the single "Lonely" which sampled a most unlikely 60s hit, "Mr.
Lonely," by Bobby Vinton, proving once again that the roots of hip hop
are far-reaching. It was a number one hit in the U.K. and Australia
while reaching the top 10 in the U.S. That same year, "Trouble" became
the number one album overseas (in the U.K.) where it became gold, and
eventually reaching double platinum in the U.S. In late 2005, trouble
followed him again, and Akon was shot and wounded, resulting in more
notoriety than he had planned on. But it did help to boost music sales.
  
Auctions
Free counters provided by Andale. | |||
