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Akon: Back to Basics



By Elle Castro



After a much-needed break from the spotlight, R&B crooner Akon is stepping back into the lab to crank out a new album. Due out early 2011, Stadium, will infuse the various experiences that the Senegalese singer took in as he toured around the world over the last few years, especially focusing on his performance at the World Cup earlier this year in South Africa. When he wasn't rocking the stage in Europe, Asia or Africa, the international pop star had his corporate hat on as the CEO and president of Kon Live Distribution making sure that his multi-platinum artist Lady Gaga remained on top of the charts. Now, as he readies the release of Stadium and with the success of Gaga, Akon chops it up with AllHipHop.com about life beyond his artistry as a businessman, philanthropist and the various changes that he’s made within his camp.

AllHipHop.com: What can we expect from your new album? The sound? Features? Production?

Akon: I am very excited about this new album. This album is called Stadium. I was trying to make the most incredible international album. I want it to suit all ages, all nationalities, [and] all genres. I kind of wanted to push the envelope just a little bit further. I feel like it’s time, now that we’ve figure out a way [how] to keep this making the music move forward in a more positive light…change the sound up a little bit. It’s really high-energy…club and dance. The whole concept and the whole inspiration came from the development and preparation of the World Cup. I was doing a lot of music that we made solely for the World Cup, and I was making this music I started to realize…wow this energy is amazing. While I was in South Africa, doing the World Cup and seeing how these records were playing in the club and all these instrumentals that we did for the DJs were being reacted, and I was like this energy is the energy I need for this next album.

And that’s what inspired the whole Stadium sound, and I kind of wrote that into this new album. I mean it’s amazing man; I kept the features very simple, ‘cause you know I’m kind of personally more of a feature on myself. It wouldn’t be fare to my audience if I had just a whole bunch of features on my album so I kept it pretty simple to where they can get the full Akon experience. But I did grab Ludacris on the record; you know I never really did a record with Ludacris, that’s like my homie I love him to death, but we never really got a chance to get in and do it big, so I definitely grabbed him on the record with more of an electro record with a hard ass 808 collab. It’s crazy, it’s called “Drop Down Low” and I also grabbed Rick Ross for a record too. We’ve been promising each other that we was gonna do a record forever, so I feel like this was the perfect time. That one is called “Give It To ‘Em” which is going to be my official first street single. So we are very excited about this new record now and how everything is moving and coming together.

AllHipHop.com: How did that record with Ross come about?

Akon: The record with Ross actually came about- it was primarily already done. I hooked up with the Runners while we were in Miami, and that record just came, it was just stupid. I was saying to myself, “Man, Ross just sounds incredible over these type of tracks.” So it was only right that I pulled him; time couldn’t have been no better ‘cause he’s burning hot right now, so I felt like that was the perfect time for me and him to get together. We reached out to him and he collabed and put it together for me.

Chanzo ni mtandao wa Allhiphop.com

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