ENTERTAINMENT: A night to remember with Akon

2009/10/26

FARIDUL ANWAR FARINORDIN

Hip-hop/R&B artiste Akon was in top form at his Freedom Beach Concert, writes FARIDUL ANWAR FARINORDIN.

HIP-Hop/R&B artiste Akon knows how to throw a great party. Akon Freedom Beach Concert at Sunway Lagoon was worth the wait. Originally scheduled for July this year, it was postponed at the height of the influenza A (H1N1) scare although the official word from Akon at that time was “due to unforeseen circumstances”. It didn’t matter. The singer-songwriter and producer delivered an unforgettably energetic show that those who have been keeping their tickets all these months went back home thoroughly satisfied. Even if you were not a fan of Akon’s and had only intended to attend a “live” concert — now that Beyonce’s much-anticipated maiden concert has been postponed indefinitely, you’d be surprised at how much fun you’ll have at Akon’s show. It won’t be long at the concert before you appreciate the unique brand of dance/hip-hop music from the singer-songwriter of the Senegalese descent who is also a sought-after producer today (he has worked with Gwen Stefani, Lady Gaga and Leona Lewis to name a few). Throughout the show, Akon’s team members were busy taking videos of the crowd. They were on stage and in the crowd recording the audience with dedication never before seen in other concerts in the past.

One couldn’t help but wonder if the recordings would later find their way to Miss Bootylicious’s people to show that Malaysians were not how they were portrayed to be. Besides, Marctensia is the concert promoter for both Akon’s and Beyonce’s concerts. It pulled off a great job for the Akon show. Akon also knew exactly what to say. “People in Singapore told me that the Kuala Lumpur audience will never be equal to theirs. They claimed they are the ‘hypest’. From what I see tonight, I totally disagree!” he said to a deafening scream from the crowd. For close to two hours, the 32-year-old singer, who was born Aliaune Badara Akon Thiam, kept his audience on their feet with upbeat tunes from his three albums, namely Trouble (2004), Konvicted (2006) and Freedom (2008). The songs cut across different topics, from purely fun (Smack That) and patriotic (Mama Africa) to love (I Wanna Love You) and even social issues (Ghetto). He also performed the song that shot him to stardom in 2004, the social critic Locked Up. One thing for sure, they reflected Akon’s artistry in creating a sound that tells of his West African heritage as much as the current hip-hop flavour. It was not a surprise that he was featured on the 25th anniversary album of Michael Jackson’s Thriller two years ago with a remix version of Michael’s hit song Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’. His more recent hits In The Club, Right Now (Na Na Na) and Beautiful were so huge that even a five-year-old girl at the concert was seen singing along to every word. Before singing the hit song Dangerous which he made popular with hip-hop artiste Kardinal Offishall (for the latter’s Not 4 Sale album), Akon, who is known for his outspokenness, told the male audience to look for “signs” in their relationship to know that it is as good as over. “If both of you go to an expensive restaurant and she pays with her credit card, if she goes to a movie with her girlfriends and you’re not invited, if she goes for a joyride alone in her nice car that she owns... well man, that’s a death blow.” Some found his views rather amusing, coming from an artiste who is rumoured to have had three wives. He continued: “It means she’s totally independent of you. If you get to that, man, just walk away. Because that’s when she’s too independent and you’re just an ornament — you are only good to look at.” All in good humour, of course, as he later went into a sensual musical journey with his sexy tunes. “When you go home tonight and it’s just you and her in a romantic setting... and you look into one other’s eyes, just remember the code word... Akon...” he said. The entertainer turned the heat up with his fast-tempo sizzling hit Smack That, the song which made a chart history for Billboard Hot 100’s 48-year existence when it made a huge leap from No. 95 to No. 7 in a matter of days (it stayed at No. 2 for five consecutive weeks). He continued with the story about the lovers, who have now progressed into something that could be out of Mills & Boons novels. “What’s the code word?” he asked the crowd, who in turn screamed: “Aaaaaakooooonnnnnnn!!!!!!!!” Sexual innuendos aside, Akon’s no-holds-barred attitude is refreshingly exciting, especially to the Generation Y crowd, who returned the singer’s fun-loving spirit with much adulation. The owner of Konvict Muzik label (whose stable of artistes include Kat DeLuna, Kardinal Offishall and Lady Gaga) also got the crowd going with the two hugely popular dance numbers which he co-wrote and produced —Lady Gaga’s club anthem Just Dance and Gwen Stefani’s hit The Sweet Escape. The concert, however, ended quite abruptly, with the audience still expecting more from the artiste, who arrived from Manila hours before the show. Although there was no encore performances after Akon’s goodnight wish (he didn’t sing his 2005 hit Lonely, known for the sped-up, high-pitched sample of Bobby Vinton’s Mr. Lonely), he left his audience happy nevertheless. Akon’s last visit to Malaysia was two years ago and he performed with hip-hop artiste T-Pain in Australia for his Konvict Muzik Tour yesterday before returning to the studio to finish work for his new album Stadium Music, scheduled for release next year. The show was a night to remember if not for the obnoxious security of Sunway Lagoon who made the experience annoying if not infuriating. When was the last time that invited guests (press included) had to hand out driving licenses in exchange for a tag? Let me think — never!