Akon Discography

[Alexia Borson]

Were ranking the best Akon albums of all time. One of the best artists of the 2000s, Akon's discography features three platnium albums and a long list of chart-topping singles. What is the greatest Akon album ever?

From his debut album Trouble to his 2008 album Freedom, this list of Akon albums also includes Konvicted, which features songs, like "I Wanna Love You" and "Smack That." Since his last album, Akon has been collaborating with other popular artists, like David Guetta, Wiz Khalifa, and Chris Brown.

Iconic Multi-Platinum Artist, Producer, Entrepreneur, and Philanthropist AKON is gearing up for his highly anticipated SUPERFAN TOUR and the release of his upcoming album. Fan love takes centerstage for AKON as he expresses his dedication to giving back to his day one supporters.

"I want to connect with my fans on a deeper level, letting them have the first listen and a say in shaping our music," Akon enthusiastically shares. VIP attendees will be treated to an exclusive listening party and a Q&A session with the star, promising the ultimate fan experience. Akon's musical journey spans generations and genres, from pop and R&B to hip-hop and dance, with his unique and soulful voice driving countless chart-topping hits.

Collaborating with music icons such as Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Gwen Stefani, Lil Wayne, and Eminem, he has amassed a remarkable 300 guest appearances, in addition to his own chart-topping tracks. Globally, he has sold over 35 million albums, amassed 25 million monthly listeners on Spotify and earned five Grammy Award nominations, all while landing 45 songs on the Billboard Hot 100. Beyond his musical accomplishments, Akon's humanitarian work is equally inspiring.

Through his Akon Lighting Africa initiative (www.akonlightingafrica.com),he has provided clean, affordable, renewable solar power to tens of millions of Africans who previously lacked access to electricity. This initiative has illuminated households, villages, schools, and health centers in over 480communities across more than 15 African countries, creating more than 5,500jobs, primarily for young people. In recognition of his philanthropic efforts, Akon was awarded Senegal's National Order of the Lion, the country's highest honor.

Akon's impact extends far beyond music andphilanthropy. He is known as a music industry mogul, successfully singingsuperstars Lady Gaga, T-Pain and many others alongside founding Konvict Muzik, a label responsible for launching the careers of several prominent artists. He has ventured into various business sectors, including renewable energy, real estate development and infrastructure, and machine learning initiatives.

Additionally, Akon is at the forefront of innovation, advising some of the most innovative AI, fintech and music technology companies, contributing to cutting-edge developments in these fields. As Akon prepares to give back to his fans with the SUPERFAN TOUR, his legacy as a groundbreaking artist, philanthropist, and tech innovator continues to inspire. Stay tuned for his new album AKONIC set to unveil end of year.

Philadelphia-based indie pop star Kississippi shares her highly anticipated sharp-tongued, spellbinding EP, damned if i do it for you, out everywhere now. Over four fervent tracks, damned if i do it for you is an unrelenting exploration into the heart.

He later founded two successful record labels, Konvict Muzik and KonLive Distribution. The labels served as vital for many soon-to-be successful acts, such as Lady Gaga, T-Pain, R. City, Kardinal Offishall, Jeffree Star, and Red Caf, among others. His second album, Konvicted (2006), received three nominations for the Grammy Awards, Best Contemporary R&B Album and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Smack That" and "I Wanna Love You". The album spawned four top-ten hits in the US, "Smack That," "I Wanna Love You," "Don't Matter," and "Sorry, Blame It on Me." His third studio album Freedom (2008) was lead by the single "Right Now (Na Na Na)."

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 3 platinum, three songs certified as 2 platinum, more than ten songs certified as 1 platinum and more than ten songs certified as gold in digital sales. Akon has sung songs in other languages including Hindi and Spanish. He was listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the number-one 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, resulting in five Grammy Awards nominations. He has released six solo albums and has handled the majority of production on his solo work and guest features. Alongside this, he also produced records mainly for artists on his respective labels, as well as for other artists such as Michael Jackson, Snoop Dogg, Lionel Richie, Leona Lewis, Sean Paul and Whitney Houston.

Akon's solo debut album, Trouble, was released on June 29, 2004. It spawned the singles "Locked Up", "Lonely", "Belly Dancer (Bananza)", "Pot of Gold" and "Ghetto". "Locked Up" reached the number 8 position in the U.S. and number 5 in the UK. "Ghetto" became a radio hit when it was remixed by DJ Green Lantern to include verses from rappers 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G. The album is a hybrid of Akon's silky, West African-styled vocals mixed with East Coast and Southern beats. Most of Akon's songs begin with the sound of the clank of a jail cell's door with him uttering the word "Konvict".

In 2005, he released the single "Lonely" (which samples Bobby Vinton's "Mr. Lonely"). The song reached the top five on the Billboard Hot 100, and topped the charts in Australia, the UK and Germany. His album also climbed to number one in the UK in April 2005. When music channel The Box had a top ten weekly chart, which was calculated by the number of video requests, Akon's "Lonely" became the longest running single on the top of the chart, spanning over fifteen weeks. Akon was then featured on two other singles, P-Money's "Keep on Callin'" off the album Magic City, and the other with New Zealand rapper Savage with the single "Moonshine", which had become a success in both New Zealand and Australia, reaching number one in the New Zealand charts. A year later in 2005, he made his first critically acclaimed guest appearance on Young Jeezy's debut album, Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101, with the song "Soul Survivor". In December the same year his manager, Robert Montanez, was killed in a shooting after a dispute in New Jersey.

Akon performing at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Charlotte, 2007Akon started his new record label Kon Live Distribution under Interscope Records. His second album, Konvicted, was released in November 2006 and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 286,000 copies in its first week. After only six weeks, Konvicted sold more than one million records in the U.S. The album was certified platinum after seven weeks, and after sixteen weeks it was certified double platinum. It stayed in the top twenty of the Billboard 200 for 28 consecutive weeks and peaked at number two on four occasions. On November 20, 2007, the RIAA certified the album 'triple platinum' with 3 million units sold in the US.

The album included collaborations with Eminem, Snoop Dogg and Styles P. The first single "Smack That" (featuring Eminem) was released in August 2006 and peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks. On October 5, 2006, Akon broke a record on the Hot 100, as he achieved the largest climb in the chart's 48-year-history with "Smack That" jumping from number 95 to 7. The leap was fueled by its number six debut on Hot Digital Songs with 67,000 downloads. The record has since been broken several times. "Smack That" was nominated for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards, but lost to Justin Timberlake and T.I.'s "My Love".

"I Wanna Love You", featuring Snoop Dogg, was the second single released in September, it would go on to earn Akon his first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, and Snoop's second. "I Wanna Love You" topped the U.S. charts for two consecutive weeks. In January 2007, a third single "Don't Matter" which earned him his first solo number one and second consecutive Hot 100 chart topper was released. "Mama Africa" was released as a European single in July 2007, making it the fourth overall single from the album. To coincide with the release of the deluxe edition of the album "Sorry, Blame It on Me" debuted in August 2007 on the Hot 100 at number seven.

In February 2007, Akon launched his clothing line Konvict Clothing. It features urban streetwear including denim jeans, hoodies, T-shirts and hats. Aliaune is the upscale version, or high-end line, for males and females, which includes blazers, denim jeans and other items.Akon performing with Gwen Stefani on The Sweet Escape TourHe produced and featured on Gwen Stefani's "The Sweet Escape" which has reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Akon performed at the American leg of Live Earth. He later recorded a remix of "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" by Michael Jackson for the 25th anniversary rerelease of Jackson's Thriller. He also worked with bachata group Aventura and Reggaeton duo Wisin & Yandel on All Up 2 You. The song received two nominations at the Premios Lo Nuestro 2010 for "Urban Song of the Year" and "Video Collaboration of the Year". He signed Jayko, a Hispanic R&B and Reggaeton artist, to his label.

Akon at Mumbai airportAkon released his third album Freedom on December 2, 2008, which spawned four singles: "Right Now (Na Na Na)", "I'm So Paid" (featuring Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy), "Beautiful" (featuring Colby O'Donis and Kardinal Offishall) and "We Don't Care". Freedom was certified platinum in the US. Rap singer Nelly suggested that Akon, Pharrell, and T-Pain had talked about forming a rap supergroup in 2009. Akon and Konvict Muzik produced hip hop/rock group Flipsyde's 2009 release, State of Survival, released via Kon Live Distribution and Cherrytree Records. He was also the executive producer of Kardinal Offishall's fourth solo album Not 4 Sale. The first single "Dangerous", which featured Akon peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. He co-wrote Kon Live artist Lady Gaga's hit "Just Dance", and which earned a Grammy nomination for Best Dance Recording at the 51st Grammy Awards.

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