Choosing crime over music, it has been a long lonely road for Senegalese rapper Akon to transform into a better man that he is right now.
Being a native of Africa who came to the States to study, Aliaune Akon Thiam, was the subject of ridicule in school, a factor that led his life in and out of the iron bars.
Akon grew up in Dakar, Senegal, where his father was renowned as a master percussionist who buddied up with James Brown and Michael Jackson.
Being atypical, Akon was treated nastily in school, hence finding himself fighting everyday in school.
?I had nappy hair and my clothes were cultural. So people reacted to me in an ignorant way because they didn't know my culture. My whole thing was, if you're going to be ignorant to me I'm going to be ignorant to you,? he said.
He easily found acceptance from the gangster crowd leading him nowhere good but to a lonely road towards jail.
In jail, Akon shares that it?s like territorial battles. Wherein when you come in, all the territories are already taken.
?I couldn't sit over here, I couldn't use this phone, I can't hang out with this group. What do you do? It was easy, though, because that's how it was for me my whole life. I would go use the phone and they would say I only had 5 minutes on it. I would stay on 10 minutes just to let them know I could use it how I wanted to. At that point I fought almost every day for two years,? the rapper said.
?It's so crazy because in the beginning you feel like your life is over. But once you're in there for six months, it feels like home. When I became comfortable that's when I got scared. That's what made me say, "This is time for me to change. I want to do something with my life."
His three years in jail made him rethink that decision. Leaving the cell behind, he leapt into hip-hop. Akon look at me now mp3 debut Trouble talks much about his journey in prison discussing about the hard times but the hit ballad music down load akon lonely milks a vintage Bobby Vinton sample.
The single was released in 2005 and was a worldwide hit. It reached number 1 in several countries, including United Kingdom, Germany (where it stayed there for 8 weeks) and Australia. It was also highly popular in France where it reached number 2, in Brazil it reached number 3 after 6 weeks on the charts, and in the United States it peaked at number 4.
It also did extremely well in Africa and free music down loads of akon at his motherland where it stayed on top of the charts for a very long time.
The song makes use of a sped-up sample of Bobby Vinton's "Mr. Lonely", providing a vocal sound similar to "The Chipmunks".
The song itself is about an abusive boyfriend who wakes up one morning to find that his long-term girlfriend (the lyrics mention at least a few years) has fled, her whereabouts unknown. As the song progresses, the boyfriend laments that he is responsible for his situation and becomes increasingly desperate to see his vacant girlfriend.
When asked if his songwriting was influenced by his time in jail, he said it was a hobby he used to do even before he was locked up.
?If something crazy happened in my life then I would write about it in diary form. No one even knew I was musical because I was around a bunch of thugs. Doing music, especially R&B, wasn't cool. They looked at that like it was real soft. So I hid it and listened to it on my own time. That habit followed me in prison,? he said.
If something happened there I would write about it. That's where can i listen to the song locked up by akon on Trouble came along.
Konvicted is Akon?s sophomore album scheduled to be released November 14, 2006. Artists that are confirmed to be featured on the album are Eminem, Styles P, and Snoop Dogg. The first single was smack that akon mp3, followed by i wanna luv you akon mp3 as the second single. Smack that akon mp3 has reached #2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on U.S. Hot Digital Songs.
Konvicted track list include akon free mp3 downloading:
- "Shake Down"
- "Blown Away" (Featuring Styles P) akon styles p lockd up mp3
- smack that akon mp3 (Featuring Eminem)
- i wanna luv you akon mp3 (Featuring Snoop Dogg)
- "The Rain"
- "Never Took The Time"
- "Mama Africa"
- "I Can't Wait"
- "Gangsta Bop"
- "Tired Of Runnin'"
- "Once In A While"
- "Don't Matter"
- "Gringo" [Bonus Track]
