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Akon
Life experiences are the basis for
most of music’s greatest artists. Akon is no exception.
Throughout his dynamic debut collection, (Trouble), the
Atlanta-based singer-songwriter-producer draws from
real-life to craft his stirring songs. R&B with a
hip-hop attitude and edge, Akon pulls no punches when he
sits down to write.
“I’ve got a habit of everything that I go through, I
write about it,” he explains. But if I went through a
whole album writing about what I went through, the whole
album would be so dark. The album evolved into the
struggles I went through, my having some fun, to this is
me now and this is what I got to do to correct it.”
Songs such as the mesmerizing “Belly Dance,” the
reflective “Lonely,” the inspirational “Pot Of Gold” and
the harsh “Locked Up,” demonstrate Akon’s wide artistic
range. But for his first single, Akon wanted to present
a feel-good selection. That’s why he chose “Belly
Dance.” There’s a lot of negative things going on,” Akon
says. We need to party and just have fun. That’s one of
those records. You just go in the club and enjoy those
beautiful women.”
Much of Akon’s appeal comes from his conversational
singing style. It’s almost as though he’s talking to you
as he sings, intimately bringing the listener into his
world. When I do it, I don’t even try to change my voice
like that,” he says. It’s just the mood I be in or the
time I do it. A lot of these records are coming straight
from the heart or something that I might have just gone
through. That’s why it might sound conversational. When
I’m on the mic, I really feel like I’m speaking to
somebody, like I’m letting something out to somebody.”
 Born
in St. Louis and raised in Senegal, Africa, Akon moved
to live in the United States full-time when he was
seven. His family, headed by jazz musician Mor Thiam,
settled in New Jersey, where Akon attended school.
While Akon was in high school, his mother and father
moved to Atlanta. They left Akon and his brother behind
to finish school. Akon soon found himself taking
advantage of his freedom and getting in trouble with
both classmates and the legal system.
But it was Akon’s love for music, which started because
of his admiration of his father, that allowed him to
turn his life around. He started playing a variety of
percussion instruments and was eventually smitten by
hip-hop, even though he didn’t care for it originally.
It was brand new, growing and I thought it was rubbish,”
he recalls. But as things started going, I started to
realize how much of it kind of adapted to my lifestyle.”
Now, after dipping in and out of trouble, Akon wants
Trouble to be a payback of sorts for the support system
that helped him turn his life around. I vowed to myself
and to God that I was going to do the right thing,” he
says. I didn’t want to disappoint the people that love
me and were trying to help me.”
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