Akon

Akon
General information
Birthname	Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam
Born	April 16, 1973 (age 51), St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Occupation	Singer, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur
Years active	1996–present
Personal relationships
Parents	Mor Dogo Thiam (father)

Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam, known professionally as Akon, is a Senegalese American singer, songwriter, record producer, and entrepreneur. He had met and collaborated with Michael Jackson between 2007 and 2009, crafting around four to five songs.

Meeting & work

In 2007, Jackson reached out to Akon through a mutual contact, music attorney, Peter Lopez. The singer of "Lonely" actually hung up on Lopez at first, thinking it was only a prank, as Jackson had suddenly spoke to Akon through the phone. Eventually, the two first met in Las Vegas, as to work on new material at the Palms Recording Studio. He recalls his meeting with the King of Pop as his favorite moment spent with him.

Akon with Michael Jackson (Las Vegas, 2008)

“	My favorite moment was the day we actually met, because I didn't expect him to be that cool," Akon said. "I expected him to be this diva -- just hard to deal with, rarely speaks, got to send his message through someone else, you know? Because these are the stories you hear. [...] So I'm going upstairs [to meet him], I knock on the door, his bodyguard opens and says, 'OK, he's waiting to meet you.' I walk in, and [Michael's] in this spinning chair, but it's facing backwards," he said. "So I walk in the room, but his back is turned, and the guard says, 'Hey, Mike, Akon's here.' So he spins around, like it was all choreographed -- so, off the top, I'm like, 'Oh boy.' [...] But as soon as he turns around, gets up, 'Yo, what up, man?!' and I was like, 'What up, Mike?' and he gave me a pound, we hugged each other," he continued. "He's like, 'Yo, I've been waiting to meet you for so long, this is a great honor, thanks for showing up, thanks for making the time.' [...] And in my mind I'm like, 'You know, I should be thanking you for making the time.' It was the craziest thing, because we sat down, we talked about Africa, we talked about my foundation, we talked about the music, we talked about girls. We had a great, incredible time that day," he said. "He was extremely funny, he told jokes, and he liked to have fun.	”
–Akon for MTV, "Akon Recalls Meeting Michael Jackson For The First Time", December 9, 2010

Akon confirmed the singers made a bunch of songs, two of which include "Hold My Hand" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008". Besides the collaboration, the artist had also recalled personal moments with the King of Pop, e.g. going to the IMAX cinema in Las Vegas. Jackson was disguised and Akon first didn't even realize it was him, rather one of his people. The artists had also discussed opening a music school in Africa, where kids would be taught how to play instruments, vocal coaching and how music business works. Their work in studio continued up until 2009, mostly focusing on "Hold My Hand", as the two agreed it would make a massive hit.

Post-Jackson's death

Following Michael's passing, Akon was called and proposed to the idea of finishing "Hold My Hand" for a possible posthumous release. Through 2010, the production was eventually finished, ending up on the controversial Michael album in December.

In more recent years, Akon did a bunch of interviews and such regarding his relationship with Jackson, work and defended him from any kind of allegations against the King of Pop. Additionally, he stated the time spent with Michael in studio had and will keep on inspiring his work for many years to come.

Trivia

• Among the artists Akon worked with is Lady Gaga, who Jackson admired and wanted to work with.
• Akon first heard of Eddie Cascio's Michael album songs being fake during the interview with djvlad in 2022.
• In 2010, he contributed to a charity single to aid the victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake titled “We Are the World 25 for Haiti”.