AKON

2004 was a big year for you.
Yeah, we officially went platinum with this album, Trouble. Working on double platinum now, and that’s just off one single.

“Locked Up” was a huge hit, and it’s based on real life, right? Why were you locked up?
I was charged with being the ringleader of an anti-car theft operation, like, a chain of chop shops. Taking luxury cars and switching the VIN numbers and reselling them, putting in new registration, new title (laughing). Like Gone in 60 Seconds, for instance. That’s what I was charged with. I’m not saying that I did it, though.

Not saying that you did it, but - if you had done it, what do you think the reason would’ve been? The money? The excitement?
Actually, it really wasn’t the money. Excitement had a lot to do with it, but it was more because you were secure. Money was always available, there was a lot of street credibility.

You never thought you would get caught?
Oh, naw. Hell no. I mean, I averaged two or three car chases a week for like two years and never got caught. I was that good behind that wheel. It was fun running from the cops, cause I knew they couldn’t catch me. I’d run up one-way streets and they can’t follow you. If you go up a one-way block, they can not follow you going the other direction, so I got away so many times. It was the shit. It was mad fun.

Why do you think you were able to make it through all those situations alive?
Aw, man, I was definitely blessed. I think it was because I was meant to do this: music. Music was actually something I was running away from. I grew up in a musical family, so - it was always there. It wasn’t that I was trying to get away from it, but when it’s always there surrounding you, you feel like you could always do it. That’s why it wasn’t exciting.

Was your family supportive when you were locked up?
Well, they supported me when I was in there, but of course they didn’t like the fact that I was in there. They always made sure I had money in the books, came to every court hearing. They were very, very supportive. I was locked up in Jersey, Atlanta, and Chicago. I kept getting shipped back and forth for different trials.

How long were you incarcerated?
All together, I was locked up for three years, and I actually wrote that record “Locked Up” while I was in jail. The majority of the songs on my album, I wrote while I was locked up. I came out and recorded it, but it was like a dead end at that point cause I wasn’t really into the music thing. This was a couple years ago. But I really couldn’t do anything else. I couldn’t get a regular job cause I was a convicted felon. You can only make but so much money as a felon. A fast food restaurant ain’t gon’ cut it, not for the type of lifestyle I was used to living. [Choreographer] Devyne [Stephens] took my music and shopped it around.

You have a very unique sound.
I don’t know what created it, but I was influenced by a whole bunch of different types of music and all of that bled into what I’m doing today. I didn’t just decide to create a style, it just happened naturally.

I was listening to the Fugees classic album The Score and I heard you on there. I never realized it was you.
Yeah, that used to be my camp. I was an original member of the Refugee Camp. I left when I got a basketball scholarship to go to school in Atlanta.

What did you think about the Fugees breakup?
I thought it was stupid, man. I was like, What the hell are they doing? I was just trying to figure out why. I mean I stepped away around that time, because while they were successful I was actually in jail that’s the main reason I wasn’t out there with them. I was happy to see them doing they thing on TV, but when I got out that was when all the problems had started and they had split up.

Which Fugee member were you closest to?
All of ‘em. They was like, my brothers and sister. That’s family. ‘Clef is the only one I’ve talked to recently, though. I lost contact with Pras, and Lauryn is hiding right now. She don’t wanna be bothered by nobody. I’m sure if she knew I was looking for her, she’d reach out, but sometimes you have to just let people be who they are. She’s the type of person that wants to go through whatever she’s gotta go through alone. She doesn’t want help, so I respect that.

Some people say that Lauryn Hill went crazy. Since you know her, what do you think?
Everybody always wants to throw out an opinion, but they don’t know what the hell she went through to close herself off. Like, a lot of people wanna do it right now but they ain’t got the guts or the money to do it. Believe me, if they had money like L, they’d close theyselves off too. You never know why people do what they do. I don’t even wanna speak for her, but I just know that she’s got a reason for doing what she’s doing. She went through a lot, man. Like, me personally, I don’t think I’d have to go through all that stuff she had to go through in this industry, cause she’s a woman. The industry is way, way more stressful for women. You already know. Being a woman in this game, it’s hard. I can only imagine.
Are you ever tempted to shut yourself off from the industry like Lauryn did?
Naw. Now that I’m in it, I don’t see myself shutting down. Before I was shutting myself off on purpose, but now I’m glad I actually decided to do this.

Did someone in your family recently pass away?
Yeah, my brother. He was my road manager as well. He got gunned down in Jersey City after a club with Capone. I had literally just left the club. We were supposed to leave the club together cause we were going to the Bahamas the next morning. It was crazy. It wasn’t even a month ago. I just came from New York, actually. We threw a big party just to remember him. It was crazy at Club Exit, like, jam-packed. The whole D-Block came through. Pitbull performed. I performed. A lot of celebrities, radio stations, and magazines came through.

Is there anything positive you’ve been able to learn from the situation?
We just work a lot harder now, and our team is a lot tighter too. That’s where we all grew up, so if something like that can happen at home, we’ve got to be a lot more cautious. A lot of people get comfortable when they get to a certain status, but you’ve got to be very careful who you have around and be more aware of your surroundings.

Now that you’re not locked up, is the creative process easier?
Yeah, it’s a lot easier now cause I’ve got more to write about. My next album is gonna be similar, though, more reality music. Everything I write about is reality. I try to write about what other R&B artists are not really doing. Everybody’s on the relationship thing. Love me, love you. Leave me, leave you. It’s only one relationship song on my album, “Lonely,” but that happened for real. She left me, for real. That’ll probably be one of the only relationship joints you’ll hear from me in a minute, unless it’s for a soundtrack or something. I mean, I love relationship songs, don’t get it twisted. But for me personally, I prefer street records. I try to go outside the box.

- Interview and photo by Julia Beverly