Akon

**Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam** (born April 16, 1973), dem mononymously know am as **Akon** (/ˈeɪkɒn/), be Senegalese-American singer-songwriter, record producer, businessman, den philanthropist. Influential figure insyd world music, he rise to prominence insyd 2004 dey follow de release of ein single "Locked Up" (wey dey feature Styles P). He style insyd hip hop, e precede de release of ein debut studio album *Trouble* (2004), wich cam turn ein commercial breakthru den spawn de R&B-styled follow-up, "Lonely" de year wey dey follow.

Ein second album, *Konvicted* (2006), na e meet plus continued success wey na dem nominate am for Best Contemporary R&B Album at de 50th Annual Grammy Awards, while ein lead singles, "I Wanna Love You" (wey dey feature Snoop Dogg) den "Smack That" (wey dey feature Eminem), both receive nominations for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. De songs simultaneously peak at numbers one den two for de *Billboard* Hot 100 top, respectively, along plus two of ein singles dem release de year wey dey follow: "Don't Matter" den ein guest performance for Gwen Stefani ein "The Sweet Escape" top; dis make Akon de first solo artist make he concurrently hold de top two positions for de chart twice top. Ein third album, *Freedom* (2008), na dem support am by de top ten single, "Right Now (Na Na Na)", as well as de top 40 singles "I'm So Paid" (wey dey feature Lil Wayne den Jeezy) den "Beautiful" (wey dey feature Colby O'Donis den Kardinal Offishall). Insyd 2019 he release two albums: ein fourth album, *El Negreeto* (2019), explore reggaeton den Latin music, ein fifth album, *Akonda*, explore Afrobeats. Both albums fail to chart.

Along plus ein solo career, na Akon guest perform for 23 *Billboard* Hot 100 entries give oda artists—such activity earn am two additional Grammy Award nominations. Akon found de record labels Konvict Muzik insyd 2004 den KonLive Distribution insyd 2007, thru wich na he sign commercially successful acts wey dey include Lady Gaga, T-Pain, R. City, Kardinal Offishall, Jeffree Star den French Montana, among odas. For addition, he dey zuk a separate career insyd production den songwriting predominantly for artists for de labels top, buh sanso for oda artists such as Michael Jackson, Snoop Dogg, Lionel Richie, Leona Lewis, Sean Paul, Whitney Houston, Mario, den Estelle, among odas.

Na Akon since be prolific insyd charitable den philanthropic endeavors. He launch de non-profit Akon Lighting Africa insyd 2014 wey he begin development for ein own city insyd Senegal, wich na dem schedule for completion insyd 2028. *Forbes* rank Akon 80th (Power Rank) insyd de *Forbes* Celebrity 100 insyd 2010 den 5th insyd de 40 Most Powerful Celebrities insyd Africa list, insyd 2011. *Billboard* rank Akon number 6 for de list of Top Digital Songs Artists of de decade. Na dem list am by *Guinness World Records* as de number-one selling artist for master ringtones insyd de world, plus 11 million dem sell by December 2007.

## Philanthropy
Akon sanso start a project Akon Lighting Africa insyd 2014 wich dey provide electricity insyd 15 countries of Africa.

He sanso launch ein own charity give kiddies wey be underprivileged insyd Africa dem bell Konfidence Foundation.

Na dem include Akon as a guest appearance insyd Pitbull ein "I Believe That We Will Win (World Anthem)" official music video, insyd wich dem go donate all proceeds from de song ein sales, streaming den views to Feeding America den de Anthony Robbins Foundation as relief to those affect by de COVID-19 pandemic.

## Discography

**Studio albums**
* *Trouble* (2004)
* *Konvicted* (2006)
* *Freedom* (2008)
* *El Negreeto* (2019)
* *Akonda* (2019)

## Filmography
* *Black November* (2012)
* *American Heist* (2014)
* *Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping* (2016)
## Tours
* Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania One-off Concert (2006).
* Konvicted Tour (July to September 2007, then additional dates insyd 2008)
* The Sweet Escape Tour plus Gwen Stefani (April to July 2007)
* Good Girl Gone Bad Tour plus Rihanna (Canadian-leg per, September – December 2008)
* Konvict Muzik Tour plus T-Pain (Australia per, October 26–27, 2009)
* Summer Tour, (Brazil-leg per, January to February 2010)
* OMG Tour plus Usher (North America Second Leg, April – June 2011)
## References


## External links

* Official website 
*  at IMDb
* Akon at AllMusic