Sean “Diddy” Combs ran his city years ago, but Aliaune Damala Badara “Akon” Thiam is actually building his own! According to The Shade Room, the singer should have his own city built in 10 years.
Akon, who is bringing electricity to 600 million people in Africa, is the exact definition of someone who gives back. The singer said he has been building his own futuristic city in Senegal that he will name Akon City. Nick Cannon had him as a guest on his Power 106 Nick Cannon Mornings where he discussed a wide range of topics including being involved in politics, wanting to run for political office, and helping to continue developing artists behind the scenes.
The St. Louis native plans on running the whole city he is planning on renewable energy sources. Akon says he will use his cryptocurrency, ‘AKoin” to build the city’s economy. He has dedicated his life to helping people in Africa. The Grammy-nominated singer had originally announced last year, his plans for a futuristic city that would be built on 2,000 acres of land that was gifted to him by Senegal’s President Macky Sall.
‘It’s Akon city. It’s all renewable, the Akon-tainment solar city. It’s all renewable. A real physical place, it’s going to have a real airport. It’s a 10-year building block so we’re doing it in stages,’ the singer tells Cannon in the interview.
Akon also has his own company, Akon Lighting Africa, a project started by him along with Samba Bathily and Thione Niang in 2014 that aims to provide electricity by solar energy in Africa. Since launching, Akon’s group has operations in 14 nations, including Guinea, Senegal, Mali, Niger, Benin, and Sierra Leone.
Akon is also the owner of two successful record labels, Konvict Muzik and KonLive Distribution. The labels were responsible for signing acts such as Lady Gaga, T-Pain, R. City, Kardinal Offishall, and Red Café.
He is the first solo artist to hold both the No. 1 and No. 2 simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, not just once, but twice.