"WAW" Akon's Profile

BIO

Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam (born April 16, 1973), (/ˈeɪkɒn/) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur, philanthropist and actor. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of “Locked Up”, the first single from his debut album, Trouble.

He has since founded two successful record labels, Konvict Muzik and Kon Live Distribution. The labels served as a stepping stone for many soon-to-be successful acts, most notably Lady Gaga, T-Pain, R. City, Kardinall Offishall and Red Café, among others. His second album, Konvicted received three nominations for the Grammy Awards in two categories, Best Contemporary R&B Album for Konvicted album and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for “Smack That” and “I Wanna Love You”.

He is the first solo artist to hold both the number one and two spots simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100 charts twice. 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 in digital sales. Akon has sung songs in other languages including Tamil, Hindi, and Spanish. He was listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the #1 selling artist for master ringtones in the world.

Akon often provides vocals as a featured artist and is currently credited with over 300 guest appearances and more than 35 Billboard Hot 100 songs. He has had five Grammy Awards nominations and has produced records for artists such as Lady Gaga, Colby O’Donis, Kardinal Offishall, Leona Lewis, and Michael Jackson.

Forbes ranked Akon 80th (Power Rank) in Forbes Celebrity 100 in 2010 and 5th in 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.

Birth Name: Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam

Born: April 16, 1973

Genre: R&B Pop hip/hop, Dancehall