‘Everywhere I go’: Akon’s legacy follows him Down Under

Two decades into his career, Akon’s music continues to follow him everywhere and he has no plans of slowing down anytime soon. The rapper sat down with Confidential ahead of Sydney’s Juicy Fest.

Iconic 2000s rapper Akon photographed at W Hotel Sydney ahead of his performance at Juicy Fest 2025. Picture by Max Mason-Hubers

Controversial pop rapper Akon has nine kids to four different women and concedes he needs to spend more time with his children.

Akon, who is touring Australia this month said: “Family time these days is really hard to come by, I would like to prioritise that more. When we are together, the movies, bowling and all that simple stuff is our go to.”

Akon’s career has been overshadowed for nearly two decades after an on stage incident in 2007 when he was filmed simulating a sex act with a 15-year-old girl.

Akon who apologised after the incident said: “I want to sincerely apologise for the embarrassment and any pain I’ve caused to the young woman who joined me onstage, her family and the Trinidad community for the events at my concert.”

The 51-year-old kept the conversation light when speaking to Confidential.

Iconic 2000s rapper Akon will be performing at Juicy Fest 2025. Picture by Max Mason-Hubers

Iconic 2000s rapper Akon will be performing at Juicy Fest 2025. Picture by Max Mason-Hubers

He is in the country touring with R & B and hip-hop festival Juicy Fest that played Sydney’s Accor stadium on Saturday.

“Australia is really fun, the excitement here is unbelievable and the crowd is crazy, it really is a blessing. My first trip here I had my first shoey, but I didn’t like it,” Akon told Confidential.

Akon boasts 31 million monthly Spotify listeners and an impressive catalogue of collaborations with some of the biggest names in music, including Michael Jackson, Eminem, Gwen Stefani, and T-Pain.

His biggest hits include Lonely, Don’t Matter and Smack That.

“It (his music) is everywhere literally, I go to the bathroom and hear the music. I gotta say it’s a blessing but sometimes I want to turn the music off so I don’t hear my voice,” Akon added.

“For me time off doesn’t really exist, and I love what I do so much it doesn’t feel like work. The moment it starts to feel like work, it’s time to find another job.”

The singer recently released a new track, Akon’s Beautiful Day, with star DJ David Guetta and is set to drop his next album, Not Guilty, in March.

“There’s been a lot of anticipation building, it’s hard for me to explain what’s coming but just know it’s some great feel good music,” Akon said.

While he spits beats, the rapper also dabbles in comedy and is looking forward to appearing on Kevin Hart and Chris Rock’s Netflix series, Headliners Only.

“I think the funny part of me has always been there, I’ve always loved doing parodies and SNL skits. For the most part it’s trying to find that fine line of not being corny.”