Grammy-nominated Akon, who is best known for his chart-topping singles like "Smack That" and "Lonely." In a disturbing and oddly touching confession on the "Bootleg Kev" podcast, Akon admitted that his brothers have at times pretended to be him onstage, sometimes with his consent, and at least one time and not so much.
"Bu would perform my shows for me," Akon said with a laugh, mentioning his younger brother, the music executive Abou "Bu" Thiam. "They wouldn't even know the difference."
When Akon's schedule became too much to manage on his own, combined with an international fanbase and aggressive tour demands, Bu would often throw on Akon's trademark look, hit the stage, and lip-sync his way through a complete set of songs as the DJ played his big brother's records.
"They didn't give an expletive," Akon laughed. They were just hyped to see me," however you want to put that."
But the family hustle extended past Bu. Omar Thiam, another brother, took it a step further. Akon claimed Omar went completely rogue, booking shows under Akon's name without his consent and allegedly pocketing the money. "Omar was running it up," Akon said. "He was just a straight gangsta about it."
From my brothers to me, you can't tell us apart; when people see that, you can't reach that level of celebrity without incognito help." Though a sibling standing in for a superstar might seem like a contrived movie plot, Akon insists the ruse worked simply because he and his brothers look so much alike. "When you see me and my brother in different environments, if you had never seen me before and you saw me in person, you are going to say, 'OK, 1000%,'" he explained.
At the time, neither lip-syncing nor sneaky bookings were considered red flags. To the crowd, Akon came, performed, and left the building. It's a strange, somehow timeless story of sibling shenanigans only with higher stakes, worldwide audiences, and a few more zeroes on the checks.
This adds a new level to the concept of "the show must go on." In Akon's case, in his absence, someone who appeared to look, dress, and move exactly how he did was there to ensure the lights stayed on and the crowd kept dancing.
Now that the cat's out of the bag, fans might ask: How often did they see Akon in concert? Either way, it's challenging to envy the hustle and the brotherly love that transformed family resemblance into an onstage illusion that duped the entire world.
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