The singer wrote all but one tracks from the album. The subsequent release by Akon, Konvicted (2006) was considered one of the best releases of the year. The album did not reach the first place in the charts, but it managed to remain there long enough to become platinum. One of the untypical joyful songs on the album was the dance smash Bananza (Belly Dance), a favorite of most leading dance floors. Another song conceived behind the bars was the hit Ghetto. First fame and recognition came with the single Locked Up, written by Akon during his sentence. One of the first successful experiments was the composition Show Out featuring him uttering fragments of poems from school text books. As only author and producer of his own songs, Akon was free to look for unusual sounds, patterns and solutions. Indisputably talented, Akon presented a unique type of music decorated with his gentle voice sounding intimate and profound. It was loaded with his experience and impressions from the past life, mostly dark emotions and memories. In 2004, the singer released his first long player, Trouble. He sent his demos to numerous companies until SRC, a Universal subdivision, signed him up. Three years in confinement persuaded the young man to never break the law again.Īfter leaving the prison, Akon equipped his own room with the necessary facilities and built up a small studio to work on his own material. Locked in jail, Akon wrote some of the songs that would be featured on his albums. The sentence time was enough to reconsider life values and directions to go. This occupation brought him to prison where Akon spent three years. He offered his vehicles to celebrities, sportsmen, actors and musicians. As a teenager, Akon decided to launch an illegal business selling stolen cars. It was never released as Akon was not deeply interested in music at that time. Aged fifteen he wrote his first composition, Operations of Nature. He studied poorly and always found troubles with law. When he was seven, he moved to the States.
In such circumstances, the boy could not but love music, especially drums and percussion. There are several opinions on his real name, but according to the most popular version, it is Aliaune Thiam. The uprising star of the mainstream music, Akon, was born in Senegal to a family of a famous jazz musician Mor Thiam.