One of the more prevalent songs from the Broadway musical 'Dreamgirls' is a rousing thumper sang by the James 'Thunder' Early character called 'Fake Your Way to the Top.' The title of the song is pretty self explanatory.
And although the glitzy theatrical tour-de-force deals with all things Black Music Industry of decades before, most of the themes translate to today's day and time.
Take Akon for instance.
The Senegalese Singing Sensation has been a chart-topping mainstay on the hip-hop soul scene; thanks – in large part – to his break-out debut single 'Locked Up,' (video below) which told an autobiographical tale of how his sale of narcotics led to him being incarcerated.
In subsequent interviews, the crooner has claimed he served a total of 4 1/2 years in prison for various felonies, including running "a notorious car theft operation."
That's hard time.
Not so fast – said TheSmokingGun.com.
The investigative celebrity website is labeling Akon (real name: Aliuane Badara Thiam) a complete and total fraud when it comes to his so-called criminal past After digging through his legal records, SmokingGun found that the New Jersey-bred balladeer was convicted of only one felony - for gun possession - and that case ended in a guilty plea with three years probation.
It also is revealed that the Grammy Award winner was arrested for stealing just one BMW.
In that case, he was detained in Atlanta for several months before prosecutors dropped all charges against him.
In the story, titled "Akon's Con Job," SmokingGun stated: "Akon's ad nauseum claims about his criminal career and resulting prison time have been, to an overwhelming extent, exaggerated, embellished, or wholly fabricated.
"Police, court, and corrections records reveal that the entertainer has created a fictionalized backstory that serves as the narrative anchor for his recorded tales of isolation, violence, woe, and regret. Akon has overdubbed his biography with the kind of grit and menace that he apparently believes music consumers desire from their hip-hop stars."
Whoa wee.
A spokesperson for the Universal Motown Records recording artist was not available for comment at deadline.
1. i think this akon guy has a brain problem.he need to check himself with a psych doctor for treatment.i'm a true fun of him but i don't trust him no more.he lies to the public about his new albums and also about his new country music single. akon please try to calm down.how is he going to answer this new fraud lies when he comes back from his africa tour.
bebe at 11:33AM on Apr 18th 2008