I Had To Distance Myself From My African Heritage In Order to Excel Earlier in My Career- Akon

Senegalese-American singer, Akon has revealed that before being African became popular, he had to distance himself from it in order to excel in his career.

According to Akon, in an interview on BBC Newsbeat, Africa and its culture was not marketable at the time, hence he had to distance himself from it in order to play in that arena.

“One of the biggest things that I had to actually distance myself from at the time when I did come out, was the fact that I was African.

“That wasn’t really something that they could market or promote in that kind of arena that I was actually playing in,” he said.

According to Akon, financial demands and the urgent need to make money was also a side effect on his career.

“Everything had to be so calculated, it became stressful and starts to feel like work,” he added.