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Akon is reflecting on the 20th anniversary of his sophomore album as he enters his country era.
The seasoned hitmaker released Konvicted in 2006 following the success of lead singles "Smack That" featuring Eminem and "I Wanna Love You" with Snoop Dogg. His second studio album was inspired by his time in prison between 1999 and 2002. During his recent appearance on the Won of One: A PLLRS Podcast, Akon said he's still shocked that he's made it this far in his music career, especially after being in such a dark place while behind bars.
“I needed to get locked up around that time for me to say, ‘Ok, I need a better life. I want to go in a better direction,” he explains. “I now completely know my main purpose in life and why I’m here.
Akon continued to rule the charts with other global hits like "Don't Matter" and "Sorry, Blame It On Me." Konvicted remains his best-selling album. It sold 284,000 copies in its first week and later became 6× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). He continued to serve up other projects from Freedom (2008) to his latest LP, Beautiful Day. Now he's focusing on his latest venture into country music. He reveals his plans to make an album full of original country songs and a special project comprised of country versions of his past hits.
“I’m making original country songs," he said. "We got to the point where we did real research. I didn’t realize how many country music fans wanted to hear an Akon album. They were like, ‘We want to hear you do original records.’ So, we started to pivot to doing original records, and I’m going to do a specialty album with all of my hits redone in country.”
Watch the entire interview below.