By Steve Jones, USA TODAY The Senegal-born singer/producer's timetable could be right on schedule with Smack That featuring Eminem, and I Wanna Love You with Snoop Dogg, at Nos. 7 and 8 on USA TODAY's national radio airplay chart.
"That was the goal," says Akon (Aliaune Thiam), 25, whose 2004 debut Trouble sold 1.4 million in the USA and spawned hits Lonely and Locked Up.
"Nowadays, it's all about hit records, and people want to know that there is more than one on an album before they go out and purchase it," he says.
The silky-voiced Akon has become an in-demand hip-hop producer and featured vocalist the past two years, working with such rappers as Young Jeezy, Rick Ross, Styles P. and Beenie Man. He also has worked with India Arie, Gwen Stefani and R. Kelly.
He says he started doing the feature appearances after he'd struggled to get his songs played. Now when he produces a track for someone, his voice comes as part of the deal.
The frequent collaborations helped him build a network of friends throughout the hip-hop community, which paid off when he wanted to connect with the reclusive Eminem for his new project.
"He was a hard guy to reach because he has so many people in front of him that getting to him directly was almost impossible," Akon says. "But I had done a record for (Eminem pal) Obie Trice, and that kind of opened the bridge for us to get together in the studio. It turns out we were fans of each other's work, and I wound up doing some joints for his next album."
Akon, the son of jazz percussionist Mor Thiam, says he's not surprised he has an easy relationship with rappers. His first album drew on his troubled teen years, during which he spent a year and a half in prison for auto theft.
"I've always been deeply rooted in hip-hop, anyway," he says. "I was never the kind of R&B singer who sang pretty, melodic ballads. And then there's the fact that I sang about the same things that rappers rap about."
His Konvict Muzik imprint made its debut last year with T-Pain's platinum Rappa Ternt Sanga, and he recently signed TLC's Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas.
He'll launch his Konvict Clothing line of street wear and the more upscale Aliaune line in February. Then he'll begin casting his autobiographical film, Illegal Alien, starring Mehki Phifer.
Akon also has a lucrative South African diamond mining and wholesale distribution company.
"When you come from a hustler background, it's easy to get it in once you're in a legitimate environment because you can use a lot of those same tactics to get money here," he said from a promotional tour in Berlin last week. "It's more about how to market and get to certain people to get what you need."
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