Akon
Akon in 2019
Born	Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam (1973-04-16) April 16, 1973 (age 50) St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Other names	Akon El Negreeto
Citizenship	United States Senegal
Occupation	Singer songwriter rapper record producer entrepreneur philanthropist
Years active	1996–present
Organization	Akon Lighting Africa
Agent	Johnny Wright
Works	Discography filmography production
Children	9
Parent(s)	Mor Thiam (father) Kine Gueye Thiam (née Gueye, mother)
Awards	Full list
Musical career
Origin	Newark, New Jersey, USA
Genres	R&B hip hop pop dancehall reggae
Labels	Akonik BMG Atlantic Konvict KonLive Republic Universal Motown SRC UpFront
Website	akon.com

Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam (/ˈeɪkɒn/; born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and entrepreneur. Akon began his career as a singer-rapper, with his big break arriving in 2004 with the release of the singles "Locked Up" and "Lonely." Both songs achieving great success, leading up to an album deal with Universal Motown. In the 2010s, Akon branched out onto philanthropy (Akon Lighting Africa), property development (Akon City in Senegal), television/movie production, politics, and others.