Akon has never shied away from his roots, and in a heartwarming conversation on The Sherri Show monitored by MyNewsGh, the Senegalese-American singer got personal about his journey from the small village of Kawak to becoming a global superstar.
“I just feel blessed every single day I wake up,” Akon shared. “Only because I knew how it used to be versus how it is now.”
Reflecting on his earliest memories, Akon confessed he had no idea what America even was when he was growing up. “The concept of the United States wasn’t even in my mind,” he said. “I just know I was a young kid from Kawak… and one day I’m on a plane, which I thought was a metal bird.”
His first flight was filled with fear. “I was fighting everybody, thinking I was actually going into an actual bird,” he laughed. “Imagine coming from horses and carriages to an airplane flying in the air.”
The culture shock didn’t end there. Landing in New York, he saw buildings that “reach the sky” and couldn’t believe his eyes. “I thought I died and went to heaven,” he said. “I had never seen anything like that before.”
Even his first meal in America left a mark. “Frosted Flakes. The most delicious cereal. That was my first meal,” he recalled, smiling.
These experiences, Akon explained, have deeply shaped his mission in life. “I don’t think God put me on this earth to just sing and dance,” he said. “There has to be something bigger.”
For Akon, that “something bigger” is giving back to Africa. Through his Konfidence Foundation, he’s helped remodel schools, install air conditioning, and build playgrounds in rural areas. The efforts then expanded to providing electricity. “I feel like that’s my purpose — to help rebuild Africa.”
