Soundtrack Of My Life: Akon

23 June, 2023

Akon

The first song I remember hearing

Bob Marley & The Wailers – ‘No Woman, No Cry’

“I can remember singing this song as a kid growing up in Senegal. I would be walking home from school, just singing this song to myself. Even now, it’s a song that takes me right back to my childhood.”

The first album I bought

Michael Jackson – ‘Thriller’

“I can remember buying it from a market; I think I was in grammar school at the time. Everyone was wearing ‘Beat It’ jackets at that time – ‘Beat It’ and ‘Billie Jean’ were the big songs where I lived. Even today, I can’t process the fact that [Michael Jackson] and I had a relationship and became really good friends. I grew up idolising him and knew everything about him, so I was convinced I was gonna embarrass myself when I met him. But the most interesting part was that when we did meet, he knew everything about me too. It was almost like we were long-lost brothers who were separated at birth, but then finally reunited.”

The first gig I went to

N.W.A. at St. Louis Arena, St. Louis, 1989

“Can you imagine that my first-ever concert was N.W.A.? I mean, Eazy-E walks out on stage and the crowd goes bananas. Then he pulls out a gun and just shoots in the air, and everybody starts going crazy. I was like, ‘What the fuck is this?’ It was like, wow, wow, wow!”

The song I wish I’d written

Sam Cooke – ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’

“I play this song every day and I’m always like, ‘Dammit, I wish I wrote this!’ It’s the message that I love. I mean, this song was done back in the ’60s, but it correlates to everything that’s going on today. It’s still as relevant as if it was written yesterday.”

The song that makes me cry

Akon – ‘Lonely’

“I was extremely lonely when I wrote it – true story. At the time, the only person who had my back was no longer there for me because of mishaps and decisions of my own. But for me, writing a song like this is a form of therapy. Once I get it out, I feel so much better. I feel even better again when I see other people can relate to it too.”

The song I can’t get out of my head

Drake – ‘God’s Plan’

“Because I’m a songwriter, all songs kind of come and go for me because I write so many songs of my own every week, month, year. But there was definitely a moment when ‘God’s Plan’ was in my head. I was hearing it everywhere, and it felt like it was just always around me. I don’t know what it was about that record, but it really stuck with me for a time.”

The song that makes me want to dance

Pharrell Williams – ‘Happy’

“It’s just so cool, positive and always fun to listen to. Pharrell really killed it with this one.”

The song I do at karaoke

Bob Marley & The Wailers – ‘No Woman, No Cry’ (again)

“Well, for me, karaoke is horrible. I stay as far away from karaoke bars as possible, because I feel like I’m performing and [people] always want me to do my own songs. But if I had to, I’d do this song because I know all the words.”

The song that reminds me of home

Akon – ‘Freedom’

“It reminds me of home in the States and home in Africa. When I wrote this song, it was reminiscent of my life story to an extent, but from the eyes of my mum and my dad. It’s [about] their journey and how they came to the United States to kind of search for freedom. But then when we came here, I experienced some difficulties trying to fit in – you know, just as an adolescent, and also the culture shock. Then once I got comfortable [in the US], I realised all the disadvantages that minorities face here. So I was always fighting for that freedom to an extent, and that’s still the feeling this song gives me.”