Akon is a name and icon familiar to those who grew up in the 2000s. He was nominated for a Grammy five times. He forayed into the music industry with other big hits, which wowed fans and new listeners to this day. Missouri rapper who has sold more than 35 million albums, all of which hit the Billboard charts. He has collaborated with musicians like Rick Ross, Snoop Dogg, and Eminem. However, this was not always his preferred professional choice.
Akon says he got into the music industry by accident. He grew up in music thanks to a jazz musician father and a ballerina mother. Growing up, he was surrounded by entertainment and realized that he wanted to be rich by any means necessary.
“Musically, it’s not what I want to be when I grow up; I came to music by accident.”
In an exclusive interview with SK POP, Akon talked about his artistic influences, his experience in the music business, and future musical endeavors.
15 years of “Konvicted” 💿 listen to the stories behind the album, with the official Track By Track on my YouTube channel! https://t.co/PAhdO7NkLg pic.twitter.com/Q1hEGN1wKn
– AKON (@Akon) June 23, 2022
“It’s hard to be different,” says Akon.
His inspirations and difficulties
The artist spoke calmly and eloquently about the people who have inspired and influenced his career, including Drake. He declared:
“I admire Bob Marley. Bob Marley inspired me with his philanthropic work, the way he rallied his people and brought opposing African leaders together for peace. Things like that. When I moved to the United States, I became more interested in hip-hop and R&B. I’m definitely a big fan of Drake right now because I appreciate what’s going on. with music and I believe he took it to the next level.”
He then explained that after collaborating on Smack That with Eminem, the rapper was on Akon’s Top 5 Rappers list. In 2007, both singers received Grammy nominations for the song, which went double platinum in the United States.
Challenges and career advancement
When asked what was the hardest challenge he’s faced in the music business, Akon eloquently spoke of his struggles and how he’s still known. he said:
“Being different is a challenge because the music industry has a terrible model of always supporting what has worked in the past and very rarely trying to disrupt or invest in something. That’s new which they feel is going to be the biggest risk and challenge for me is the fact that I’m completely different from a completely different environment, with a completely different culture, and my music is on a different level.” So before I thought about becoming an artist, I focused a lot on writing and producing.”
The Grammy-nominated singer also criticized the way music was distributed, saying that today anyone with the right skills and equipment can become an artist. He argues that this has complicated the industry to the point where real talent often “goes unnoticed or unnoticed”.
“One thing I’m definitely going to change about the music business is its affordability.” I believe that too many individuals today have too many tools to become artists and celebrities. As a result, the superstar factor is reduced. Anyone can be an artist today. Anyone can record a video. Anyone can put up a record, which complicates and clogs the industry to the point where the things you want to find and the people with real, genuine skills go unnoticed or unrecognized. .”
Akon went on to say that due to this situation, there weren’t many musicians that people could turn to.
“There used to be rules about who became an artist and when because they dictated everything and you have to be really talented to get noticed, recognized or signed by a big label because they’ll actually have A&R goes around the world looking for the best talent in your field because they will literally have A&R go around the world looking for the best talent in your field.” It doesn’t exist today which makes the music industry really hard to navigate and it doesn’t get you many admirers because there’s no one out there that you can consider as the mega superstar you want to be. How is it?”
He points out that the next big artist could be the neighbor of someone familiar with ProTools. Thus, he can release records from the comfort of his own home.
During the interview, Akon also announced what his next project will be:
“We have two of them that we are releasing. One is available on all DSPs, including iTunes, Pandora, Apple Music, and Google Play. It’s the EP Afrobeats (Extended Play). It’s called ‘Konvict Cultural Gift’ and in it I introduce a new musician from Nigeria named T-Manny. It’s four songs in mini-EP form to let everyone know who he is and what he’s up to. Now I also get featured on all the songs. My profile will be released in the next few months. I have a song called Enjoy That, which we released last week.”
Akon has worked hard in the music business and his albums have charted in the US, Canada, Australia and the UK. He’s performed alongside some of the biggest stars in the industry, including T-Pain, Rihanna, Gwen Stefani, and Usher.
Categories: Entertaintment
Source: vcmp.edu.vn