American-Senegalese singer Akon is one of the most popular singers in the industry. He made his debut in 2004 and in 2006 fetched a Grammy nomination. The singing skills of the ‘Konvicted‘ singer are beyond words. Akon’s career has seen full growth because of his collaborations with several eminent singers like Eminem on ‘Smack That‘ and Snoop Dogg on ‘I Wanna Love You’. Both songs topped the Billboard 100 list, cementing Akon’s career.
The 49-year-old singer has achieved several milestones which includes Guinness Worlds Record. Apart from being a musician, he is also a record producer and entrepreneur. He has built a big name in the world. However, Akon himself possesses a big name. By ‘big name’ we also mean a 12-word long name which is also very difficult to pronounce.
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Why Did Akon Ditch His Real Name?
Akon’s full name is Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam. It is hardly surprising that the singer went with the somewhat shorter stage name Akon because his real name has 52 characters and 12 syllables.
Akon was born in Missouri. He spent a significant portion of his youth in the West African country of Senegal, even going so far as to refer to it as his “hometown.” The origin of Akon’s name stems from Senegalese roots. The R&B musician did not reveal his entire identity to the world until 2009. This occurred while he was a guest on ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show‘ and discussed the background of his name with the show’s host.
He explained, “Well, in certain regions of Africa there are customs. The first – no, the second son of the first son of something along those lines. Akon is far more convenient, plus it’s actually the middle name. You’ve probably observed by now that nobody ever goes by their middle name. Why do we even bother having middle names if no one uses them? So I chose to utilize it.”
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Akon’s Most Ambitious Project Is A Futuristic City
Akon has made a successful career. However, the ‘Freedom‘ singer is also famous for his unique ventures. According to several reports, he is planning to build a city of his own. He claimed in 2018 he was collaborating with the Senegalese government to construct Akon City. This will be a tourism city with a cryptocurrency-based economy.
Akon tweeted on January 13, 2020, that the city’s agreements are finished and construction has begun. As soon as the announcement was made, all his fans were surprised. This is because it’s very unique for a singer to build such a city. He captioned a selfie with Macky Sall “Hoping to host you soon.” KE International (the same corporation that built Mwale Medical and Technology City) was given a $6 billion contract to create the city in June 2020.
Phase 1 will contain roads, a hospital, houses, hotels, a police station, and a garbage facility. Not only this the city will also have a school, and a solar power plant. Locals are concerned about the project’s lack of development, which is significantly behind schedule. The cardinal reason might be Akon’s busy schedule. But he lay the first stone of the $6 billion metropolis on September 1, 2020. But as they say that every beautiful story has hurdles and so is the truth of Akon City. Hence, Devyne Stephens is suing Akon for approximately $4 million borrowed for his futuristic city project. Stephens stated Akon City and Akoin are scams.
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