An R&B singer originally from Senegal, Akon first came to America when he was seven years old. The son of well-known African percussionist Mor Thiam, he was exposed to lots of music at a young age, learning multiple instruments as a child and then getting into hip-hop. His appreciation for rap music is evident all over his self-titled debut album, especially in the overall production, on streetwise tracks like "Gangsta," and on his collabos with emcees (Styles P appears on the remix...  [+]