Life experiences are the basis for most of music’s greatest artists. Akon is no exception. Throughout his dynamic debut collection, "TROUBLE", the Atlanta-based singer-songwriter-producer draws from real-life to craft his stirring songs. R&B with a hip-hop attitude and edge, Akon pulls no punches when he sits down to write.

“I’ve got a habit of everything that I go through, I write about it,” he explains. But if I went through a whole album writing about what I went through, the whole album would be so dark. The album evolved into the struggles I went through, my having some fun, to this is me now and this is what I got to do to correct it.”

Songs such as the mesmerizing “Belly Dance,” the reflective “Lonely,” the inspirational “Pot Of Gold” and the harsh “Locked Up,” demonstrate Akon’s wide artistic range. But for his first single, Akon wanted to present a feel-good selection. That’s why he chose “Belly Dance.” There’s a lot of negative things going on,” Akon says. We need to party and just have fun. That’s one of those records. You just go in the club and enjoy those beautiful women.”

Much of Akon’s appeal comes from his conversational singing style. It’s almost as though he’s talking to you as he sings, intimately bringing the listener into his world. When I do it, I don’t even try to change my voice like that,” he says. It’s just the mood I be in or the time I do it. A lot of these records are coming straight from the heart or something that I might have just gone through. That’s why it might sound conversational. When I’m on the mic, I really feel like I’m speaking to somebody, like I’m letting something out to somebody.”

Born in St. Louis and raised in Senegal, Africa, Akon moved to live in the United States full-time when he was seven. His family, headed by jazz musician Mor Thiam, settled in New Jersey, where Akon attended school.

While Akon was in high school, his mother and father moved to Atlanta. They left Akon and his brother behind to finish school. Akon soon found himself taking advantage of his freedom and getting in trouble with both classmates and the legal system.

But it was Akon’s love for music, which started because of his admiration of his father, that allowed him to turn his life around. He started playing a variety of percussion instruments and was eventually smitten by hip-hop, even though he didn’t care for it originally. It was brand new, growing and I thought it was rubbish,” he recalls. But as things started going, I started to realize how much of it kind of adapted to my lifestyle.

Now, after dipping in and out of trouble, Akon wants "TROUBLE" to be a payback of sorts for the support system that helped him turn his life around. I vowed to myself and to God that I was going to do the right thing,” he says. I didn’t want to disappoint the people that love me and were trying to help me.”