Konvicted in Manila

On the same day that the probably soon-to-be convicted stormed the Manila Peninsula, I had my own brush with the musically talented Konvicted One, Akon. In town for a concert at the Big Dome that would surely be a clarion call for all the R ’n B fans of this nation, Akon afforded this writer a precious 10 minutes of easy chatter. Forget the gangsta image, the Hulk-like throwing a fan off the stage, or the simulated sex act with an underage female fan fiasco. With the Best Male Soul/R ’n B Artist at the recently held American Music Awards tucked away, and having copped three major wins at the World Music Awards, there was exoneration and humble achievement written all over his face and demeanor. Very articulate and almost soft-spoken, the Akon I met seemed a far cry from the monster that all the media hype had created earlier in the year. Make no bones about it, Akon does not shy from admitting he once did time for car theft, or that the gangsta image could be genuine, but in a music genre where knives, pistols and heavy metal (i.e. bling necklaces and rings) seem the order of the day, Akon, in simple dark sweater, black shirt and white tie, and long coat, played “Nice Guy” to the hilt. Not for me to say how genuine the impression was, but his easy smile and laughter had me genuinely liking the guy. Thanks to promoter Glenn Llamas and the MCA Universal crew for giving me those minutes with Akon.

Musically, there not much to dispute. Sought after for his songwriting and producing abilities, as much as for his singing and performing, Akon has already compiled a long and heady list of collaborations to chalk up beside his own two solo recordings, Trouble and Konvicted. Gwen Stefani, Wyclef Jean, Bone Thugs and Harmony, Nivea, Lil Wayne, the list goes on and on. Asked him which was the most exciting collaboration, and he spoke of the one he’s in the midst of with Michael Jackson (for release in 2008). “With Michael, with Wyclef, it’s really amazing for me that these are artist I grew up to and really loved and now, they request that I work with them on their own albums. You can’t imagine how that feels, because at one time it would have been enough that I even got to meet these guys!”

Hailing from Senegal, Akon’s father, Mor Thiam, is a jazz musician and when I asked what kind of influence that may have had on his music, Akon readily smiled and expounded, “Jazz is really not the kind of music you want to be listening to when you’re a kid! So there was a time when I’d really try to listen to anything but jazz cause that‘s what my father had playing in the house, day in and out. Of course it was R ‘n B and pop music that I would listen to when I had the choice on the matter. But you are right, somehow, his music and the one I would prefer to follow somehow got all mixed up ‘under my skin,‘ and that‘s why the music I come up with if often so eclectic, taking from different influences liberally. I also like to improvise a lot and I know that’s very jazz in nature.

“The band I tour with, we‘ve been together for so many years now that we don‘t even rehearse. On the spur of the moment, I‘ll even add a new song into the list we‘ll play on a particular night and we‘ll just get into it and see where it takes us. It‘s that kind of spontaneity that characterizes our approach to music and sure, once again, there’s an element of jazz in that approach.”

The price of fame and success is now upmost in Akon‘s mind. He looks back on the year that was, and sees how bittersweet is all has been, a veritable roller-coaster. Heralded at the start of the year as a genuine R ‘n B star, it all came close to crashing on his head with the spate of bad media. He says he basically toughed it out, and the awards that came in the last quarter was sheer “sweetness.“ It is ironic how so often we build them up just to tear them down and the song Sorry, Blame It On Me just poured out of him when it was needed. In fact, he jokes about how people have pigeonholed him, even calling him a Hip-hop artist, when he can‘t even rap. “People will always make their choices about you when you‘re successful or famous. They‘ll presume stuff and no matter what you say or do, more often than not, you can‘t budge them from what they‘ll believe you‘re all about. I just had to stick to what I was doing and let the music do the talking.“ Don‘t look now, but there‘s a whole world listening to Akon.