MOBO Awards

2005 - Best African Act

Grammy Awards

2007 - Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Smack That"

Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Awards

2006 - Hot Rap Track for "Soul Survivor"

ECHO Awards

2006 - International Hip-Hop/R&B Artist
2006 - National/International Hit of the Year for "Lonely"

MTV2 Awards

2005 - MTV Video Music Award for "Locked up"

MtvU Woodie Awards

2005 - International Woodie (Favorite International Artist Award)

MTV Australia Video Music Awards

2006 - Best Hip Hop Video for "Moonshine"
2007 - Best Male Artist for "Smack That"
2007 - Best Hip-Hop Video for "Smack That"
2007 - Best Hook-Up for "Smack That"

MTV Europe Music Award

2005 - Best Hip Hop Act
2005 - Best New Act

Vibe Awards

2004 - Hottest Hook for "Locked up"
2005 - Hottest Hook for "Soul Survivor"

World Music Awards

2005 - World's Best Selling New Male Artist

Akon was born in St. Louis, Missouri instead of Senegal because his family didn't want to have to go through immigration problems and so he and his siblings could get a better education. He has been in jail for a total of five years. In late 2005, his manager Robert Montanez was killed in a drive by shooting; the album Konvicted is dedicated to him. Akon was also in the car and was shot in the shoulder, however he made a full recovery. He is a Muslim, and is a believer and practitioner of polygamy. This caused some amount of controversy when he first disclosed it on a radio program saying, "I really don’t bite my tongue for anybody and I always felt like if you’re going to be real, you got to be truthful all the way around the board. Lies only make things worse. But it got to a point where my coming out like that ended up being a mistake." He reportedly has three wives. He drives an orange Lamborghini Gallardo. He also has his own charity for underprivileged children in Africa called Konfidence Foundation. Akon also owns a diamond mine in South Africa and denies the existence of conflict diamonds saying, "I don't even believe in conflict diamonds. That's just a movie. Think about it. Ain't nobody thought about nothing about no conflict diamonds until the movie came out." He also had a previous occupation as a drug dealer but states that he has never used drugs. He also said that in spite of his previous criminal history, he has turned his life around, as sung in "Tired Of Runnin'". In 2006, he ventured to Africa to play a concert in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

Akon often goes by the shorter, Aliaune Thiam,though other sources have said his name is Alioune Badara Thiam.He is the son of jazz percussionist, Mor Thiam. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri but grew up in Senegal until he was seven. He split time between Senegal and the U.S. until he was fifteen, then his family permanently moved to Jersey City, New Jersey and as such he speaks English, French, and Wolof. In Jersey City he attended Snyder High School, where he discovered hip hop music. His first song was entitled "Operations of Nature," which he recorded at age 15. However, he was jailed for armed robbery and drug distribution charges, and used his time in prison to work on his music. Upon release, Akon began writing and recording tracks in his home studio. The tapes found their way to SRC/Universal, which released Akon's debut LP Trouble in June 2004. The album is a hybrid of Akon's silky, West African-styled vocals mixed with East Coast and Southern beats.