Aliaume Damala Badara Akon Thiam (; born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon, is a Senegalese-American singer, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur, philanthropist and actor. Akon began his career as a singer/rapper, with his big break arriving in 2004 with the release of the records "Locked Up" and "Lonely." Both songs achieving great success, leading up to an album deal with Universal Motown. In the 2010s, Akon branched out onto philanthropy (Akon Lighting Africa), property development (Akon City in Senegal), television/film production, and politics, to name a few. 