walking upstream…
Akon
sourcesWikipedia2 · Encyclopedia.com
Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam was born in St. Louis to the Senegalese percussionist Mor Thiam and raised between Senegal and Union City, New Jersey, absorbing West African drumming, R&B, and hip-hop long before he ever recorded. He broke through in 2004 with 'Locked Up' and became one of the defining hitmakers of the late 2000s, stacking pop-radio ubiquity on the back of a plaintive, melisma-rich voice and hooks built for maximum singalong. Beyond his own run of chart-toppers, he helped shape the era as a label head and hitmaker, launching T-Pain and Lady Gaga through his Konvict Muzik and Kon Live imprints.
the sound in question
2006
Smack ThatAkon
walk the tributaries ↓
Michael Jackson1980s · Pop / R&B / Dance
Akon has repeatedly named Michael Jackson as a defining idol, saying Jackson's albums 'are the reason why I'm here' and that he 'was motivated by those records'; that inheritance surfaces in Akon's reach for widescreen, radio-conquering pop and in his layered, hook-first vocal arrangements.
listen: upstream & heresource: CBS News ↗
1988
Man in the MirrorMichael Jackson
2007
Sorry, Blame It on MeAkon
listen forPut on Jackson's conscience ballad 'Man in the Mirror' before Akon's confessional 'Sorry, Blame It on Me' — both take a solitary, first-person plea and swell it into an anthemic, gospel-tinged chorus built to fill a stadium.
Stevie Wonder1970s · Soul / Funk / R&B
Akon has cited Stevie Wonder among the artists he grew up on, and that warm soul-pop songcraft surfaces in his brighter, melody-forward singles — the benevolent, harmony-rich celebration of a woman that runs from Wonder's catalog straight into Akon's 'Beautiful.'
listen: upstream & here
1976
Isn't She LovelyStevie Wonder
2009
BeautifulAkon
listen forPlay Wonder's sunlit 'Isn't She Lovely' before Akon's 'Beautiful' — both are unabashed, grinning odes that ride a buoyant, major-key groove and turn plain admiration into an irresistibly hummable hook.
Bob Marley1970s · Reggae / Roots reggae / Ska
Reggae is one of the styles woven through Akon's music — Rolling Stone described his voice as 'one part reggae rootsman, one part Muslim call to prayer, one part R. Kelly' — and 'Don't Matter' is a self-described reggae-fusion single, its Caribbean-set video and swaying groove sitting squarely in the crossover-reggae lineage Bob Marley defined.
listen: upstream & here
1978
Is This LoveBob Marley
2007
Don't MatterAkon
listen forCue Marley's smooth, swaying 'Is This Love' next to 'Don't Matter' — hear the same unhurried rock-steady pulse and offbeat guitar chop under a tender, devotional love lyric, the melody floating rather than pounding.