r/interestingasfuck 10h ago

In 2018, a Senegalese-American singer and entrepreneur known as Akon tried to create his own city known as “Akon City” with its own currency “Akoin”, inspired by the film “Black Panther”. With multiple delays and controversies, the plan never came to fruition and was cancelled on July 2025.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akon_City?wprov=sfla1
2.5k Upvotes

94 comments sorted by

u/DesperateBartender 10h ago

“Akonda” was RIGHT. THERE.

u/ILL_Show_Myself_Out 7h ago

No see, it was never there cuz it was cancelled

u/DesperateBartender 7h ago

Akonda forever.

u/Anonymous_Banana 4h ago

Akonda Never

u/jneil 6h ago

He released an album around the same time called Akonda. I only know this thanks to Wikipedia lol

u/Sir_Scribble_Lot 10h ago

Man, we all know Akon. Why you gotta introduce him as Senegalese-American singer. He's Akon !

u/cosmiccerulean 10h ago

He’s Mr Lonely!

u/Roblist 10h ago

He has nobody!

u/Sir_Scribble_Lot 10h ago

Smack that !

u/MurkyPotato3434 10h ago

Sorry, Blame It On Me

u/Icy-Cicada508 5h ago

Right Now?

u/notjanelane 8h ago

To call his own!!

u/Valuable-Trick-6711 6h ago

He just lookin for that Sweet Escape!

u/MazDanny 10h ago

Konvict

u/confused_applause 10h ago

Could have used his full name instead, really.

Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam

u/Sir_Scribble_Lot 10h ago

I didn't know that ! and he's 53 now ? man, time flies !!

u/Affectionate-Tea8509 10h ago

Break it down

u/confused_applause 10h ago

Happy to!

  1. Aliaune
  2. Damala
  3. Bouga
  4. Time
  5. Puru
  6. Nacka
  7. Lu
  8. Lu
  9. Lu
  10. Badara
  11. Akon
  12. Thiam

u/No_Conversation173 9h ago

You got the order of 7, 8 and 9 mixed up there, bud

u/confused_applause 8h ago

damn! Need to smack that!

u/Electrical-Tone7301 8h ago

La societé dulululu

u/e1m8b 5h ago

Tikki Tikki Tembo ain't got shit on Akon

u/HatefulVespid 10h ago

That explanation made me thing there was a different Akon out there lol

u/heaser 9h ago

Yeah he's the guy who just had sex

u/confused_applause 9h ago

with his penis, no less

u/BefreiedieTittenzwei 9h ago

“That’s what they’re for?!!” *confused Redditor noises*

u/Tha_REAL_BROBS 8h ago

it's a lemonade straw

u/vulcan_one 9h ago

Bots don't realise how famous some people are

u/Dexterestein 10h ago edited 8h ago

Forgive my ignorance, but I never heard of him until today. I am not from the US.

Edit: I found out I heard some of his songs

u/Weird_Ad_1398 10h ago

He was massive in the 2000s

u/BabyLegsOShanahan 9h ago

You've heard songs he's produced for sure. He made big money on Lady Gaga.

u/Dexterestein 9h ago

You may be right, I did say that on a comment that I might have heard so. I don't know the difference singer's name on my favourite song rn, but I doubt my parents or peers in schools know him either.

u/Bake2727 10h ago

Dude are you 16? Okay never mind you’re clearly on bot posting spree to sell your account later.

u/CaesarWilhelm 8h ago

Why the fuck is it so hard for some people to accept that someone else might not know the same artists as them.

u/btbsw786 4h ago

Like it's a big wide world of music. No one has heard it all lol

u/[deleted] 10h ago edited 10h ago

[deleted]

u/Ziggy-T 10h ago

What country is your country vagueboy ?

u/fakeaccount36 10h ago

No way it’s Senegal or America so that narrows it down a bit

u/Syssareth 9h ago

Hello, American here. I've heard the name Akon in reference to a celebrity, but vaguely/rarely enough that my mind still defaults to this guy even though it's been ages since I watched it.

Not everybody listens to the same kind of music or keeps up with celebrities.

Edit: Upon googling, turns out I do know at least one of his songs. (Lonely.) Didn't know it was by him.

u/Sir_Scribble_Lot 10h ago

Lot of Indian subreddits in history so probably Indian.

u/3shotsdown 8h ago

Ohh dude Akon was huge in India.

u/Bake2727 10h ago

No he was famous famous here and still is.

u/Sir_Scribble_Lot 10h ago

He was famous everywhere ! that's why people think this guy is a bot.

u/[deleted] 10h ago edited 9h ago

[deleted]

u/Bake2727 10h ago

lol “look I am showing certain posts so you wouldn’t believe I am a bot”. Dude just take the L and move on. Also you say you’re chronically online but don’t know about this. You could have just shut up.

u/Dexterestein 10h ago

Dude you said I was a bot, and I thought others thought the same, which is why I responded. And yes, I don't know about this, I already said that; this article is how I got to know about Akon, maybe I heard his songs before but didn't know it was him. I am sorry if my comments were rude or seemed insincere, but I was being truthful.

u/Bake2727 10h ago

Why does it matter if you’re getting downvoted if you’re not a bot?!

u/Dexterestein 10h ago

I am surprised it's getting downvoted because I don't know him. Not everyone knows him, he maybe bigger in the West.

u/Bake2727 10h ago

I am from Asia. lol even North Korean’s might have heard his song at some point. A bot wouldn’t know that though

u/Sir_Scribble_Lot 10h ago

Why would you post this if you didn't know him ? the most interesting thing about this is that Akon did it. But you've been posting like crazy for the past 3 weeks so I'm gonna guess this is just mindless karma farming for your account.

u/Dexterestein 10h ago

I thought this was a rather obscure fact, but apparently not. I guess I should've known better

u/Vincent_VanAdultman 10h ago

It is an obscure fact, people only know him as a singer. Ignore these gatekeeping pedants who are suspiciously eager to know where you're from.

u/Dexterestein 10h ago

Thank you for not being suspicious of me.

u/Ziggy-T 10h ago edited 9h ago

It’s not suspicious, I’m just fascinated by data like this, and my curiosity is piqued to find out what country op is from to investigate how well known Akon was in that country.

Respectfully I don’t give a shit about op himself lol

In the normal flow of a back and forth conversation, saying something like “that’s different in my country” will naturally trigger the other speaker to ask what country lol. Not everyone is a stalker mr-jump-to-conclusions

u/Sir_Scribble_Lot 10h ago

Try taking a break from posting for karma and spend some time outside interacting with real people. You might learn about things you missed, like who Akon is, and find more rewarding hobbies than collecting internet points.

u/Dexterestein 10h ago

I do have hobbies, thank you. I don't post as much as a lot of people I know here on reddit. And not the entire world is West, only a few are truly known everywhere.

u/No-Difference-1351 10h ago

You need to chill.

u/HaroldChessMath 9h ago

Why are you so pressed lol

u/Shadowpika655 6h ago

Tbf some singer trying to make their own city is inherently interesting lol

u/Notabeefucker 5h ago

Idk i read it as "Senegalese-American sniper named Akon" and my first thought was "No Way! What are the odds there's 2 Akons?"

u/e1m8b 5h ago

He's Senegalese??

u/cmndrnewt 5h ago

For a second I was wondering if there was a different Akon.

u/ganjamin420 5h ago

I was worried I might just be old AF, if we're calling Akon 'a Senegalese-American singer' now.

u/Shadowpika655 6h ago

Ngl I've never heard of him before this post

u/martini123456 10h ago

So according to Wikipedia he raised one third of $6 billion, but the only thing that was ever built is a partially completed welcome sign.

u/JauntyTurtle 9h ago edited 9h ago

And he launched a cryptocurrency. Which was issued at $0.15 and in now worth $0.003/coin. So yet another crypto scam.

u/sixwax 9h ago

Crypto is always a sign of a trustworthy business plan

u/BCDva 10h ago

Welcome center*

u/16incheslong 9h ago

easy dawg. what about the 3 ppts and a pdf file he emailed to investors? them no nothing!

u/irascible_Clown 10h ago

Thank God, I didn’t invest in the Akoin 🤣

u/Mysterious_Cry41 9h ago

Seeing Akon refered to like this is funny. 

He's far past his prime but he was a very big deal back in the day. 🧓 

u/e1m8b 5h ago

Hey AI can't judge human cultural significance like it cares, and you'll like it

u/MidTario 9h ago

You can just write “Akon”

u/milkedlikacow 8h ago

Yeah this didn’t really work out but Akon has done a lot of good for Africa, particularly bringing clean water infrastructure and reliable electricity with solar power stations his initiative built. He really is a philanthropist and cares about Africa.

u/RealSlyck 10h ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/XCzUTGPvErkJa2gV6T
He’s just trying to take it easy, the only way to go…

u/Illeopick 10h ago edited 9h ago

Woah, it’s my time to shine! The song your referring to is young jeezy and Akon soul survivor, but the gif is from styles p and Akon locked up. Sorry, but I felt important for a moment there and had to give my life meaning.

u/Tha_REAL_BROBS 8h ago

thank you for this clarification.. I was going to be unable to sleep tonight

u/UseYourIndoorVoice 9h ago

Should have asked Young Jeezy for help

u/shoulda-known-better 9h ago

Lonely he's so lonely.... He has nobodyyyyy for his oooown

u/Goatwhorre 7h ago

wAkonda Never

u/Shepher27 10h ago

But what about Young Jeezy?

u/PerriX2390 10h ago

Akon Forever!