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Tuesday, August 7, 2007
AKON
Career

Name
Akon often goes by the shorter, Aliaune Thiam, though other sources have said his name is Alioune Badara Thiam, and About.com says the long form of his name, "Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam," has not been independently verified.

Background
He is the son of jazz percussionist, Mor Thiam. He was born in USA but grew up in Dakar, Senegal until he was seven. He split time between Senegal and the U.S. until he was fifteen, then his family permanently moved to Jersey City, New Jersey and as such he speaks English, French, and Wolof. He recorded his first song, "Operations of Nature," at the age of fifteen. He was then subsequently jailed for armed robbery and drug distribution charges, and used his time in prison to work on his music. Upon release, Akon began writing and recording tracks in his home studio. The tapes found their way to SRC/Universal, which released Akon's debut LP Trouble in June 2004. The album is a hybrid of Akon's silky, West African-styled vocals mixed with East Coast and Southern beats.

Film
Akon is planning to work on a full-length movie titled Illegal Alien. The film is based on some of the events of his life and actor Mekhi Phifer is set to play him.He was featured on a Verizon Wireless commercial. He was also featured singing Snitch along with Obie Trice on a CSI: Crime Scene Investigation episode named "Poppin' Tags."

Fashion
In February 2007, Akon launched his clothing line, Konvict Clothing. It features urban streetwear including denim jeans, hoodies, t-shirts and hats. Aliaune is the upscale version, or high-end line, for males and females, which includes blazers, denim jeans and other items.

Personal life
Akon was born in St. Louis, Missouri. His parents moved to the United States to avoid immigration problems and so he and his siblings could get a better education.
Akon once considered a career in basketball until he injured his knee, which required surgery. He still remains a big New Jersey Nets fan.
He currently splits time residing between Atlanta, Georgia and Dakar, Senegal
In late 2005, his long time friend and manager Robert Montanez, who Akon referred to as a brother, was killed in a drive by shooting; the album Konvicted is dedicated to him. Akon was also in the car and was shot in the shoulder, however he made a full recovery.
He is a Muslim. It has been reported that he is both a believer and practitioner of polygamy, but such reports are uncomfirmed, as Akon has not given a straight answer to questions about the matter.He first discussed it on a radio program saying, "I really don’t bite my tongue for anybody and I always felt like if you’re going to be real, you got to be truthful all the way around the board. Lies only make things worse. But it got to a point where my coming out like that ended up being a mistake. Akon has recently said in an interview with an Isreali magazine that he only has one main wife whose name is Tomeka."
He drives an orange Lamborghini Gallardo.In the May 7, 2007 edition of US Weekly Akon admits to owning over 4000 pairs of shoes.
He also has his own charity for underprivileged children in Africa called Konfidence Foundati
Akon also owns a diamond mine in South Africa and denies the existence of conflict diamonds saying, "I don't even believe in conflict diamonds. That's just a movie. Think about it. Ain't nobody thought about nothing about no conflict diamonds until the movie came out."
He also had a previous occupation as a drug dealer but states that he has never used drugs. He also said that in spite of his previous criminal history, he has turned his life around, as sung in "Tired Of Runnin'".
In 2006, he ventured to Africa to play a concert in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

Posted by sajeena at 8:49 AM 0 comments



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