Akon Born Aliuane Badara Thiam

April 30, 1973

According to the story, Akon was born Aliuane Badara Thiam in the nation of Senegal. As the son of famed jazz musician Mor Thiam, Akon was raised in a musical setting and taught to play several instruments. At the age of 7, he moved from Africa to New Jersey. During Akon’s alleged time in jail, he began to understand his music abilities and developed an appreciation for his musical background. Akon began writing songs mostly about prison life and living in a ghetto setting. Akon saw his musical talents as a way to leave these surroundings. When he was released he immediately began recording his music and sending out demo tapes. Akon's unique blend of West African-style vocals and hip-hop lyricism eventually caught the ears of executives at Universal Records.

However, another story is that Akon was born in St. Louis, Missori instead of Senegal - his family didn't want him to go through the immigration process. Part of the reason for Akon moving to America was for Akon to pursue a career in basketball, but he allegedly injured his knee and was forced to quit.

Records First Song at Age Fifteen

January 1, 1988

Akon split time between Senegal and America until he was 15, and then permanently moved to Jersey City, New Jersey. He recorded his first song, "Operations of Nature," at the age of fifteen. 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. Most of Akon's songs begin with the sound of the clank of a jail cell with him uttering the word "Convict."

Debut Album Released

June 29, 2004

Akon's solo debut album, Trouble was released on June 29, 2004. It spawned the hit singles "Locked Up" and "Lonely," as well as "Belly Dancer (Bananza)," "Pot Of Gold," and "Ghetto". Akon allegedly served a three-year jail sentence for grand theft auto, an experience that supposedly inspired his "Locked Up".

"Locked Up" reached the top 10 in the U.S. and the top five in the UK. "Ghetto" became a radio hit when it was remixed by Green Lantern to include verses from legendary rappers 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G. In 2005, he released the single "Lonely" (which samples Bobby Vinton's "Mr. Lonely"). The song reached the top five on the Billboard Hot 100, and topped the charts in Australia, the UK and Germany. His album also climbed to number one in the UK in April, 2005. When music channel The Box had a top ten weekly chart, which was calculated by the amount of video requests, Akon's "Lonely" became the longest running single on the top of the chart, spanning over fifteen weeks.

Akon then released another single featuring with a New Zealand rapper, Savage with the single "Moonshine", which had become a success in both New Zealand and Australia, becoming number one in the New Zealand charts. In 2005, Akon gained more popularity after being featured on Young Jeezy's debut album, Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101, on the song "Soul Survivor."

Akon Breaks Records!

October 5, 2006

On October 5, 2006, Akon broke a record on the Hot 100, as he achieved the largest climb in the chart's 48-year-history with "Smack That" jumping from number 95 to 7. The leap is fueled by its number six debut on Hot Digital Songs with 67,000 downloads. The record was broken on April 7, 2007 by Beyoncé and Shakira's Beautiful Liar when it jumped from 94 to 3 on the Hot 100, because of their 150,000 digital downloads on the Hot Digital Songs.

In December 2006, Akon's "Smack That" was nominated for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards, but lost to Justin Timberlake and T.I.'s My Love.

On July 7, 2007 Akon performed at the American leg of Live Earth.

From April to July Akon performed in The Sweet Escape Tour with Gwen Stefani. From July to September he will embark on his worldwide Konvicted Tour. In September, Akon will start on the Canadian leg of the Good Girl Gone Bad Tour with Rihanna

Second Album "Konvicted" - Goes Double Platinum!

November 14, 2006

Akon's second album, entitled Konvicted, was released on November 14, 2006. Konvicted included collaborations with Eminem, Snoop Dogg and Styles P. Late August 2006, Akon released the single "Smack That" featuring Eminem, from the album. This single peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks. The music video for "Smack That" was directed by Raymond Garced.

"I Wanna Love You", the second single off Konvicted, was released in September 2006. It is a collaboration between Akon and Snoop Dogg. This single earned Akon his first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, and Snoop's second. "I Wanna Love You" topped the U.S. charts for two consecutive weeks. In January 2007, Akon released his third single "Don't Matter" which earned him his first solo number one and second consecutive Hot 100 chart topper. "Mama Africa" was released as a European single in July 2007, making it the fourth single. It debuted in the UK at number 47. "Sorry, Blame It on Me" is the album's fifth single which debuted in August 2007, on the Hot 100 at number seven, which also happened to be a career best. The song is not available on the original album, but instead part of the Deluxe Edition of Konvicted, which came out August 28, 2007. The sixth and final single was confirmed in an interview by Akon to be "Never Took the Time".

Konvicted debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 286,000 copies in its first week. After only six weeks, Konvicted sold more than one million records in the U.S. and more than 1.3 million worldwide. The album was certified platinum after seven weeks, and after sixteen weeks it was certified double platinum. Konvicted was able to stay in the top twenty of the Billboard 200 for 28 consecutive weeks, where it peaked at number two on four different occasions. On November 19, 2007, the RIAA has certified the Konvicted album triple platinum status with 3 million units sold in th United States. Currently it has sold more than 4 million worldwide. Akon know claims that he has released a country western album with a alias name in hopes of being the first african american singer to make it big in this genre. He also claims to already have a big hit from the album.

Launches Own Fashion Line

Feburary 1, 2007

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.

Akon Criticised for Performance with 15 year old Preacher's Daughter

April 10, 2007

In April 2007, Akon drew criticism for having on-stage simulated sex with Danah (Deena) Alleyne, a fifteen-year-old preacher's daughter, at a club in Trinidad and Tobago, as part of a fake contest, despite the club's claim to have an 18 years and over age limit. The incident was filmed by Akon's crew and later uploaded to the Internet. On April 20, 2007 local media, channel TV6, aired the video clip publicly. Amid criticism on the radio, television, and from the blogosphere, Verizon Wireless removed ringtones featuring Akon's songs. Verizon also decided not to sponsor The Sweet Escape Tour where Akon was to be the opening act for Gwen Stefani. However, Universal Music Group did not take action against Akon, but rather simply ordered the video clip be removed from video-sharing site YouTube due to copyright infringement. Conservative commentator and Parents Television Council founder Brent Bozell called this "corporate irresponsibility".

In a newly released song, "Sorry, Blame It On Me", Akon apologizes to the young girl for the incident at the club, though citing the club for admitting the girl because she was under 18, and her parents for letting her go out dressed like an adult. He also tells how Verizon dropped promoting him and Gwen's tour, and stopped sale of his ringtones. He also makes several other apologies to his children, wife, and mother as well. The song is available to listen to on Akon's MySpace page and was released onto iTunes (U.S.) on July 17, 2007.

Political commentators Michelle Malkin, Laura Ingraham, and Bill O'Reilly criticized Akon for "degrading women". Malkin uploaded commentary about Akon to YouTube, using footage from music videos and the Trinidad concert, and Universal Music Group then forced its removal by issuing a DMCA takedown notice. The Electronic Frontier Foundation joined Malkin in contesting the removal as a misuse of copyright law, citing fair use. In May 2007, UMG rescinded its claim to the video, and the video returned to YouTube.

Akon Hurls Fan From Stage

June 3, 2007

On June 3, 2007, at WSPK's KFEST concert at the Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill, New York, a concert attendee threw an object towards Akon on stage. Akon asked the crowd to identify who threw the object and that he be brought on stage. Security staff grabbed the young man and took him up to the stage. Akon then pulled him up from the crowd and hoisted him across his shoulders. The singer then tossed the attendee back into the crowd from his shoulders. Video of the incident was reviewed by Fishkill police. Akon has claimed that the incident was staged and that he in fact used the act to set up for the next record. As of November 29, 2007, charges of endangering the welfare of a minor, a misdemeanor, and second-degree harassment, a violation, were filed, according to police Chief Donald F. Williams.

Visa Problems

August 2, 2007

On August 2, 2007, Akon was scheduled to perform at the "Rock the Block Tour" in Australia but had trouble obtaining a visa due to his criminal past. The tour was postponed until late August and his visa was eventually processed but Akon was quoted as saying "Australia is the home of the convicts so it's the last place I would have ever thought it would be a problem".

Akon has been a Muslim all his life. Since polygamy is allowed in Islam, Akon currently has three wives. Akon belongs to the Sunni sect of Islam. Both his parents are Muslim.

Akon's Life HIstory Disputed

April 1, 2008

The Smoking Gun reported in April 2008 that much of Akon's purported criminal and incarceration history has been dramatically embellished. In particular, Akon's claims to be part of an auto-theft ring and his claim to have spent three years in prison were challenged with court records and interviews with detectives involved in Akon's case.

in 1998, Akon has only been convicted of a single felony (gun possession) after he pled guilty. He received 3 years probation for that. He ended up spenging several months in jail because of a single stolen BMW, then prosecutors ended up dropping all charges against him.

Between 1999-2002, he was not convicted of any crime and didn't serve any time in prison as previously claimed.