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Akon is the most popular pop singer, songwriter, record producer, and is also known as a visionary global artist, change-maker, and humanitarian. He entered the crypto space with his own crypto project Akoin to build a futuristic city, which he refers to the real-life Wakanda, inspired by the Marvel movie, Black Panther.
Akon has also launched his Music NFTs, along with the AkoinNFT platform in 2021 to supercharge and empower artists with non-fungible token technology. By introducing Akoin crypto and building Akon City in Africa, he envisions creating a reliable financial ecosystem to connect business owners, social activists, and common people of Africa. Let us find out more about Akon and his crypto projects in this article.
| Full name | Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam |
| Age | 50 years |
| Height | 5.10 ft |
| Nationality | American, Senegalese |
| Siblings | Abou Thiam, Khady Thiam |
| Wife | Tomeka Thiam |
| Children | 9 |
| Education | William L. Dickinson High School |
| Occupation | Singer, Songwriter, Rapper, Entrepreneur, Record producer, Philanthropist |
| Net Worth | $60 Million |
Akon’s full name is Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam and he was born in Missouri to a dancer mother and a percussionist father. Having his grandparents from Senegal, Africa, Akon spent most of childhood there and calls Senegal his hometown.
When his family moved to New Jersey, Akon found it hard to mingle with other children and made friends with musical instruments since childhood. He studied at William L. Dickinson High School in Jersey City for early education.
The musical career journey of Akon began when the rapper Lil Zane brought him to Music mogul Devyne Stephens to their rehearsal hall. Akon’s “Lonely” song along with his entire “Trouble” album became a huge hit. The Lonely song even reached 6th position in the Billboard Hot 100.
He continued to produce hit songs and received multiple awards including American Music Awards, Grammy Awards for his songs, and listed multiple times in Billboard. Akon has also won World Music Awards as the Best selling Artist several times. Apart from having a successful musical career, Akon also explored various business ventures like Konvict Clothing, Pepsi soccer ad campaign, including his own record label.
Akon made waves in both the music industry and the crypto industry when he first announced his Akon City project. He said that he was inspired by the Wakanda City shown in the Marvel movie “Black Panther” to build Akon City. Akon calls the city “real-life Wakanda” with advanced technologies like blockchain and cryptocurrency.
This tourist city is going to be built on 2000 acre land set aside by the Senegalese president, whose economy and financial transactions rely on Akoin cryptocurrency. After around 2 years of the announcement, Akon announced that KE International company awarded him a $6 billion contract to build the Akon city.
The phase 1 of the Akon City construction is going to be completed by the end of this year. This includes the construction of roads, hospitals, shopping malls, hotels, a police station, a school, parks, a solar power plant, and more. As per one of his interviews, phase 1 of the Akon City would be opened by 2026 and the whole project is expected to be completed by 2029.
Akon believes that young and rising business owners and entrepreneurs in Africa are facing hardships that are hampering their growth and development. He introduced the Akoin cryptocurrency to solve these issues of rising economies by connecting entrepreneurs, business owners, social activists, and common people in the country.
The Akoin ecosystem consists of a marketplace, Akoin token, a decentralized exchange, other dapps, and the Akon City. The Akoin token was launched in September 2021 and is currently trading on crypto exchanges like BitMart. Akon plans to support ambitious business owners in less developed countries with the help of Akoin cryptocurrency and Akon City.
The net worth of Akon is estimated to be $60 million as of September 2023. A major chunk of his wealth was made from his successful career in the music industry including his business ventures.
Akon prefers to keep his personal life private. However, he is known to have married multiple women and had 9 children with them. Akon is currently married to Tomeka Thiam, who met Akon when he was 18. In one of his interviews he said that he is a big fan of Chelsea FC Premier League Club. Notably, Akon owns a diamond mine in South Africa.
Apart from his career, awards, achievements, and business ventures, Akon is a big philanthropist. He started the “Akon Lighting Africa” project to provide electricity to 15 countries of Africa. To help underprivileged children, Akon launched the Konfidence Foundation in Africa. The funds raised by “I Believe That We Will Win” official music video, which Akon was a part of, were used as a relief fund during the Pandemic.
Akon rose to be a superstar in the American Music industry within no time. Being born in a family full of artists, becoming a singer was natural to him. His philanthropic nature is the reason 15 countries in Africa are experiencing the benefits of electricity.
Akon entered the crypto industry and launched his own Akoin cryptocurrency and is working on the Akon City project. His major aim through the Akon City and Akoin is to empower the business community in rising economies and provide them with sustainable growth and development opportunities.
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