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 / Funk
Akon has named Michael Jackson as a defining idol — 'Thriller' was the first album he bought, and of Jackson's records he told CBS News, 'They're the reason why I'm here. I 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 — Akon ↗
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
Wonder's warm, melody-first soul-pop is the template Akon reaches for on his brighter 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
Marley was the first music Akon remembers: 'I can remember singing this song as a kid growing up in Senegal,' he told NME of 'No Woman, No Cry' — 'I would be walking home from school, just singing this song to myself.' The debt is literal on 'Don't Matter,' whose chorus draws on the Wailers' 'Zimbabwe' closely enough that Marley carries a songwriting credit on the track.
listen: upstream & heresource: NME — Soundtrack Of My Life ↗
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.