Akon has been in the game so long that he has formed relationships with nearly every demographic of musicians. During a recent sit-down with VladTV, the “Locked Up” rapper opened up about his relationship with late rapper PnB Rock, who was gunned down in Los Angeles in September following an armed robbery attempt.
“That one broke my heart,” Akon shared. “I knew him very well. That kid was amazing. He was no where near reaching his potential. That kid, he had it. PnB definitely had it.” Vlad went on to ask the Konvict Muzik founder if he would ever pull up to Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles in Los Angeles alone, driving a $150,000 car, he replied, “Absolutely not. Why would I do that. I’m not going to glorify my successful for people who are still struggling.”
The 49- year old mogul added, “It’s a certain level of how you communicate with people. And then sometimes, the communication can get distorted, cause it almost feels like there’s this ‘nana na na’ attitude. I made it and you didn’t. Most people may not take it that way, but I always calculate, what if they do.”
While Akon has seen much success in his career, he has managed to benefits the masses with his many investments, including solar lighting in Africa. Last month, he revealed that he once received a $1 billion credit line from China to light up Africa with solar street lights and small energy systems. When asked if he spent it all yet, Akon joked, “We’re asking for $5 billion now.” He added, “We did a lot of work. We used it and paid it back.”
The “Smack That” star also says he plans to continue helping Africa with his new $5 billion credit line. “It’s all for energy solutions,” he told Vlad. “Solar is what we do best, but anything renewable, we dipping our hands in it.” See what else Akon had to say below.