Talk:Akon/Archive 1

Whitney/Michael Controversy & Confusion
1. why is akon's collaboration with whitney houston entitled "like i never left" mentioned even though there is evidence that it does feature both artists? youtube has numerous posts including one from an official akon channel in which akon says "Akon & whitney...". this is common knowledge on the internet. why not on here? 2.someone has briefly mentioned the akon and michael jackson duet. why is it not detailed properly? its called "hold my hand" and once again it can be found on youtube in numerous videos. 3. both of these things should be celebrated. (Lil-unique1 (talk) 23:45, 19 February 2009 (UTC))

More protection?
This page is continuing to see abuse and appears to be fairly complete it weren't for the abusive edits. Perhaps it's time to consider more substantial protection that just protects from anons. 128.232.235.244 (talk) 16:43, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

Wait a sec-album/Age?
If it says Akon first started recording his Album Operations Of nature at the age of 15 which :p is shown on the discography as being recorded 11 years ago in 1996 so if that means he was 15 in 1996 he would be around 25 to 26 years of age.  Taylor21  13:49, 31 August 2007 (UTC) Jared "Ya Money" Manderschied was said that he was the one who wrote Akon's first album and not the singer himself. Akon said that Manderschied did help him, but didn't write all the songs. Manderschied demanded that Akon's record company shut him down for using Manderschied's music and lyrics, but the company said they had proof that Akon wrote the song by himself using Tekalimapy, usually for when they start with the artist from day one to record and write a song.

Get Buck in Here
Akon is featured in Get Buck in Here. Should something be added about that? 71.124.216.141 23:43, 15 July 2007 (UTC)

Senegalese or American
I understand that Senegalese can be referred to an ethnicity/race. Akon was born in the United States and is an American citizen. He should be referred to as an American or Senegalese-American singer instead of a senegalese singer.

Ain't a French speaker
Akon can speak French! Eventhough he grew up in Senegal for seven years, he can speak French. He told it once on a French radio station. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 82.237.167.37 (talk) 11:37, 22 April 2007 (UTC).


 * That's because Senegal's official language is French. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.231.32.55 (talk • contribs)

List of Songs
I think a list of all his songs should be put back up as they were before! kamyts1 10.55am - 22 April 2007

His Birthdate
His birthdate is 1967 Please site a website to state that his birth name is truly Aliaune Thiam. Kil  o • T 20:51, 20 October 2006 (UTC)


 * IMDB - "born Aliaune Thiam [...]"
 * Whudat.com - "Aliaune Thiam"


 * You don't have to be snarky. There are a lot of Google results for it, such as, though most don't cite a specific source for the long name. Long names like that aren't uncommon in parts of Africa, Dikembe Mutumbo for example, and you didn't have a reason for your revert. Thus I kept it. --Awiseman 21:01, 20 October 2006 (UTC)
 * Here's an interview where he says it's his real name --Awiseman 21:05, 20 October 2006 (UTC)
 * I was not being snarky. I'd rather have the article accurate than inaccurate. Kil  o • T  10:55, 21 October 2006 (UTC)
 * There is only 5 results, Wikipedia is the first result, and the rest aren't what is considered WP:RS--   &#162;&#178;   Connor K.    00:48, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
 * The last one I mentioned  is an interview him however. I'm going to put the full name back. --Awiseman 13:27, 23 October 2006 (UTC)


 * He must have had some cruel parents Johannes H.-Larsen 15:42, 4 December 2006 (UTC)

That is his birth name there are citations and he has mentioned it as stated by some, in a few radio interviews. It is mostly composed of middle names. He is however often referred to by the shorter variation of it, not unlike the case with dikembe mutumbo as simpy Aliaune Thiam.

Duhon 30 December 2006 (UTC)

I corrected the title of this section, from "Porely" to "Poorly".

He said on a interview on KIIS FM (a popular radio station in LA) that that was his name


 * Oh, that is REALLY helpful. Besides, start signing your comments! Chsf 08:15, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

That isn't his name u are lieing so much! 9:16 cc, 15 february 2007

Birth Place
He was born in TAMPA BAY FLORIDA. http://www.vh1.com/artists/interview/1501105/05022005/akon.jhtml Check that interview, Akon says it.

In the song "Journey" he says"Born And Raised in Africa trying to make a scene." See. http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/akon/journey.html —The preceding unsigned comment was added by R-HIT (talk • contribs).


 * That's a song, he can say whatever he wants in a song. But in interviews and biographies he says he was born in St. Louis and moved to Senegal at a young age --AW 17:45, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Herminshs 08:12, 29 December 2006 (UTC) According to his own website, he was born in Senegal and moved to St Louis when he was 7Herminshs 08:12, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

See here --AW 16:47, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

There is a city in senegal called St. Louis. Go look. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Superman983 (talk • contribs).


 * Yes, but he implies Missouri, see the quote

"VH1: You actually grew up in Senegal?

Akon: I grew up there but I was born in St. Louis. My mom and pop made sure we were all born in the States, that way we wouldn't have any immigration problems. We came here to go to school. Then in the summer we would go back to Senegal. Eventually, after high school, I ended up staying. --AW 17:31, 4 January 2007 (UTC)<-this is crap

Having a long name like that doesn't surprise me. My name is Usman Ige Adukbi Olanrewaju Ayomide Ademidun Opemipo Isola Agbe Kewuyemi --- of course I'm going to leave out my last name. But it does only the first name is my first name. The fourth is my American middle name. [I don't know how to leave a snazzy signature.] 68.50.76.199 00:34, 31 January 2007 (UTC)Usman

Look, in interviews he says he was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Stop changing it. I'm going to ask for this page to be locked if people keep changing it to Senegal. He wasn't born in Senegal, just raised there. Here's an interview at VH1, an article about him , and a bio from Wal-Mart --AW 15:13, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Duhon you seem to have an obsession with akon, you must have a little school girl crush cause you think by threatening to report me will make a difference, i will still change the info and thats that.See threats get you no where you idiot, so stop trying to threaten me like im going to pisss my pants cause you will "report me"

AKON WOULD NOT BE LIVING HERE IF HE WAS ROM SENEGAL BECAUSE HE WOULD HAVE TO BE AN IMMIGRANT AND MOVE BACK TO SENEGAL!

Look, this is his interview with VH1:

"VH1: You actually grew up in Senegal?

Akon: I grew up there but I was born in St. Louis. My mom and pop made sure we were all born in the States, that way we wouldn't have any immigration problems. We came here to go to school. Then in the summer we would go back to Senegal. Eventually, after high school, I ended up staying."

He's saying they were born in the States - the United States. --AW 18:52, 1 March 2007 (UTC)

Had he was born in US, he would have been US citizen

Hello, it's Poland here. AKON was born in St. Louis, Senegal. Senegalese St. Louis is quite often mixed with the American one. And this mistake about AKON's birthplace appears not only in English Wikipedia, but also in Polish and French ones. I have already corrected the mistake in Polish Wiki, now it's time for English and French. If he was born in USA, on his official web there wouldn't be a "story of Senegal born soul singer". Do you see the nonsense of this wiki info? http://www.akononline.com/ Zuza Wiorogorska, Warsaw, Poland

Since his father, Mor Thiam, moved to the USA in 1968 and kept a residence in both the USA & Africa this sentence: "His parents moved to the United States to avoid immigration problems and so he and his siblings could get a better education." Might read better if it was changed to "His parents moved back to the..." --Reggie marigold 02:19, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

Under early life, it claims he was born in Dakar, Senegal; under personal life, it claims he was born in St. Louis, Missouri. The United States has long held birth records; can someone find his birth record from the Missouri indexes? He has an unusual name; there'd be no confusing him with anyone else. That would be the only way to prove for certain his birthplace; it would also settle the uncertainty regarding his year of birth.Werdnawerdna (talk) 01:49, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Fugees
He actually got his start with "the fugees", and appeared on a few songs on the album "The Score". Perhaps this should be mentioned.

Apparently people don't understand headers - this section is entitled "Fugees" so if you're going to discuss Akon's birthplace or age here, please relate it to the Fugees somehow. Anyway, yes, Akon seems to have gotten his start in music with the Fugees. He can be heard in the Sly & Robbie remix of Fu-Gee-La from the Fugees album The Score. It seems to me that this should definitely be mentioned in the article, but I'm too lazy to do it myself. If anyone would like to, Akon discusses his start with the Fugees in a VH1 interview here: http://www.vh1.com/artists/interview/1501105/05022005/akon.jhtml. Ssilk 01:06, 15 October 2007 (UTC)

Main Article
The biography reads like (and probably is) an industry promo. This isn't really a reference article, but a cut and paste from some sort of Akon PR. Someone familiar with Akon's background should right a more objective biography.
 * I agree, this is not an article that would be in an encyclopedia we need to redo this article JTaylorCU
 * Yeah, it's awful. I know nothing about Akon, but maybe someone who even just liked one of his songs could rewrite that bit? --Dandelions 23:21, 21 April 2006 (UTC)
 * It seems it has been changed markedly from that "promo" state now.. - A-ixemy 12:41, 23 September 2006 (UTC)

i think its plagerized: [www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Akon-Biography/D46CE4CE0AD4176E48256EE2000AB000] --RA64 05:16, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

His upcoming album "Konvicted" wasn't leaked onto the internet someone must tried to put everything close to it though.

Bananza
Who is the other guy in it?--60.226.16.83 09:48, 4 September 2005 (UTC) Anyone?--60.226.31.92 23:19, 15 September 2005 (UTC)
 * Who knows?--Sultn 10:24, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

infamous1: Kardinal Offishall is featured on the Bananza remix. you can hear kon at the beginning say "..akon and kardi"

Discography
Who keeps on deleting all the guest appearances? Sebastian Prospero 23:47, 15 September 2005 (UTC)

Why would Akon be considered as a "Guest Appearance" on "I Wanna Luv U" if it is also listed as his own single??? SleepyStud 19:39, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

new info... His trouble album went 2 times platinum in the US.

http://www.artistopia.com/akon

He had 2 singles that came out in 96 "Operations of Nature" and "Crack Rock". The video of Operation of Nature can still be found on Youtube. So year active can be changed and it would be cool to had that CD..It had several remixes of those songs

His name?
"Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam" OK that is JST NONESENSE YA'LL!! .. Im 100% Senegalise and trust me that is NOT a real name. As they said "Damala Bouga Time" does actually mean "I Wanna F*** You". He was probably jst translating it for the interviewer! Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu aint Wolof AT ALL!! They're jst makin all this up. Alioune Thiam is his real name. Akon is jst his name as an artist. Trust me, if any of ya'll go to Senegal and aks the ppl if that is a real name, they'll jst think its crazy!

Is his name really "Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam"? There's no source, and it seems a bit absurd. I thought "akon" was his performing name, derived from the fact that he's an ex-con. And "lu lu lu" seems made-up, but we can't be sure if there's no source. Coquigamer 00:33, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

There is a source, look at the last external link that says "Interview." Please dont alter it. On wikipedia we are supposed to add middle names. Even African Ones. By the way Akon is one of his middle names. Thank You! R-HIT

I'm still not positive if its his full name, but I found it at several sources:   including a wikipedia senegal article  and the interview R-HIT mentions. R-HIT made it sound like some joke in the edit summeries, saying it was "insider info" one site said it was his rumored name.--RA64 18:09, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

I just heard an Akon interview on a radio station in Atlanta and he confirmed that this is his birth name.

First of all, "Dama la beugg time" means "I wanna f*ck you" in Wolof, so I'm almost sure that someone made that up, especially with his new song on the air. I've never heard of anyone having "lu lu lu" in their name either, but that's also Wolof (it doesn't really mean anything, it's kinda like a repeated conjunction). Also, I've mostly seen Alioune spelled the French way (with an 'o' not an 'a'), but his may be spelled differently. Most of all, Badara is a common Pulaar name that goes with Thiam, and Thiam is a griot name, the singers and oral history storytellers of Senegal, so that seems right. I think it's probably Alioune Badara Thiam, but who knows. I speak Wolof and have spent a lot of time in Senegal and with Senegalese people, and am extremely skeptical that anyone would have a name like that. Any way to get in touch with him? -anne penda / Annekoplinka 17:34, 8 January 2007 (UTC)


 * That may be true, but he's said the whole thing is his name in interviews. Do you have a source that his name is really only three words? We need to figure this out. --AW 17:44, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

If you can actually prove ""Damala Bouga Time"" means profanity in Wolof maybe you have an argument but none the less he has himself said that exact name in a few interviews already (i also doubt wiki has that many wolof speaking vandalizers). --Duhon


 * We have to have a source on this. He's said the whole thing is his name in interviews, as this article says. --AW 21:20, 23 January 2007 (UTC)
 * The 'truth' doesn't matter, it's sourced and should stay.21:50, 7 March 2007 (UTC)

I would like to add my contribution to the discussion about Akon's real first name by seconding the statement that his real name should be spelled "Alioune" and not "Aliaune". As an individual that grew up in Senegal as well, I have never heard of an "Aliaune", but "Alioune" is definitely right. It is indeed a Senegalese name. The name Aliaune does not exist to my knowledge. -Issa Dramé

I just found 2 sources - one lists his name as "Alioune Thiam" (as some have said it should be) and one that also provides his middle name "Badara" too (as Anne said it probably is above). --Tfeng8 22:17, 6 February 2007 (UTC)
 * Thanks. That first one seems less legitimate, it says he was born in Senegal, when he says himself he was born in the US. I'm going to cite the second one --AW 23:10, 6 February 2007 (UTC)
 * Even though there's the issue of whether or not his first name is Aliaune or Alioune, I think we can just leave it as Aliaune, since that's how it's being spelled by pretty much every source in the United States and I guess Akon is fine with that. But all the other parts like "Damala Bouga Time" should be excluded, in my opinion.  There are never any Sengalese sources that have anything more than Alioune Badara Thiam.  So I think we should just leave his name as Aliaune (Alioune) Badara Thiam and nothing more. Tfeng8 09:35, 19 February 2007 (UTC)


 * The name is obviously a joke from Akons side, it's the chorus of one of his most famous tracks "I wanna f*ck you" AND I can asure you that "Damala bouga time" means I want to fuck you since I am also from the partially wolof speaking country of Gambia.

And as someone said earlier said that "even African middle names" should be written, is the joke itself, Akon knows that most westerners have a view that many Africans do have names like that. I hope we can be allowed to change this article without anymore, arguements about this joke. His name is most probably Alioune Badara "Akon" Thiam. Please trust us who do speak the language. We wouldn't doubt your knowledge in your mother tongues THANK YOU(Kuini86 05:01, 27 March 2007 (UTC))


 * The issue isn't that anyone doubts your ability to speak the language, but that Akon has said in multiple interviews that that is his full name. And who knows, maybe he had interesting parents who decided to include profanity in his name. Or maybe they don't speak the language and asked a mean-spirited passerby who does for a name suggestion. I know a girl named Alison Wonderland Smith. If she wrote children's books, and said her name was Alison Wonderland Smith, should we doubt her because her name happens to be the name of a famous movie? Until we have a source showing that he's lying to the world, he's pretty much the foremost expert on his own name. 24.17.242.238 15:45, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

Akon stated that his real name is "Akon Aliaune Thiam" in a interview with the swiss newspaper "Das Magazin" in July 2007 and added "Somebody seems to have invented something here". 217.162.79.205 12:10, 28 July 2007 (UTC)
 * From what I know of German, the page appears to be an interview with Akon, and that does appear to be what he says. I can't comment for better or worse as to which source(s) we should be trusting or not, though, unfortunately. Other comments, anyone? – Luna Santin  (talk) 06:58, 30 July 2007 (UTC)
 * I've disabled the editprotected request. There doesn't seem to be consensus right now, and the current version has two clear sources. Additionally, editprotected requests are reserved for non-controversial changes only, and this change would appear to be controversial. Cheers. --MZMcBride 21:51, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

AKON was obviously playing a joke and having a good time in his interviews. This: "Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam" should be shortened to simply "Aliaune Thiam". Even if it isn't the Senegal way of spelling things. Not all names are spelled the same. His parents could've have a reason for spelling it differently OR it could have been a mistake at the hospital, which since he WAS born in the USA would make perfect sense and his parent probably didn't see the harm - meaning: Less hassle - by keeping it that way. As for AKON being his middle name? Again he's having some fun as he's A KONVICT as in A KON a.k.a. AKON--Reggie marigold 02:31, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

but using that logic, he's A Convict, as in A Con, a.k.a. ACON which isn't right at all lol —Preceding unsigned comment added by Eddiecougar182 (talk • contribs) 19:24, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

Comments
I guess common sense doesn't belong to some people. When I read things like we should put all African middle names, you should source what it means in your language and the 'truth' doesn't matter, is must be sourced, all I can do is laugh. Come on people, things like that only make Wikipedia look stupid! When there are about 5 people confirm that his middle names are a joke and Billboard itself says that his name is not the one we have, it's obvious this is just a joke. First off, sourcing is not what Wikipeida is about. It's about knowledge and truth. And plus, for all you that are strict with the "laws" of Wikipedia and want to follow them word-by-word, I'm pretty sure there is a rule stating that all rules can be broken for the better of this encyclopedia. With that said, I'm changing his name and putting an end to this joke. Udonknome (talk) 22:52, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

Biography section needs cleanup
Encyclopedia articles are supposed to be "just the facts", not people's opinions about them. This section needs a rewrite to better meet the standards of an encyclopedia. (I also suspect that it is actually copied from another web site or from a print source, but I haven't checked.) -- 201.78.233.162 12:32, 31 May 2006 (UTC)


 * Okay, we've got two issues going with the biography section:


 * (1) It's an "ad". It's somebody talking about how cool Akon is, and doing it in a way that that isn't appropriate for an encyclopedia article.


 * (2) It's copied from the artist's website. We really can't do this on the Wikipedia unless we specifically get permission to do it.


 * -- 201.78.233.162 06:28, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

He is a novelty, because he has no credibility!

Aliaune is fine I believe. I am senegalese and usually it is Alioune, but I know that with the English pronunciation you can play around with names just looking at Gambian's name. It is just a matter of English vs french writings. Well "Dama le bougou time" = "I wanna fuck you". I dont think any parents would name their child that..If you think so well u can then leave it like that.

Unsourced Statements
Can we stop referring to Akon as a novelty rapper? I've never heard him called that anywhere and it sounds like a POV statement. Also, can we have sources for Akon calling James Blunt a fag for knocking him off number one on a music channel and Akon saying Keane are his favourite band? --Tyron1 13:00, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

I Would Also Go On The Record By Saying His Record "Konvicted" Did Not Leak Onto The Internet But Perhaps Maybe A Few Tracks Did But It Wasn't The Whole LP

Protect From Unregistered Users
I would like to know if the Akon page could be protected from unregistered users because the majority of unsourced statements and spam comes from them. I'm not sure if I could do this, which is why I'm requesting it.

Thnx

His name is Alioune Badara Thiam, what you have right there is actually perverse and sexual Wolof content.

THANK YOU! It is extremely frustrating that someone put up "dama le beugg time" etc etc as his middle name ... at least someone knows what I'm talking about Annekoplinka 17:40, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Trivia section
We don't need a trivia section. The useful pieces I integrated into the article, like his TV appearance and the Box chart, and the rest is not really useful. And see Avoid trivia sections in articles --AW 14:47, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Wolof and or French?
Do we have any sources saying what he speaks? --AW 22:58, 15 November 2006 (UTC)

"Smak That" - Does anyone care that he doesn't even say the Lamborghini Gallardo name correctly... it's Guy-yar-doe" not "Gal-lar-do"--- IT BUGS BIG TIME. Chk your references Akon.

HE SPEAKS FRENCH!!!! get on limewire or something and listen to the begining of a song called rebel musik. He sings it with monseiur r. At the begginning he is clearly heard speaking fluent french. And wolof is spoken more in the gambia. And french is the primary language for senegal. So he has to know french. And to add he is from dakar, a metropolitan city. from my understanding wolof is spoken in small villages in senegal!


 * Just because he speaks French on a CD doesn't mean he is fluent in it. We need a source that says he does. It does need a picture though. --AW 03:18, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

French is not the native language of Senegalese people. It is the language they speak in school, the language used for writing, and the language used on most television programs. However, it is not the language used in everyday conversation. Wolof, among other languages, is spoken in both cities and villages. "French is the official language but is used regularly only by the literate minority. All Senegalese speak an indigenous language, of which Wolof has the largest usage." (http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2862.htm) "Senegal is a small African country north of Mauritania, east of Mali and south of Guinea. Since Senegal was French colony the official spoken language is French, however the national/native language is Wolof." (http://www.nyu.edu/classes/blake.map2001/senegal.html) As sources cited in the Wikipedia article explain, Akon did not even attend school in Senegal. Assuming he does speak French, it is highly doubtful that he is as proficient as someone who attended school in Senegal. And even if he had attended school in Senegal, French would still not have been his native language. --KCGU 16:50, 30 November 2006 (UTC)KCGU

I just listed to the song "Rebel Musik" that he does with Monsieur R. It is Wolof, not French, that Akon speaks in this song. I do not have any source to prove this, but I myself am fluent in both French and Wolof. I have spent over two years in Senegal. There is a little bit of French mixed into Akon's Wolof, but that is because all Senegalese people add some French into their Wolof, regardless of whether or not they are capable of speaking pure French. Akon says "Il faut ma defat ko boy...Senegal Dakar laa joge...Yu bare gëmuñuko..." which means, "I need to do it again, man... I'm from Dakar, Senegal... Many don't believe it..." Therefore, I believe that Akon speaks at least a little Wolof. I do not know how much French he knows. I welcome anyone who can corroborate this with some citations. The only thing I can prove is that he speaks English like an American and that he is an American citizen (since he was born in the US). --KCGU 20:06, 30 November 2006 (UTC)KCGU

-> I agree, he speaks a little French and some Wolof, because he spoke to the crowd in Wolof when he came to Dakar to do a concert. However, his level of French and Wolof is really what I think people are wondering about Annekoplinka 17:43, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

GUYS I FOUND A SOURCE..HE SPEAKS FRENCH!!..He says it in this interview.. - R-HIT
 * That's good, but it doesn't mean he doesn't speak Wolof too --AW 19:14, 4 December 2006 (UTC)

who the fuck blocked it from edtiting

^^^ Inresponse to the above question, you need to register first. The message blocking unregistered users from editing says it all. Reyrefran 16:50, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

I was at his concert in Dakar too. His Wolof is very good actually. He introduced his parents to the crowed. I do believe he understand french, and speaks just a little a bit. his wolof is better than his french am sure.

Im Senegalese and use wolof much more than i do french. French is taught in schools here but wolof is spoken everywhere else. We include alot of french into the wolof..it's a mix. We even say ciao! In Gambia they speak Wolof with English mixed in. We can understand each other though. - Abdoulaye

Look, all senegalese speak french since its an ex-french colony. Its the official language. But I'd guess wollof is more commonly spoken just as in Gambia were I'm from. So its like, French is the written and formal language, but the most spoken is Wollof... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.226.5.68 (talk) 08:53, 3 September 2008 (UTC)

WTF HAPPENED?
Whoa, this page needs to be locked by the looks of things. It seems that it is constantly being edited, and now someone has deleted the entire page and written:

Some lame-ass bastard

This is an ENCYCLOPEDIA where people go for INFORMATION!! NOT opinions, you fuckwit!! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 58.169.47.44 (talk) 05:07, 27 December 2006 (UTC).

Brother in FL
I met his older brother at a mosque in Orlando, Florida. His older brother lives in Orlando, but the others live some else where. He showed me proof. His name is Muhammad Chiam, not "Thiam", he said its pronounce and spelled "Chiam". He was about 6`3 ,skinny, dark, and looked like him. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.205.229.145 (talk • contribs).


 * Do you have a verifiable source for that? The sources linked from the article disagree with you. -- Jim Douglas (talk)  (contribs)  22:35, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

My mistake, his last name is spelled "Thiam" but it is pronounced "CHAM".

Comment
I'm from senegal and I have never heard of a name like that, Akon's real name is "Alioune Thiam", I do speak wolof and "Damala Bouga Time" means something really nasty in wolof "I want to F**** you", Wikipedia should not allow people to post thing without proof... follow the link from "billbooard.com" - 		+ 	- 	*IMDB - "born Aliaune Thiam [...]" 	+ 	(http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/bio/index.jsp?&cr=artist&or=ASCENDING&sf=length&pid=491541&kw=akon) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Xzalate (talk • contribs)


 * If that's true, that's pretty funny. However, he does say the name in interviews, which are sourced and linked in this article with footnotes. Maybe he's playing a joke, which is worth looking into, but he has said it a few times --AW 07:21, 2 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Well, I wouldn't bank on it being a joke, but it could be. We do need a true verifiable source before we make any sort of edit like that. We need some proof before we do anything. Tockeg 17:35, 11 March 2007 (UTC)

Do you only believe english speakers? I'm shocked you allow Damala Bouga Time on Wikipedia.It's pretty disgusting - Abdoulaye

What happened to his personal life section?
What happened to the section that mentioned his Christain faith and that he is a polygamist? someone needs to put it back. I will if no has reason for deleting it. Sartaj 05:48, 3 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Yeah, please do --AW 06:36, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

-Can somebody edit to capitalize Christain ? Thanks.

--Just wondering if anyone wanted to write anything about his molestation of a girl on stage...http://www.hollywoodgrind.com/?p=5355

Disputed tag for his name
I added the disputed tag because of his name - people are saying that part of it is actually Wolof profanity, but he has said that the full thing is his name in a few interviews. I'm not sure what to do in that case. --AW 17:51, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

I heard you can put anything up here.

World tour
The article (and apparently sources) say his world tour this year will commence in Africa, but makes no mention of anything about Asia. This is a bit odd, seeing as Akon will be coming to my college in Malaysia tomorrow to perform... Johnleemk | Talk 11:23, 15 January 2007 (UTC)

18:36, 1 March 2007 (UTC)S.khan27== Ambiguous/misleading information ==

The page says "He is a Christain, and cites his religion for his polygamist lifestyle; he has three wives".

Here's the problem. Christain doesn't order each and every muslim to take up polygamy. It merely tolerates polygamy. The vast, vast majority of Christain in the world have just one husband/wife. Change it to "He is a polygamist, which is permissable under the religion of Islam of which he is an adherent" or something along those lines.

Well he does cite his religion for his practice of polygamy, he has made it clear in a few interviews. as well this article is about akon not the islamic faith. --Duhon Jnauary 18th 2007

ok.. im not sure but i think the U.S.A only allows 1 wife.. all states except UTAH . And he does not live there. so i think the 3 wives thing is incorrect. but im quite sure he is a muslim —Preceding unsigned comment added by S.khan27 (talk • contribs) S.khan 21:30, 18 March 2007 (UTC) Search Polygamy and see the charts that show which countries ALLOW polygamy.S.khan 21:30, 18 March 2007 (UTC) Sabeel Khan


 * For the record, polygamy is illegal in Utah too. See [Polygamy]]. Phiwum 15:12, 23 May 2007 (UTC)

can't be bothered to check the right page right now, but a google search turned this page up which references an interview he gave about his polygamy: http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2006/11/25/rapper_akon_has_three_wives - 		 -If someone wants to they can check if this is considered a legitimate source by wikipedia to reference the statement that he has three wives. I got the page by googling "Akon" and "wives". - By the way, one thing we should all be clear on is that he is muslim, a follower of Islam. Someone above is writing that he is a Christian, thought that may be the result of another users vandalism. And the Koran (basically the final authority in Islam) allows a man multiple (up to four and only if he can treat them equally) wives and concubines in addition.

Any known album date
Does anyone have any idea if there is a known release date for the new album.

With respect to Konvicted, his article mentions a different copy that was released, perhaps a limited edition or something, but is unclear. When I downloaded a torrent that was titled Akon - Konvicted in about early November (that's a guess as to when-it was too long ago for me to remember) it had 19 tracks, all of which sound like they are done by Akon. It still features many of the same songs as the standard 12 track Akon album that I bought. Is there any known reason for this? I can provide a track listing if anyone wants. --User:Phatmatt12188

infamous1: That was an early leak not put out by kon, but put together by someone. it contained previously released material and features.

Edit needed
In the Career section under 2004-2005: Trouble - The first sentence - "Akon's solo debut album, Troublewas released on June 29, 2004." Needs a space added after Trouble. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Psmith811 (talk • contribs) 23:24, 26 January 2007 (UTC).

Pop genre
Who removed the pop rap genre? Akon belongs in the pop rap genre. Some of the songs on his albums are poppy. "Smack That" was a failure in the urban market and "Mr. Lonely". It caters more to mainstream. Charmed36 21:28, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Too long?
This article seems very long, especially the part with all his rumored appearances. Is that really necessary? Many singers and rappers appear on many other rappers' songs, do we need to include them all? --AW 22:34, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

People come hear to read about him and know what music he is in. If it doesn't say a lot of the songs he's in with other rappers it wouldn't be that informative.

Correct Information/Format
Everytime I try and correct the information in the article Ericorbit reverts it to the "correct format". That is fine with me but when I tried to use his format along with updating the information, he reverts to an outdated edit. Apparently I don't know how to edit so I would like someone to update the information as well as keep the correct format. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Taker 1192 (talk • contribs) 01:33, 8 February 2007 (UTC).
 * If I have removed some current info, I'm sorry for this. However, your edits are a complete reverting of huge sections of the article which were previously cleaned up for grammar, wikilink, punctuation and song/album title formatting, etc.  If your edits showed that you, for example, were only updating a chart position there would be no reason to revert, but when I see this I can only assume you're changing everything back to a poorly-written version. - eo 01:43, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Konvict (convict?)
Is Konvict (or is it Convict? I'm not sure which he means) considered one of Akon's nicknames? -Mike Payne 03:31, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

No, itis a reference to his record label, Konvict Muzik, and to the fact of him being locked up...

Recent news
hey i wrote a artical on Wikinews about his recent visit to Borderfest 2007 in which his security forces werent enough to stop the rush of people comming at him which led to him having his shoes socks and watch stolen. =) i was there. also it should come out on the news shortly. the only problem is i dont know where to put such info if it does come out. Its acually called A-Konvict Music which T-Pain,Kardinal Offishall and himself are part of. He resently features and sings in 152 songsMaverick423|Colby123 20:54, 5 March 2007 (UTC)

Clothing Line
Hey i was just wondering if his clothing line launched or not cuz if it didn't shouldn't it be taken out of the article that it launches in february as it is march 10... Cheese is good.....enough 20:37, 10 March 2007 (UTC)

Lead in
Seeing as the intro was rather messy, I firstly moved his birth place and where he was raised into the relevant 'Background' section. Secondly, I removed the line saying "Other sources have his name as "Alioune Badara Thiam". The only difference between that name & the one cited in the 1st sentence is one letter ('o' instead of 'a'), which isn't surprising since the source was a French site. And I changed the origin in the infobox to St. Louis. If you look at the Template:Infobox musical artist, 'origin' means which place he became notable as an artist. Spellcast 10:54, 11 March 2007 (UTC)
 * I'm going to add that back. There was a lot of debate about his name, some people claim the long version is not real, and that it's Wolof profanity. --AW 15:09, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Religion
I have a source [] stating that he's a Sunni Muslim, and not a convert. Should we add it to the article? Tockeg 17:50, 11 March 2007 (UTC)


 * That's not really that reliable a source. these famous___ websites are never that accurate.Duhon 06:22, 12 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Alright, I'll see if I can find another source or two. Tockeg 21:54, 12 March 2007 (UTC)

--69.208.161.155 19:53, 8 April 2007 (UTC)Zaied Abdullah Aziz Zahoor Alam

He is senegalese - 95% of senegalese are sunni muslims. I doubt he had to convert lol = Abdoulaye

Origin
Regarding the place of 'Origin' in the infobox, the Template:Infobox musical artist says it refers to:

''The city from which the singer or group originated (that is, the city where the group was founded; or the city where individual performers started their career, should it not match the location of their birth). ''

He grew up in both the US & Senegal. But 'origin' here refers to the place where he became notable & it doesn't have to match the place where he grew up. And it was in the US where he became notable rather than Africa. Spellcast 14:24, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

You ignorant. Do you say africa to refer to any african nation? can you not differentiate? He is SENEGALESE - Abdoulaye

moonshine? keep on calling?
nothing is mentioned of these two singles. they were recorded with new zealand artists before he cracked the us market. were both huge here in NZ anyone wanna add these?they may have even been on his first album here in NZ —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 121.72.239.243 (talk) 16:05, 2 April 2007 (UTC).
 * If you can find a source, please add them --AW 18:43, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

convert to judaism
--84.70.100.255 22:59, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

i have a very reliable site, which states accurately word to word of an interview he did in chicago last year, february 25 2006, where he clearly stated that he has converted to judaism. he stated it was his choice of moral and ethical beliefs. shall we change it to that?

thank you.

yossi benayoun, WHU FC, london.

I dont think he is a covert Jew, in his song Senegal he mentions Allah and Kaba. As much as you want him to be a Jew seeing as your one yourself your information in incorrect. However i would like to have a look as your reliable site. 86.154.84.44 18:13, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

A sunni muslim converted to being a jew? Im glad i read that - i needed a laugh today - Abdoulaye

Any kind of muslim converting to a jew is ridiculous. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.42.166.27 (talk) 17:57, 28 June 2008 (UTC)

akon's birthday
saw this today on his myspace page- Akon April, 16 2007 at AKON's BIRTHDAY!!!!! Not Available, ATLANTA, GA 30301 Cost :

I dont really know when my birthday is, but this is the day that I celebrate

http://collect.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=music.showDetails&Band_Show_ID=7749168&friendid=32050898

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.196.89.150 (talk) 14:15, 12 April 2007 (UTC). 24.196.89.150 14:18, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

In africa we don't really celebrate birthdays, it isn't important so alot of people are unsure of their proper age. - Abdoulaye —Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.159.110.175 (talk) 12:16, 23 February 2008 (UTC)

Reliable sources
Some reliable sources for the Trinidad controversy: 220.227.179.5 17:22, 19 April 2007 (UTC)
 * http://www.westindiantube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=c9dcd35e62896010cd9f&page=&viewtype=&category=
 * http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=161129187
 * http://www.metro.co.uk/fame/article.html?in_article_id=45946&in_page_id=7
 * http://www.hollyscoop.com/akon/akon-gets-the-wrong-hump_10666.aspx
 * http://blogs.sohh.com/soul/archives/2007/04/akon_is_getting.html

Arrest-Name
Hey,

I reckon there should be a separate paragraph EXPLAINING how he got arrested, cos it's really interesting and it's hard to find when it's in his P.L.

I'm friends with a Senegale African, and his name DOES NOT exist! It's just not possible! Part of it includes swearing, and it is an INSULT and the Para Nacka lu lu lu does not exist, that's just playing around! SOMEBODY CHANGE IT! IT IS AN INSULT!!! Happykid536 08:58, 28 April 2007 (UTC) Thanks! 203.129.47.195 08:50, 28 April 2007 (UTC)
 * His name may very well be false in real life, but what matters here in Wikipedia is verifiability. Unless there's a more reliable source available, it should stay as it is. Interestingly, in the May issue of Vibe magazine, he admits to keeping his age a secret, so who knows, maybe his hiding his real name as well. Spellcast 09:13, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

He probably doesnt know his real age. Many senegalese don't. Your ignorance about the culture is making you suspicious of all the wolof speakers who are telling you you're wrong. Lu lu lu is something just said in conversation. It doesnt mean much. Damala Bouga Tima means i want to fuck you It's really nasty. - Abdoulaye

the introductional texxt says he got arrested, BUT FOR GODDAMN WHAT? isnt it some nessecary information?! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.68.214.180 (talk) 01:56, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

The Name
If what matters is verifiability I'm removing any information about his "full name" because one source cited admittedly is not 100% on it and the other source is just a reiteration of the first - it's not an additional primary source. I'll briefly mention the mystery/controversy of it, but there is obviously no consensus on anything other than "Aliaune Thiam". SeeThisThrough 19:45, 30 April 2007 (UTC)
 * There was some vandalism of it. I changed it back because it's been the subject of a lot of debate. Akon said the long version in some interviews, though some people here think it's a joke or a lie, claiming it includes profanity in Wolof. The "Alioune" variation has been claimed to be correct by others here and I found a source, so I've left it in. I think it's a debate worth leaving in here. --AW 21:03, 30 April 2007 (UTC)
 * I've seen a few people reference "a couple interviews" in defense of the long name, but the cited sources aren't anything substantial enough to warrant that. There are a great deal of other sources with the simple two-name form, including an interview with him.  So why use the less-defensible, more ridiculous name, especially on a site that prides itself on accuracy and verifiable information?SeeThisThrough 21:25, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

"Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Naamapamadingdong Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara (click - click - clack) Akon Shalaam Madakalakapeepee Thiam"? This is obvious vandalism. He ck  XX  ( G, W , U , V ) 21:05, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

This name thing is getting irritating. Who can actually tell us his REAL name? - He  ck  XX  ( G, W , U , V ) 21:10, 30 April 2007 (UTC)
 * You're right, I fixed that part. I added some more sources about the debate. Apparently no one can say for sure. --AW 21:15, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

Forget the name!
C'mon people, there's no need to place too much importance on his name. Even if we found out at his actual name, it's not going to bring the page any closer to a good article, judging by its current quality. If this is going to be a good article, there are bigger things to worry about such as citing sources, and improving the biographical material. Spellcast 10:29, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

It is offensive. That is why it should be changed - Abdoulaye

Trinidad controversy
akon did some simulated rape on a fifteen year old that should most definitely be included —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.189.246.113 (talk • contribs)
 * It was included earlier, i re-added it --AW 21:08, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

Akon did the same stage act, "simulated sex" at everyone of his performances I would like to know why it was not mentioned.Can we all be mature and not just portrays it to be a one off incident?

Verizon Wireless has now stopped sponsoring Akon, and has also dropped sponsorship of the Gwen Stefani tour, which Akon is a part of, due to the recent scandal in Trinidad. http://www.ttgapers.com/News/2007/5/5/Verizon-severs-ties-with-Akon---Zen-to-blame/ Ttgapers 03:56, 7 May 2007 (UTC)

How on earth can you simulate rape?? Besides - She was consensual- Abdoulaye

Bill O'Reilly, Michelle Malkin and Laura Inghram
Those right-wing talkers had started a feud with Akon after Verizon Wireless was forced to drop him. Also Fox News is involved in this feud with rap music. LILVOKA 12:02, 5 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the tip. Ufwuct 09:19, 7 May 2007 (UTC)

akons page revisions
someone put up "rapist and molestar" on akons page...that probably should be changed —The preceding unsigned comment was added by SMUTUNIT (talk • contribs) 14:56, 7 May 2007 (UTC).

Akon dropped by Radio Disney
Radio Disney does some housekeeping. It appears as if they’ve eliminated controversial artist Akon from their playlist. Just one week ago he had two songs featured on their Top 30 Countdown: It Don’t Matter (4) and Lonely (13). Recently Verizon severed their partnership with him as well.

http://tommy2.net/content/?p=1605 —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.118.25.164 (talk) 01:20, 8 May 2007 (UTC).

Picture
This Akon picture is not decent.It is giving a vulgar feeling because his hand is in an area where it should not have been.There is no decent picture of him? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 220.224.87.205 (talk • contribs)
 * Are you kidding? it looks fine to me. --AW 13:21, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

I beleive this information is comming from the AP who are quite well respected in the news world. On this apge it reffered to his birthdate as 1981 however the citation provided did not actually indicate that date. I've removed refferences to his birthdate on the page. Should it be stated that he is indeed 34 on the page now? Duhon 18:24, 10 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Maybe you can say there is disagreement about it and mention both. Kind of like what they do for his name. --AW 18:59, 10 May 2007 (UTC)
 * OK, I added that to the intro paragraph --AW 19:03, 10 May 2007 (UTC)
 * And actually, I can't find anything with that October day other than About.com, which is not that reliable, so I've removed it. What a confusing guy. --AW 19:10, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

This is AP too...it says hes 25- http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=7b1c287e-8038-457a-8022-f7dedba27ccf
 * Guess they corrected it, it says 34 now. 128.227.43.42 04:51, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

In almost every AP press release released to the national newspapers, it has 34 as his age. that should be noted. AP is a more respected news agency than rollingstone.Duhon 19:14, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

Sources that list his age as 34:   

It is enough evidence to clearly state he is 34. Duhon 19:29, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

Just to settly this debate in one of his interviews he talks about how he remembers meeting the Jackson 5 as a child with his father. If he was born in 1981 the the 5 would have been long broken up by the time he could remmember such. Duhon 18:12, 18 May 2007 (UTC)
 * You should add that to the article with a link or source --AW 18:58, 18 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Here's the article, later in the article it talks about how he met michael Jackson before he released thriller. Meaning if Akon was born in '81 he would have to have met MJ as a toddler which is pretty rediculous. If you can find a way of adding this info without it sounding like original research please do. Duhon 21:29, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

I have yet more proof he was not born in 1981...he sung on the Fugee's album The Score in 1996. If he was born in 1981 he would've been 15 years old at the time. That is not extremely unlikely, but actually impossible. No 15 year old sounds like that or sings about such things as "today is that season, Akon get a murderin..." Also in an interview with MTV.com he said he had been chillin with the Fugees for a while, making music with them. I don't think a 14/15 year old would've been doing that... Judging by everything I've read and all the sources this cat is 34, and was born in 1973. This reference agrees also. Derz 13:59, 25 May 2007 (UTC)

I Went To the June 30 show in Las Vegas and we got the backstage pass to meet akon and gwen. Before we went in they showed biography videos of each. And the first words in the akon bio video was "Born in the early 1980's". There we go. I Get banned for changing the age. That is crazy. Deny me now. That is conclusive.- R-Hit

The sources you included were nowhere near as valid as the ones stating his birthyear as 1973. The sources originally provided came from respected sources such as CNN, Billboard and even IMDB. The sources you provided are from either fan-sites or obscure music websites that are likely out of date. If you've paid attention to the discussion the conclusion has been reached concerning akon's age. you are the only one further pushing this issue.Duhon 06:03, 21 July 2007 (UTC)

Heres an interview in which he himself says he is 25 or 26. how much better of a source can you get ? honestly. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaTNRjtR6q8- R-HIT

Many senegalese don't know their birthday or proper age. It's not in our culture to celebrate. Akon himself probably isnt sure. - Abdoulaye

Intro problems
The closing sentence of the intro is very confusing.


 * "He is well known for singing hooks and has produced around fifty songs that feature him to his credit."

What does "produced" mean here? Is he the artist or the producer? If the former, use a different verb than produced.

What does "feature him to his credit" mean? At best, it is redundant. But if he is the primary artist for these songs, then it is strange to say that his songs "feature him".

I don't know what this sentence is supposed to mean, so I won't try to fix it. I hope someone else will step in and take care of it. Phiwum 13:07, 23 May 2007 (UTC)

Akon's real name
Apparently "Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu" means "I wanna f@%#! you" in Wolof (a language in Senegal). Not really his name.

Couna 15:24, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

Yes, this has been discussed too many times. That full name should be removed, and should be replaced with simply Akon Thiam, or those other short forms of his name. His father's full name is simply Mor Dogo Thiam, so Akon's full name can't be nearly as long as it appears. Blackjays1 00:04, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

GUYS GUYS GUYS- MUST READ
I found AN INTERV|IEW WHERE AKON PERSONALLY VERIFIES THAT ALIAUNE DAMALA BOUGA TIME PURU NACKA LU LU LU BADARA AKON THIAM IS HIS REAL NAME. Heres the url- http://www.smashtimeradio.com/archives/smashtimeradio_interview_akon.mp3-- IF it doesnt work go to smashtimeradio.com and go to the archived interviews and click akon. It takes a while to load but he says it in the beginning. And Heres the archive url- http://www.smashtimeradio.com/archives.html and the home url-http://www.smashtimeradio.com - if they all dont work search smashtimeradio on google or sumptin- R-HIT

AH LIE DAT! You explain to me how "i wanna f--k you" can be part of ANYONES name. How can you be sure that it is his real name just because he said it? Blackjays1 02:56, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

His greast song is'nevor took the time'

Edit
editprotected Can an image be added? This image:



--City6 15:28, 7 June 2007 (UTC)


 * Where at? ^ demon [omg plz] 16:51, 7 June 2007 (UTC)


 * This page is semiprotected; any username more than a few days old can edit it. There is no need for administrator assistance to edit this page. &mdash; Carl (CBM · talk) 18:02, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

Clean up
To summarize everything before this point:

Akon fan/13 year old girl: "OMG HIS NAME MEANS 'I WANNA F*CK YOU!!!1' IT CAN'T BE RIGHT!!!1 I SPEAK FLUENT WOLOF"

Wikipedian/nerd: "Ahem, little girl, verifiability. We must look at citations."

15 year old suburban boy: "I did a little research...he says his name is now Akon Chang Chang Shoo Boppity Wop Woo Woo."

Wikipedian/nerd: "Ahem, verifiability."

Another Akon fan/13 year old girl: "HEY GUYZ I HEAR THAT ISN'T HIS REAL NAME"

All: "Thanks, we were just discussing that in the previous 20 threads."

Can we put all of this absolute shit of discussion (which, spread out over a few dozen discussions, all people have really managed to do is just go in circles about his name and his age) in an archive and just have a header saying "please don't be dumb and post new discussions on the same god damn topics we've all been discussing for 155 days"? Furthermore, can people sign their comments?--Blingice 06:36, 8 June 2007 (UTC)

Where he was born
the section says missiouri or somthin like that but at a concert he said he was born in west Africa...not sure who is right

New controversy
 A gig he played saw condoms being handed out to children. Someone should add this to the controversy section.

Image
Can we add in this picture? Or do I need to get permission to add it in?

http://ubl.artistdirect.com/Images/artd/amg/music/bio/1734665_akon_200x200.jpg

67.83.134.87 01:01, 1 July 2007 (UTC)

Sorry, Blame It on Me
Someone add a link to Sorry, Blame It on Me on the page please! -X34AkFan 14:12, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

CLUB AGE
I believe the age at the club was 21 or over. That's what the song says, and that's also what the following website says, (that she was under 21):

Archive Please
Please archive the current page for Akon, it's getting too lengthy and drags on. Dcstorm097 02:58, 24 July 2007 (UTC)

Weasel Words
Just a few things here and there "Silky vocals" is a laughably ridiculous line.

Shakedown and Mama Africa
Is Shakedown really 5th single? It's getting a huge amount of airplay in some radio station, but it hadn't appeared on any charts, and there's no music video. Also, anyone know what's the deal with "Mama Africa", it's supposed to be on radio stations 2 months ago.

Akon's Age? 34
It appears alot of the press now discussing akon, they are listing his age as 34. I beleive this information is comming from the AP who are quite well respected in the news world. On this apge it reffered to his birthdate as 1981 however the citation provided did not actually indicate that date. I've removed refferences to his birthdate on the page. Should it be stated that he is indeed 34 on the page now? Duhon 18:24, 10 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Maybe you can say there is disagreement about it and mention both. Kind of like what they do for his name. --AW 18:59, 10 May 2007 (UTC)
 * OK, I added that to the intro paragraph --AW 19:03, 10 May 2007 (UTC)
 * And actually, I can't find anything with that October day other than About.com, which is not that reliable, so I've removed it. What a confusing guy. --AW 19:10, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

This is AP too...it says hes 25- http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=7b1c287e-8038-457a-8022-f7dedba27ccf
 * Guess they corrected it, it says 34 now. 128.227.43.42 04:51, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

In almost every AP press release released to the national newspapers, it has 34 as his age. that should be noted. AP is a more respected news agency than rollingstone.Duhon 19:14, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

Sources that list his age as 34:   

It is enough evidence to clearly state he is 34. Duhon 19:29, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

Just to settly this debate in one of his interviews he talks about how he remembers meeting the Jackson 5 as a child with his father. If he was born in 1981 the the 5 would have been long broken up by the time he could remmember such. Duhon 18:12, 18 May 2007 (UTC)
 * You should add that to the article with a link or source --AW 18:58, 18 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Here's the article, later in the article it talks about how he met michael Jackson before he released thriller. Meaning if Akon was born in '81 he would have to have met MJ as a toddler which is pretty rediculous. If you can find a way of adding this info without it sounding like original research please do. Duhon 21:29, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

I have yet more proof he was not born in 1981...he sung on the Fugee's album The Score in 1996. If he was born in 1981 he would've been 15 years old at the time. That is not extremely unlikely, but actually impossible. No 15 year old sounds like that or sings about such things as "today is that season, Akon get a murderin..." Also in an interview with MTV.com he said he had been chillin with the Fugees for a while, making music with them. I don't think a 14/15 year old would've been doing that... Judging by everything I've read and all the sources this cat is 34, and was born in 1973. This reference agrees also. Derz 13:59, 25 May 2007 (UTC)

I Went To the June 30 show in Las Vegas and we got the backstage pass to meet akon and gwen. Before we went in they showed biography videos of each. And the first words in the akon bio video was "Born in the early 1980's". There we go. I Get banned for changing the age. That is crazy. Deny me now. That is conclusive.- R-Hit

The sources you included were nowhere near as valid as the ones stating his birthyear as 1973. The sources originally provided came from respected sources such as CNN, Billboard and even IMDB. The sources you provided are from either fan-sites or obscure music websites that are likely out of date. If you've paid attention to the discussion the conclusion has been reached concerning akon's age. you are the only one further pushing this issue.Duhon 06:03, 21 July 2007 (UTC)

Heres an interview in which he himself says he is 25 or 26. how much better of a source can you get ? honestly. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaTNRjtR6q8


 * Akon probably just wants to appear young, especially considering that his fans are predominantly young adults. I just watched the video, where he explains that they don't use birth certificates in Senegal. The funny thing about that is the fact that he was born in the United States! He didn't actually say he was 25 or 26, he claimed that he had no idea when he was born. LOL...Akon exposed! Seriously though, hes just saying that to please his fans. He knows when he was born which is most likely 1973. Blackjays1 19:45, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

omg...tahts not his real name....hiz name is Aliaune Thiam not all thast nonsense  —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Special:Contributions/ (talk)

Why was it so hard to actually settle on an age? and if theres so many links stating that he is and if they are trustworthy enough maybe we should actually use them instead of complaining  Taylor21  01:07, 24 August 2007 (UTC)

Main Wife?
You will notice that the Personal Life section includes the words "he has one main wife named Tomeka". Is having a "main" wife the same thing as having one wife? I guess my issue here lies not so much with the way it's written/presented, but rather with the fact that it doesn't state whether there are rules in Islam regarding "main" wives and such... —Preceding unsigned comment added by Special:Contributions/ (talk)

Rape on stage?
I heard in the media that Akon raped a woman on stage during one of his concerts. There's even a clip of it happening. Do any of you have information on this? I'd appreciate it. :) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 63.3.13.2 (talk) 03:47, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

I doubt that occurred how could someone possibly rape someone on stage in front of an audience? Danniiboi 22:33, 7 September 2007 (UTC)


 * No one raped anyone. Type in "Akon Stage Rape" on google and you can see photos of what actually happened. That's called dry humping, with a willing participant, and isn't even in the same ballpark as the term "rape". TheJudge310 23:12, 7 September 2007 (UTC)

Akon Song
akon sung big dog from the shaggy dog soundtrack should that be in is dicography? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bballboy14 (talk • contribs) 00:56, 10 September 2007 (UTC)

Personal Life
While I recognize that there is a great deal of controversy about Akon, hence the locking of this subject, can I nonetheless beg that someone please edit the 'personal life' section? I'd do it myself, but, my account is new, and I lack the permissions.

The section is highly disorganized, following no discernible pattern, at several points is grammatically incorrect, and becomes akward within the first sentence. Admittedly, many of the facts listed there are completed unrelated, but, they could be tied together with a little work.

Thanks! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dupreem (talk • contribs) 23:38, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

Also in the personal life section it says that polygamy is illegal in the U.S.: This is not true and in the way it is said, irrelavent. Bigamy is illegal, Not polygamy. Maniac7333 (talk) 01:12, 31 May 2008 (UTC)

I agree the personal life needs cleanup and someone mentioned he is muslim when in the booklet for Freedom he thanks "the almighty Jehovah" which can only lead one to assume he is currently a Jehovah's witness. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Left-e88 (talk • contribs) 13:34, 10 December 2008 (UTC)

Australia Comments
"Australia is the home of the convicts so it's the last place I would have ever thought it would be a problem" - Akon

What Akon doesn't realise is that he was born in and is currently living in a country (America) built on the sweat of slaves. I'd rather come from a country built on the sweat of convicts (many of who were sent to Australia for petty crimes) than a country built on the sweat of slaves. Dumb ass!!

Smilesau 9:54, 3 October 2007 (UTC)

Release-date
I still don't understand this. The album Trouble was released in 2004 and the song Ghetto was released in 2005. D@rk talk 17:52, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

Yes, you can see it here: http://www.lyricshunt.com/akon/ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.230.232.33 (talk) 08:13, 16 March 2008 (UTC)

TSG exposé
Someone more familiar with this person may want to check out this story just put out by TSG and update the page. Besides the headline situation of the professed jail time being vastly over-stated, our birth-date also seems to be incorrect (they claim it is April 16, 1973). I don't know anything about this guy, but I do know our article is in serious need of work anyway as we claim he was both born in Senegal and the US. Matt Deres (talk) 19:10, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

Criminal Record is Wrong
According to an article on FoxNews from April 17, 2008, http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,351580,00.html Akon only served 5 months in jail for driving a stolen vehicle. He was never the mastermind behind a car theft ring. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Cblackthorne (talk • contribs) 16:30, 17 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Fox news is biased... --Green-Dragon (talk) 19:50, 1 December 2008 (UTC)

The Fishkill incident
Well, hell! I was trying to get you guys an update on the fan-tossing incident that took place in Fishkill, New York, but who or whatever's running the Poughkeepsie newspaper archives wants all of us to "buy" the article. I believe the most up-to-date I can find is March 2008.

--205.214.244.25 (talk) 08:21, 11 July 2008 (UTC)

Guest judge on "Step It Up & Dance" finale
On the final episode of Bravo's "Step It Up & Dance" (Episode 10 - first aired 6/5/08) Akon appeared as a guest judge in the pre-finale group competition of which the winner would appear in an upcoming music video for an artist (Colby O'Donis) under Akon's record label, Konvict Muzic. NightBoy (talk) 20:58, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

Place of Birth
So, the info box lists his place of birth as Dakar but in the "personal life" section it says that he was born in St Louis, Missouri. I know that there is the claim that he was born in Saint-Louis, Senegal. Regardless, someone should probably make an effort for consistency so that he doesn't have two seperate birth places listed. JEB90 (talk) 08:00, 17 July 2008 (UTC)


 * He later moved to Missouri. I'm not seeing the discrepancy can you please point it out to me.  I skimmed and must have missed it. JBsupreme (talk) 08:25, 17 July 2008 (UTC)


 * Sure, the first sentence of the "Personal Life" section it says: "Akon was born in St. Louis, Missouri instead of Senegal because his family didn't want him to go through the immigration process." while the infobox lists "Dakar, Senegal" as his place of birth. He was either born in St Louis, Missouri, or Dakar, Senegal, or St-Louis Senegal.  He may have been raised in more than one place and he may identify with more than one place, but the fact of his birth would have to have been confined to one location... thus the contradiction.  JEB90 (talk) 18:49, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Full name, date of birth, and birthplace revisted
It is unfortunate, but I don't think any one trustworthy source has complete and accurate coverage on these three basic biographical facts. As a result, this Wikipedia article is mess of contradictions and even worse the sources we cite are contradicting each other. Recently, the Smoking Gun released some legal documents that I think improves our knowledge. Here is what I think can currently be gleaned from all the sources out there:


 * That long full name including the middle name "Badara" is incorrect. Even About.com which uses the preposterous 1981 birth year disputes this .  None of the legal documents viewable on The Smoking Gun have this.  We should just state his full name as "Aliaune Thiam" or if anything "Aliaune Dalama Thiam" as  and some other sources from Google have this.
 * There is now massive agreement date of birth is 1973. 1981 has been totally debunked.  All the Smoking Gun documents use 1973; Fox, AP , Billboard  articles have stated his age as 34 (last year) or 35 (this year).
 * HOWEVER, the exact DOB is not 100% known. One Smoking Gun document gives 04/30/1973  another gives 04/16/1973 .  In the Smoking Gun writeup they do say "By all indications, he was born April 16, 1973, so birthday wishes are in order (though his first Copyright Office registration carried a 1972 year of birth)."  For now I will change the 04/30/73 to 04/16/73 as that seems to be the preferred date.
 * Place of birth... some people are saying Senegal, Missouri, some are saying St Louis, Missouri, some are saying Senegal. Can we get some good information on this?

This is one case where instead of cherry-picking individual sources, we need to somehow gather our resources and come up with a consensus for what to say about this biographical information. There are too many fallacious sources out there masquerading as reliable ones for this subject. -SpuriousQ (talk) 14:53, 20 August 2008 (UTC)

Sonic the Hedgehog
Shouldn't there be a mention of how Akon provided a remix to the Dreams Come True song "Sweet Sweet Sweet" for the 2006 video game Sonic the Hedgehog? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.129.17.154 (talk) 22:40, 30 August 2008 (UTC)

akon fugees
how come it says his music career after the year 2000 when he appeared on the fugees album the score in 1996????? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.44.189.227 (talk) 15:50, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

Arsenal fan
During an interview with Radio 1 today (12:30PM) Akon stated he was an Arsenal FC supporter. 92.0.106.237 (talk) 19:13, 3 November 2008 (UTC)

3rd single from "Freedom" - "Holla Holla" ft. T-Pain
On Nov 25th, a 3rd single from the new album - "Holla Holla" featuring T-Pain - was released exclusively on iTunes and on mobile social network Mocospace (see Mocospace leaked songs page). —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kuchmuch (talk • contribs) 23:41, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

Akon is American
Akon was born in St. Louis, Missouri not Senegal. I have facts to back this source, go to Akon Interview with Howard Stern 1 to 4 —Preceding unsigned comment added by Cup22 (talk) 11:35, 22 December 2008 (UTC)

Akon is an R&B singers
Akon is a singer, not a rapper. Unless you can give me an instance of him rapping, he shouldn't be called a hip hop artist. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 169.237.135.64 (talk) 21:44, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

Jailtime
Article states "alleged" time in jail (Career/Early Life: Line 2), though no implication or controversy against jailtime is present in article (or discussion). Suggest removal of the word for anyone with permission. Heinäsirkka (talk) 11:44, 10 January 2009 (UTC)

Wolof or Dogon?
How can Akon be Wolof when his father Mor Thiam, is Dogon? Badagnani (talk) 21:06, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

in my ghetto
there are 2 albums by akon that arent mentioned at all: in my ghetto released sometime in '07 and in my ghetto vol.2. released sometime in '08 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.236.163.216 (talk) 06:41, 6 February 2009 (UTC)

Article Maintainance April 2009
Just to start a discussion about this article as it has undergone a major re-vamp to remove speculation, re-organisation and re-styling. Im sure there are other improvements that can be made too. Please discuss here... (Lil-unique1 (talk) 18:06, 7 April 2009 (UTC))

Why is Akon referred to as a Hip Hop singer...?what's a hip hop singer? shouldn't it be RNB singer instead? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 221.128.160.114 (talk) 16:14, 10 April 2009 (UTC)

Like seriously guys how does the article not bring up the fact that his entire story about being in prison is fake? http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0416081akon1.html This should be a major section
 * It's under "Allegations"... --03:34, 21 April 2009 (UTC)

wudd up wud happenin???
i thought akon did not know how old he is....... if he wuz born here in missouri..... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.53.65.181 (talk) 01:28, 26 April 2009 (UTC)

Assessment comment
Substituted at 14:10, 1 May 2016 (UTC)

Reviving the name debate
I went through and read through the archived name debate from last year and want to revive this issue since the current text does a very poor job of representing the debate. Although Akon has claimed his full name is the very long version, there are contradictory legal documents linked to from the article and some healthy incredulity among Senegalese. I think we should shorten the name to the part everyone agrees to in the info box and change the text to explain that the long version is what Akon has told people as opposed to a factual statement that it is his name -- something that is debated. Take a look at my edits and reply here. — m a k o ๛  15:23, 19 May 2009 (UTC)

Although Akon was born into a Muslim family, he does not currently practice it. He may well be a Jehovah's witness and I can confirm that in the special thank you section of his latest album he says this; "THANK YOU : THE ALMIGHTY JEHOVAH". If he is not a Jehovah's witness, there would seem to be little point in him saying this unless of course it is for political or social reasons. I have lived in Dakar, Senegal and I know some members of his family (I am a musician) and they say that he does not practice Islam at all. Although Senegal is supposed to be 85% + muslim, most young people do not practice and they often refer to Islam as an old mans religion. Throbule. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Throbule (talk • contribs) 18:05, 2 July 2009 (UTC)

Date of Birth
According to Forbes.com, New York records have Akon's birthdate as April 30, 1973. Why is his birthdate not on his Wikipedia page? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Winstonwolf33 (talk • contribs) 17:12, 9 August 2009


 * This page says April 16, 1977.
 * IMDB also says April 30, 1973.
 * About.com ,akonfan.com and akon-fan.com says October 14, 1981. - Kasperh (talk) 12:05, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Dead?
Is this yet another rumor? I keep seeing things saying he died in an accident today. I'll keep looking to see if there's any truth to it. Cold Phront (talk) 18:12, 5 November 2009 (UTC)

World Music Awards
In 2007 Akon won three World Music Awards: (1) Best Selling R&B Male Artist, (2) Best Selling African Artist and (3) Best Selling Internet Artist. In 2008 Akon again won the regional award Best Selling African Artist (Mountnugent1946 (talk) 22:36, 3 December 2009 (UTC))

Fix article link in career section
Link to David Guetta's One Love album points to the One Love disambiguation page. It should point directly here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Love_(David_Guetta_album) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 199.202.104.233 (talk) 20:55, 14 December 2009 (UTC)

"Racy dance"
I changed the article, because I think saying "racy dance" is really an understatement and not descriptive. A person not familiar with the incident might think Michael Jackson, Madonna, Brittney Spears -- that kind of thing. Not even Adam Lambert's perfomance in 2009 was like this, and I think most neutral observers and uncensored writers, given two sentences or more to describe the event (which Wikipedia articles certainly have the space for), would mention that it included a simulated sex act.

The event shown here is quite a bit more than any of those listed above. In fact, I struggle to find one portion of the video that would even be dancing. Maybe 0:46 - 0:47 could be considered simulated sex with dancing, but I think the rest is just simulated sex, and actually pretty rough looking. I don't see any step pattern(e.g., slow, slow, quick, quick) that looks like any dance, and though I've seen some pretty "racy" bumping/grinding/"freakin'" dancing in some clubs, I've never seen people doing this on the floor at any club I've been to.

If we're going to take two paragraphs to describe the reaction to the event and the consequences, we might as well give a fuller description of the actual event itself. Ufwuct (talk) 15:24, 18 January 2010 (UTC)

HITLAB
I want to put HITLAB.com, his digital records, on his label information. Someone should please update the information about this?

This is the text I want to put : In September 2008, Akon launched HITLAB.com, an online community where aspiring artists can promote and sell their music and eventually get signed by konvict or another label. The site offers proprietary technology that predicts whether or not a song has the potential to be a hit. "I call it the industry killer, that's going to be the future for music." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.58.84.25 (talk) 16:26, 11 March 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for your response. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.58.84.25 (talk) 20:58, 10 March 2010 (UTC)

you are the most best rapper in all the land —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.73.92.74 (talk) 00:36, 11 March 2010 (UTC)

Edit request
94.196.230.220 (talk) 21:07, 27 March 2010 (UTC)

Not done: Welcome. You need to detail the change in a 'please change X to Y' level of detail when using the template. Celestra (talk) 21:22, 27 March 2010 (UTC)

hi akone                          soccer field  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.235.169.77 (talk) 00:00, 30 March 2010 (UTC)

Clothing Line Afrikon F.C.
Please add to the wikipedia something related to the following:

Akon announced on June 15 that he is launching a new clothing brand, Afrikon F.C.

"Afrikon F.C. designed by Akon launches at 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The socially responsbile lifestyle brand creates an African inspired football capsule collection with jerseys, polos and t-shirts for men and women. Sourced and manufactured in Morocco, Africa -check out the new line at:

http://www.afrikonfc.com"

Source: http://www.hitlab.com/3542/akon/blog/42861

Imystyci (talk) 14:27, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Edit request from 59.37.160.166, 23 June 2010
Please change "In 2006, after their 2005 Akon-produced single, "Soul Survivor," the duo said that there is a lot more to expect from them in the future. The pair announced there are currently plans for a collaborative album.[36][37]" to "In 2006, after their 2005 Akon-produced single, "Soul Survivor," the duo of Akon and Young Jeezy said that there is a lot more to expect from them in the future. The pair announced there are currently plans for a collaborative album.[36][37]". Currently, the duo in subject is unclear and unmentioned before.

59.37.160.166 (talk) 08:19, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

Done Spigot  Map  16:08, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

BoA
Saying that BoA is "popular and legendary" is a bit too opinionated. Popular she is, but legendary? Legendary? Come on now. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.166.121.78 (talk) 03:20, 1 August 2010 (UTC)

associated acts
HOw can Lady Gaga be an associated act? Y Z J a y  (call me)  22:05, 25 August 2010 (UTC)

Edit request from YgdrassilTree, 26 August 2010
In the article on Akon, his birth name is listed as Aluaine Akon Beula Baba Lu Lu Lu Badara Thiam or some similar nonsense. The actual name (as mentioned later in the article) is Aluaine Akon Badara Thiam, as claimed by him, or Aluaine Akon Thiam as claimed by others.

YgdrassilTree (talk) 22:30, 26 August 2010 (UTC)


 * Thank you very much, I believe I have fix it.--Commander Keane (talk) 04:20, 27 August 2010 (UTC)

Number of Grammy nominations
The lead section says "He has had 6 Grammy Awards nominations", but the Grammy Awards section lists only 5. - ArCgon (talk) 11:14, 1 September 2010 (UTC)

Tours - Phinesse
Under the heading tours, where it says:

"Konvict Muzik Tour with T-Pain, Australia only, October 26–27, 2009."

can we change it to read:

Konvict Muzik Tour with T-Pain & Phinesse, Australia only, October 26–27, 2009. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bensational (talk • contribs) 00:28, 14 October 2010 (UTC)

Name Of New Album is Stadium
The name of his new Album is Stadium and not Akonic according to this tweet by him on 18th Nov 2010 link Please change accordingly. Changes include the discography, the akon Template, and other placed where it appears in this page. K!bb Arquib (talk) 06:47, 19 November 2010 (UTC)

The akon's name
His name is not "Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Badara Akon Thiam" but "Alioune Badara Thiam".

He was born in St-Louis, Senegal. Not in St. Louis, Missouri. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.92.179.15 (talk) 06:20, 11 December 2010 (UTC)

I Just Had Sex
Why no mention of his new video with Lonely Island/SNL?173.206.212.62 (talk) 16:32, 21 December 2010 (UTC)

Akon was also a producer of the song. In addition, he sings the hook and has backing vocals. Ashlyfletcha (talk) 08:16, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Edit request from 76.223.77.164, 24 December 2010
edit semi-protected

Akon was born on April 30, 1973 not April 16, 1973.

76.223.77.164 (talk) 05:48, 24 December 2010 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. Salvio  Let's talk about it! 11:16, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Self-contradictory; terrible writing style
Various parts of this article (particularly the parts in his "personal life" section) are contradictory and terribly written. Can someone look through this, figure out which parts are true, and rewrite some of the worse phrasing in the section? --V2Blast (talk) 10:55, 13 June 2010 (UTC)

"It was announced in late 2009 that Akon's fourth studio album, Akonic, was set for release in the first quarter of 2010. However, following managerial commitments to other artists, work on the album has not been completed. It was suggested that this would push the album's release back to 2011. However, this was proven false as the album will actually be released on November 29, 2010" Seems convoluted. Middle sentence is redundant. Someone please change it (I can't). 11:50pm, 23 Oct 2010 (PDT) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Wingwangiscool (talk • contribs) 06:53, 24 October 2010 (UTC)


 * Sorry I don't know the proper forum for this comment, but "However, he has since stated that he does accept that blood diamonds exist, and that he is partial-owner of an African mine that is dedicated to avoiding use of blood diamonds while also donating profits to local communities.[37]" is actually not supported by citation 37. Its an 8-minute interview segment and they don't talk about diamonds at all. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.93.47.244 (talk) 18:51, 29 December 2010 (UTC)

born
Akon Born at St Louis (Senegal), not St Louis (Missouri) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.235.238.73 (talk) 00:34, 8 January 2011 (UTC)

Edit semi protected request
Someone should update the claim that he makes 30 million a year. According to Forbes' estimate he made million in 2010. Here's the link to verify (http://www.forbes.com/2010/08/16/jay-z-diddy-akon-business-entertainment-hip-hop-cash-kings_land.html) Guerito (talk) 06:03, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

Someone should please update the information about his collaboration with Whitney Houston. The album is out now and it's called "I look to you" - not "undefeated" as the article currently states. Akon does appear on the track "Like I Never Left" - a romantic song about patching up a bad relationship. 98.203.23.189 (talk) 22:01, 14 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Yes check.svg Done -- &oelig; &trade; 01:24, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

I think OE has got it done so no more worries about it. Arcangel Viveros 14:00, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Akon thoroughly enjoys screamo music, long walks on the beach, and sushi. He tends to act a lot "harder" than he really is. But then again, all rappers do. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.63.105.188 (talk) 04:44, 19 June 2010 (UTC)


 * I think it is also worth noting that he released a single with Lebanese artist Melissa. The single is titled "Yalli Naseeni". Akon met Melissa after his last Lebanese concert in Beirut and mentioned he might collaborate further with her. This should definitely be mentioned. Ramarisho (talk) 15:51, 16 July 2009 (UTC)

Here is a link to "Yalli Naseeni": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COTrL5J2npQ&feature=related. A music video has already been released.Ramarisho (talk) 16:03, 16 July 2009 (UTC) he is the best] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.243.223.194 (talk) 17:05, 14 October 2009 (UTC)

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.69.118.6 (talk) 20:40, 26 March 2010 (UTC)

Konfidence Foundation or Confidence Foundation? --85.117.37.231 (talk) 20:04, 28 October 2009 (UTC)

Addition to section "Projects with other artists"
Akon has been collaboration with international artists in 2009. Here is my addition:


 * In April 2009 was released the new single of Taiwan rapper Wilber Pan's, "Be with You", featuring Akon, via Taiwan's Hit FM radio station

The single is great, it deserves a mention! he is the best singer ever born no one is better but marcus everyone else is shit as you crap artist

JohnADean (talk) 21:09, 6 May 2009 (UTC)


 * I think it is also worth noting that he released a single with Lebanese artist Melissa. The single is titled "Yalli Naseeni". Akon met Melissa after his last Lebanese concert in Beirut and mentioned he might collaborate further with her. This should definitely be mentioned. Ramarisho (talk) 15:51, 16 July 2009 (UTC)

Here is a link to "Yalli Naseeni": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COTrL5J2npQ&feature=related. A music video has already been released.Ramarisho (talk) 16:03, 16 July 2009 (UTC)

He also has a single with enrique iglesias, "One Day at a Time"... an amazing song, btw. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.69.130.3 (talk) 23:28, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

Claims?
We are really quoting About.com?! That is the stupidest source ever, worse than Wikipedia, no wonder you can't use this site as a source in school. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.101.18.28 (talk) 01:18, 27 April 2011 (UTC)

Why does this article say "Akon claims he has six children three different women in an interview with Blender.[15] Akon claims to have great relationships with all his children, and that he wishes to keep his family protected from the public eye. Why is the word "claims" used in those two sentences? is there some question as to the validity of who his family is? If so where is the source? If it was any other wiki page sourcing a first person interview would the word 'claims' be used? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.27.54.4 (talk) 16:54, 11 August 2009 (UTC)

The french Akon page has the following:

Naissance 	30 avril 1976 (1976-04-30) (33 ans) Saint-Louis, Missouri, États-Unis États-Unis —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.170.194.70 (talk) 05:22, 4 April 2010 (UTC)

Duplicate Lady Gaga in head paragraph
In the head paragraphs it says "He has had six Grammy Awards nominations and has produced many hits for artists such as Lady Gaga, Colby O'Donis and Leona Lewis. Lady Gaga and T-Pain" with "Lady Gaga" occuring twice. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Green legend (talk • contribs) 13:45, 22 May 2011 (UTC)

"Visa Issue" section
The section "Visa Issue" equals its source (link) exactly. I'm not sure if the content has been copied over from there or if they just copied us (surely happened already), so please, someone more familiar with this article take a look at it and examine if it might be a problem for us. Thanks, --The Evil IP address (talk) 18:12, 3 June 2011 (UTC)

Triva
Akon started out as Lonely. Then he wanted to hold someones hand and love someone. Now Akon has just had sex. Next song I should have used a condom? or I just got Aids? I found it on a forum and was wondering if it chould be included? Jokes. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.88.40.170 (talk) 21:11, 19 June 2011 (UTC)

contribution to bollywood movie soundtrack
Akon has contributed a super-hero bollywood movie called Ra.One: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ra.One Hids song witch is called Chammack Challo, Got leaked a couple of weeks ago: According to Akon's official blog and other famous bollywwod sites, could you please add that: http://fantrace.com/akon/archives/956

22/06/2011

Meryam90 (talk) 03:05, 22 June 2011 (UTC)

What languages does Akon speak?
This has been bothering me for long time, does he speak French as his mother tongue? (Because he is half-Senegalese) Any other languages? On other person articles, you can find his/her spoken languages, but not here. --MrEskola (talk) 12:27, 28 June 2011 (UTC)

Edit request from 85.166.139.88, 18 July 2011
85.166.139.88 (talk) 17:47, 18 July 2011 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please be more specific about what needs to be changed. Reaper Eternal (talk) 19:14, 18 July 2011 (UTC)

Edit request from 173.66.183.185, 19 August 2011
His name was vandalized by people familiar with Akon's home language "wolof" so they have made a mockery of his name on wikipedia by extending it with jokes. Please put his correct name.

173.66.183.185 (talk) 04:14, 19 August 2011 (UTC)
 * Do you have a source that shows what his name should be? --Jnorton7558 (talk) 05:30, 21 August 2011 (UTC)

Where is the article about chammak challo!
Where is the article about chammak challo where is sang in the movie Ra. One — Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.160.164.226 (talk) 14:59, 27 September 2011 (UTC)
 * Akon - third from the bottom. BollyJeff  ||  talk  15:24, 27 September 2011 (UTC)

Edit request from, 8 October 2011
In 2011 Akon works with SHARUKH KHAN in the bollywood movie "RA-ONE". His song "You are my chamak challu" is rocking.

Sumantakumarnaik (talk) 05:21, 8 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please be more specific about what needs to be changed. --Jnorton7558 (talk) 12:27, 8 October 2011 (UTC)

1996?
Why does it say he started in 1996? It should say he started in 2003. Esecily since his first albulm came out in 2004. 166.82.187.246 (talk) 01:01, 28 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Was he jailed in that time. thats probably the reason. A good question though.P0PP4B34R732 (talk) 01:16, 28 October 2011 (UTC)

Ok thanks.166.82.187.246 (talk) 23:12, 28 October 2011 (UTC)

Akon is a Jehovahs Witness?
If anyone has Akon's newest album, the booklet inside will include a special thanks section. Can anyone confirm this please? Many Judeo-Christian religions and sects refer to their God as Jehova. This is doesn't necessary mean that Akon is a Jehova's witness. He might be -- I have no information either way -- but the text you've quoted is not strong evidence at all. The above statement (if true) would conflict with the idea that he is Muslim, I think. Although Islam is an "Abrahamic" religion - it is not a "Judeo-Christian" one. From my understanding, Islam regards Mohammed (PBUH) as their highest prophet - not Jesus or Jehova.
 * "Jehova" is what some consider the proper name of God, so you can't really say any religion regards Jehova as a prophet. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Σ (talk • contribs) 21:30, 20 November 2011 (UTC)

simple grammar error in the first paragraph
"has produced many hits for artist such"- should be "has produced many hits for artists such" — Preceding unsigned comment added by Σ (talk • contribs) 21:30, 20 November 2011 (UTC)

info image Suggestion
i Suggest that this image may used in info box . Perumalism  Talk  13:42, 13 December 2011 (UTC)

Edit request on 16 February 2012
associated_acts = T-Pain, Kardinal Offishall, Colby O'Donis, Booba, Snoop Dogg, Styles P, Eminem, Dr Dre, 50 Cent, Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Jeffree Star, Sway DaSafo, Gwen Stefani, Lionel Richie, Wyclef Jean, Nelly, Young Jeezy, David Guetta, Pitbull, Flo Rida, The Lonely Island, ISSA

64.134.226.219 (talk) 01:25, 16 February 2012 (UTC)

Not done: Please express the change in a 'please change X to Y' degree of detail. I can't see how this is different from the current article. Thanks, Celestra (talk) 02:17, 16 February 2012 (UTC)

Hindi Song
Akon sang a Hindi song "You are my Chammak Challo" for a Bollywood movie Ra One. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.224.87.250 (talk) 23:53, 17 February 2012 (UTC)

Controversy Section
It's odd there isn't anything about how most of Akon's stories of imprisonment were fabricated and that now the article is blocked from editing. It really isn't fair to people who do have "Controversy" sections in their uneditable articles. I read this after seeing him toss that kid and it's really pretty bizarre... http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0416081akon1.html

I agree, it's pretty much Wikipedia tradition for celebrities to have a controversies (or similar) section, when there are controversies known. Hell just look at Noel Gallagher! --Tukogbani (talk) 16:44, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

I agree, there should be mention that there are people claiming that he cennot sing at all. 17:17, 17 October 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 178.73.49.65 (talk)

Who ever thinks akon is lying about doing prison time there wrong. He did time at mountain view youth correctional facility which deals with inmates ranging in age from 18 to 30. He came up with the song locked up while he was there. I know this because the officer on his work detail said he would never shut up and stop singing it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.142.55.111 (talk) 20:41, 21 May 2012 (UTC)

Edit request on 20 October 2012
Duhboom (talk) 14:26, 20 October 2012 (UTC) Change the birthplace to St. Louis, Missouri on the counts to basic research and wide knowledge of said fact.

Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. A boat  that can float!   (watch me float!)  15:09, 20 October 2012 (UTC)