Five-time Grammy-nominated artist AKON is
working to improve the lives of others with a
cause that's close to home. Over two-thirds of
people living in sub-Saharan Africa are living
without electricity, with 85 percent of those in
rural areas lacking access to it all together.
With his new initiative, AKON LIGHTING
AFRICA , the singer/producer hopes to bring
solar powered electricity to 1 million homes in
Africa by the end of this year, meaning better
lighting, improved infrastructure, and healthier
lives.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri to parents from
Senegal, Akon spent much of his childhood
living in the West African nation before settling
back in the U.S. and eventually building his
highly successful music career, not to mention
signing Lady Gaga in the process!
He's telling ETonline about his recent tour in
Africa to meet with various leaders there and
what's in store for his latest, yet to be
released album, Stadium...
ET: WHAT CALLED YOU TO START THIS
INITIATIVE AND HELP IMPROVE
COMMUNITIES IN AFRICA?
AKON: I think the biggest call was the fact
that I'm African and I just wanted to really
make a difference; to really go out there, put
my boots on the ground, and make some
things actually happen. I noticed in my travels
that I was doing in Africa, outside of music,
there are a lot of contracts being signed from
corporations, countries, and things of that
nature dealing with infrastructure, energy, and
commodities, but there's nothing happening.
There's no energy, there's nothing going on, no
results. I really wanted to make a difference
and speak out to get the youth involved and
get the people of those countries involved to
know that they can actually build their country
as well and not wait for people to come and do
it for them.
ET: WHAT KIND OF PROGRESS HAS BEEN
MADE SO FAR?
AKON: The progress has been amazing! This
has called out more entrepreneurs and small
business owners who are passionately
investing into a lot of the infrastructure in
Africa and who want to be a part of the growth
of African stability. Just that alone has
triggered people who normally wouldn't be a
part of Africa's growth to be a part of it now.
ET: HOW HAS YOUR TOUR IN AFRICA BEEN,
ALONG WITH VISITING YOUR HOME TOWN?
AKON: Africa is my biggest market when it
comes to touring; it's kept me so busy that I
haven't had time to even tour the United
States. Touring is what opened my eyes to
what we need in Africa, being in all those
countries and visiting all those villages, and
kind of being a part of the culture itself has
motivated me more than anything to build an
infrastructure there.
ET: YOU'VE HAD A LOT OF AMAZING
SUCCESS IN YOUR CAREER AND YOU NEVER
SEEM TO STOP WORKING! WHAT KEEPS YOU
GOING?
AKON: It's the love of it, more than anything. I
love music; it's a passion of mine. I love to
write, I love to produce, I love to perform, and I
love to create new artists as well in the
process and build new careers. I don't think I
could shake this if I wanted to!
ET: SPEAKING OF MUSIC, YOU'RE PLANNING
A CONCERT AT THE END OF THIS YEAR TO
CELEBRATE YOUR INITIATIVE'S SUCCESS?
AKON: Absolutely! The goal afterwards is a
huge celebration, one huge concert to celebrate
getting everyone involved and raising more
awareness. More than anything, just to
celebrate the fact that people are coming
together to do some amazing things in Africa.
ET: DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO WILL BE
PERFORMING AT IT?
AKON: Right now, we don't know which acts
will be a part of it since we're still putting it all
together. But you can believe that I will reach
out to as many people as I can, but those who
want to be a part of it naturally will be. When
we announce that final lineup, you'll know who
actually has a passion and who's the one who
can do it.
ET: WHAT NEW MUSIC PROJECTS ARE YOU
CURRENTLY WORKING ON?
AKON: I'm constantly writing and producing,
also collaborating with artists from around the
world. I'm pretty known for my collaborations,
so this particular album I'm kind of keeping
those collaborations silent until people actually
purchase the new album. I'm kind of keeping it
a surprise because I'm doing some work with
artists for the album that people wouldn't
expect me to be working with.
ET: CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR NEW
ALBUM, STADIUM?
AKON: The Stadium album is kind of different
from all my other albums; it shows a lot of
growth. It's actually defining who I am as a
person because I changed a lot with my last
album in 2008, which was Freedom. I've grown
as a person, so it kind of put me in a place
now where even my records are kind of
reflecting what I want to be remembered for.
It's on a whole other level and I'm so excited
about it, it's one of those records where
anyone can hear it without me having to give
my clean version of it, haha!
The release date for Akon's fourth and latest
album, Stadium, has yet to be announce
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