Thomas Merton's prose 'No Man is an Island' holds true on how the career of rap artist Akon was molded into the greatness that he now basks into.

The fame of Akon slowly took shape while he was locked up in jail, somehow giving him the realization that he can never stand on his own.

Akon's single "Lonely" from his debut album Trouble marked a turning point in Akon's life tossing him into the limelight in 2004.

Born in 1981 with an extraordinary lengthy name Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam, this artist settled for a shorter moniker Akon, which has now become a household name in the industry.

From being a street pug, Akon is now known as an R&B singer, songwriter, record executive, and record producer.

And what changed him? Well, he was actually enjoying the lifestyle of the rich and famous during his early years as a street hustler in the ghetto, however, one bad turn led him behind bars for quite a long time, long enough to make him rethink about his life and his future.

While at the penitentiary, Akon felt lonely and he longed for his family and friends who were at the time nowhere near his reach. It is from that loneliness that Akon discovered his talent in music and that same loneliness brought out the creative and artistic side of him, which he successfully put into good use when he left the penitentiary.

The son of a Senegalese jazz percussionist, Akon was born in the United States but grew up in Senegal during his early formative years. His family settled in New Jersey when Akon was 15 years old. At the height of racial discrimination in the West, Akon was of no exemption, the racism pushed him to the ghetto where he was welcomed driving him to a life of a gangster.

The gangster life that he led took him in and out of the prison bars, until such time that he felt he had enough and it was time to change. Prior to his release, he used his time in jail promptly working on his music, which mostly dealt with his experiences in the hood.

Upon his release, Akon wasted no time and started writing and recording his own tracks in his studio. The first cds of Akon were sent to SRC/Universal, which eventually released Akon's debut album Trouble in 2004.

Trouble carried the hits Lonely, Locked Up, Akon Belly Dancer, Ghetto and Pot of Gold. Well, the lyrics of Akon tell us these tracks were born out of Akon's glorious but illegal way of living as Akon the snitch from the ghetto to the prison cell.

The single Locked Up by Akon made its way to the top 10 in the US and top five in the UK charts.

Meanwhile, the Ghetto track of Akon became a big hit upon the release of a remix version by Green Lantern, which included verses from celebrated rappers Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac.

Akon's single Lonely, which was actually the track that justifies the change that he embraced, became his longest running single in The Box top 10 weekly chart, which ranks singles by the number of video requests.

Lonely peaked at the Top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100, and topped various charts around the world including UK, Australia, and Germany.

The following year, Akon gained further recognition when he was featured on Young Jeezy's debut album on the Akon Soul Survivor track, which eventually became a hit on Akon's follow-up album, Konvicted.

The Konvicted album included Akon songs and collaborations with today's hottest and biggest stars in the industry including Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and Styles P.

Akon released Smack That featuring Eminem, which easily peaked at the second highest spot of the Billboard Hot 100 for five straight weeks. Akon featuring Eminem mp3 Smack That earned Akon a Grammy Award nomination.

Meanwhile, Akon also worked with Snoop Dogg on the Akon I Wanna Love You single, which likewise became a huge hit topping the US charts for two consecutive weeks.

Still off from the Akon Konvicted album, the third single Don't Matter by Akon became his first solo top hit and his second chart topper on the Hot 100.

To date, the Konvicted mp3 album of Akon already sold more than 1.9 million records in the US alone and over 2.7 million copies worldwide.

The mercuric rise of singer Akon in the entertainment industry proves that wherever we are now, we always have an option, we can always make a change but choosing the path to a better change still depends on us.