Akon is a singer.
Aliaume Damala Badara Akon Thiam -LRB- born April 16 , 1973 -RRB- , better known as Akon -LRB- pronounced -LSB- ˈeɪkɒn -RSB- -RRB- , is an American singer , rapper , songwriter , businessman , record producer and actor of Senegalese descent .. songwriter. songwriter. rapper. rapper. record producer. record producer. actor. actor. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of `` Locked Up '' , the first single from his debut album Trouble .. Locked Up. Locked Up ( song ). Trouble. Trouble ( Akon album ). He has since founded two successful record labels , Konvict Muzik and Kon Live Distribution .. Konvict Muzik. Konvict Muzik. Kon Live. Kon Live Distribution. Kon Live Distribution. Kon Live Distribution. His second album , Konvicted received three nominations for the Grammy Awards in two categories , Best Contemporary R&B Album for Konvicted album and Best Rap / Sung Collaboration for `` Smack That '' and `` I Wan na Love You '' .. R&B. Contemporary R&B. Konvicted. Konvicted. Best Contemporary R&B Album. Best Contemporary R&B Album. Best Rap / Sung Collaboration. Best Rap / Sung Collaboration. Smack That. Smack That. Grammy Awards. Grammy Awards. He is the first solo artist to hold both the number one and two spots simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100 charts twice .. Akon has had four songs certified as 3 × platinum , three songs certified as 2 × platinum , more than ten songs certified as 1 × platinum and more than ten songs certified as gold in digital sales .. Akon has sung songs in other languages including Tamil , Hindi , and Spanish .. Tamil. Tamil language. Hindi. Hindi. Spanish. Spanish language. He was listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the # 1 selling artist for master ringtones in the world .. Akon often provides vocals as a featured artist and is currently credited with over 300 guest appearances and more than 35 Billboard Hot 100 songs .. vocals. vocals. He has worked with numerous performers such as Michael Jackson , Eminem , Snoop Dogg , Whitney Houston , Bone Thugs-N-Harmony , and Gwen Stefani .. Snoop Dogg. Snoop Dogg. Eminem. Eminem. Gwen Stefani. Gwen Stefani. Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson. Whitney Houston. Whitney Houston. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. He has had five Grammy Awards nominations and has produced songs for artists such as Lady Gaga , Colby O'Donis , Kardinal Offishall , Leona Lewis , and T-Pain .. T-Pain. T-Pain. Lady Gaga. Lady Gaga. Kardinal Offishall. Kardinal Offishall. Colby O'Donis. Colby O'Donis. Grammy Awards. Grammy Awards. Leona Lewis. Leona Lewis. Forbes ranked Akon 80th -LRB- Power Rank -RRB- in Forbes Celebrity 100 in 2010 and 5th in 40 Most Powerful Celebrities in Africa list , in 2011 .. Forbes Celebrity 100. Forbes Celebrity 100. Billboard ranked Akon No. 6 on the list of Top Digital Songs Artists of the decade .