The Konvict on the loose

Let’s just get this out of the way. I am not an R&B, nor a hip-hop fan. When it comes to such music genres, I’m what you’d call a second-hand listener. Like a second-hand smoker who barely realizes she’s taking in toxins and is taken by surprise when the implications, graver and more serious than she would have liked, are pointed out to her. Not that I think R&B is toxic; it’s just not something my system or my iPod is used to. I’m exposed to it in clubs, malls and every other institution dedicated to pop culture. Plus my last boyfriend almost only listened to R&B so, each time he’d play a track, his choice of tunes would embed itself into my sub-consciousness; before I knew it, I was stuck singing the chorus in a state of Freudian LSS (last song syndrome).

So why am I writing about Akon, top-selling pop/R&B star? Because, for a writer, personal preferences almost always take a back seat to fascinating stories, and Akon’s story is definite screenplay feed (a biopic is actually in the works with talented actor Mekhi Phifer playing the pop star).

Born in Senegal but raised in New Jersey in the United States, Akon is one of the most commercially successful hip-hop and R&B singers right now, apart from also being a songwriter and record producer. Son of a jazz percussionist, Mor Thiam, Akon recorded his first song, Operations of Nature, at the age of 15, although his breakthrough in the music industry came in 2004 following the release of his single Locked Up from his debut album “Trouble.” But it is 2006’s “Konvicted” that earned him a Grammy Award nomination (for the single Smack That featuring Eminem) and worldwide recognition. Other tracks on “Konvicted” such as I Wanna Love You and Don’t Matter have gained club anthem status, as well as top billing on the Billboard Hot 100.

But the brash entertainer reaps controversy as much as he does accomplishments. A dodgy past, unseemly antics in concerts (some he’s apologized for, some he claims were staged), a public statement denying the existence of conflict diamonds, the awareness of which he blames on the movie starring Djimon Hounsou and Leo DiCaprio (Akon is said to own a diamond mine in Africa) have had music fans speculating and blathering non-stop. Then there’s the matter of his real name — Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam — 23 syllables in all. But this factoid has remained unconfirmed and he goes by the much shorter and comprehensible Aliaune Thiam.

But controversy sells, and like many other colorful characters in the hiphop industry, Akon has used his interesting past to his utmost advantage. He was, in fact, already notorious before he even entered music. The name of his second album, “Konvicted,” wasn’t randomly chosen. Prior to his musical career taking off, Akon spent a few years in jail, which he credits for making him into what he is today. Two of his music videos, for Smack That and Belly Dancer, start out showing Akon, a.k.a. the Konvict, in the pen (in the Smack That vid, Eric Roberts hilariously plays the cop who enlists the prisoner’s help to search for a beautiful female witness). The slammer situation, however, is now just used for inspirational purposes; Akon proclaims that he has turned his life around.

Going straight has led to Akon produce two songs that magnify issues closest to his heart. Ghetto’s plaintive vocals talk of hope amid the despair and general hopelessness in the ghetto — the music video goes as far as to document scenes in downtrodden areas of New Mexico and the Navajo nation in Arizona. Mama Africa, also from the “Konvicted” album is a sonorous, reggae-backed ode to the beauty of his birth continent, Akon’s “favorite place when he needs to get away.” He gives more clout to the continent by running a charity for underprivileged children in Africa called Konfidence Foundation.

Akon, unsurprisingly, has also jumped on the bandwagon that carts around music stars coming out with their own clothing lines. Akon’s venture into urban wear is called Konvict Clothing, which mainly serves up bright-colored hoodies, denim jeans and logo-heavy T-shirts. A more high-end counterpart, Aliaune, has blazers, dressier jeans and shirts.

I’ve actually seen Akon in concert: on the American leg of the pro-environment concert series Live Earth, held in seven continents over 24 hours last July. Akon was one of the stars that shared his time and talent at the Giants Stadium in New Jersey. As an entertainer, he is first-rate. He sang four of his most popular songs, starting out with I Wanna Love You, his chart-topping swooner featuring Snoop Dogg (although Snoop was in the Hamburg concert so Akon had to pull off the deadpan rapping part himself).

Soon after he finished I Wanna Love You, he talked about being in love with a stripper when he first came to the States as an adult. “I figured if she’s strippin’, then I am going to strip too,” a cue for him to take off his tank top, throw it to the crowd, and break into a condensed version of Don’t Matter, the catchy theme for all couples in an illicit relationship. (Apparently, this bit is a performance must. A friend said he did the same thing in Singapore.) By the time he got to his fourth song, Mama Africa, Akon had already launched himself into the audience, alarming bouncers who resorted to carrying the singer atop their bulky shoulders so he could make his way back to the stage.

Though a non-fan, I found myself enjoying Akon’s performance and bared-pecs tricks. (I don’t know what was more entertaining to watch: Akon playing the crowd or the buzzed-on-beer Jersey folk awkwardly gyrating and getting down to Akon’s anthems.) If he can rouse a crowd in 10 minutes, you wonder how much he can really do in a full 90-minute concert.

His Manila fans have a week to wait before finding out. Akon will be performing for one night in Manila for his “Smack That” tour on Nov. 29, 8 p.m. at the Araneta Coliseum. We’re assured of, if not a show of skin, then at least a damn good time.

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Tickets for Akon’s “Smack That” concert tour are available at all Ticketnet outlets. Call 911-5555 for more information.

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