Aliaume Damala Badara Akon Thiam (born April 16, 1973) (pronounced ), is an American
- rapper,
- songwriter,
- businessman, and
- record producer.
He has since founded two successful record labels,
- Konvict Muzik and
- Kon Live Distribution.
He is the first solo artist to hold both the number one and two spots simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100 charts twice.
Akon has had
- four songs certified as 3x platinum,
- three songs certified as 2x platinum,
- more than ten songs certified as 1x platinum and
- more than ten songs certified as gold in digital sales.
Akon has sung songs in other languages including
- Tamil,
- Hindi, and
- Spanish.
He was listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the #1 selling artist for master ringtones in the world.
Akon often provides
vocals as a featured artist and is currently credited with over 300 guest appearances and more than 35
Billboard Hot 100 songs. He has worked with numerous performers such as
- Michael Jackson,
- Eminem,
- Snoop Dogg,
- Whitney Houston,
- Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, and
- Gwen Stefani.
He has had five Grammy Awardsnominations and has produced songs for artists such as
- Lady Gaga,
- Colby O'Donis,
- Kardinal Offishall,
- Leona Lewis, and
- T-Pain.
