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It’s not fair. Akon gets to have multiple wives. I don’t. Akon gets to hump teenage girls on stage and throw teenage boys off. I don’t. Akon gets to write a hit song about how he didn’t respond to the press furor about his wanton ways because he was on tour with Gwen Stefani. I don’t, and I wasn’t. I bet you don’t get to do any of these things either. Now Akon says he’s about “to break into a genre that no black artist, producer or writer ever broke into, ever”: Country. I’m worried he’s going to do this by going back in time to the early sixties and killing Ray Charles. Based on his claim to already have a hit single under an alias, I keep checking Charles’ Wikipedia page to see if he already did.
“I’m bout to break into a genre that no black artist, producer or writer ever broke into, ever,” Akon announced excitedly at the BBC radio station 1 Extra in the UK recently. “And the funniest part about it is, I’m goin in with an alias and I already got my first hit record.”
There have been other African-Americans who’ve tried their hand at country, namely Ray Charles, but Akon said what he plans to do for the genre will set him apart.
“I’m tryin to break in, I’m not just tryin to go in,” he said.
But the artist was mum on his country alter ego and wouldn’t talk more about that “hit record” either.
“If I tell you, then they gon’ shut it down,” he said. “I just gotta go on until I accept that Grammy one day.”
You know, there are a lot of names on this week’s country chart I don’t recognize, so maybe he’s telling the truth. The time-travelling supervillain discusses his plans about 1:30 into the interview clip here. Oh sure, he’s joking, you say. That’s just what he wants to you believe.
BBC – 1xtra Live -Akon
Akon Goes Country [SOHH]
charley pride is gonna be pissed when he sees this.
What about Nelly?! Oh and someone should probably tell him about Charley Pride.
@iantenna: beat me to it!
+ Watch video
As an actual country music journalist, I can tell you that I have not a clue what he’s talking about.
There was also a doctor/singer named Cleve Francis who had a nice run of hits in the early ’90s, most notably, “I’m Walking.”
Maybe someone should pass on these links to Akon:
[www.carlray.com]
[www.carlray.com]
@iantenna: 29 #1 country hits, and that’s what you get.
Let’s not forget O.B. McClinton.
“Vocountry?”
There are plenty of great young black country artists out there at the moment, they just don’t have the major labels behind them. Here’s Rissi Palmer:
And oh hey look, some genius wrote an article about this topic:
[www.nashvillescene.com]
Is Akon Cowboy Troy?
or Dobie Gray?
So not only is he going to make hip hop sound even more bland and horrible than it already is, he’s going to try and ruin country music now?
Sweet vid.