Akon has sold over 4 million albums by c****ining his radio-friendly sound with a somewhat controversial persona outside of the recording booth. With album titles such as Trouble, Konvicted and the hit single "Locked Up," Akon has made no secret of what he calls his "troubled past." Akon's past is now being called into question by TheSmokingGun.com. The website is currently running a report entitled "Akon's Con Job," which uses various legal documents to draw the conclusion that the platinum selling artist has a fabricated past.
The Smoking Gun's report centers on Akon's account that he spent three years in prison for attempting to steal a BMW in 1998. Akon recounted the story to Rolling Stone and various other media outlets in 2006.
"I was driving a BMW 325, on my way to the chop shop," Akon told Rolling Stone. "That's the slowest car in the whole fleet, the BMW 325. I'd been in high-speed pursuit before and always got away, but this time I didn't because the car was too slow."
The Smoking Gun, alleges that public records show Akon, whose birth name is Aliaune Thiam, spent five months in prison for the aforementioned car theft. A subsequent conviction for weapons possession is listed in 1998, but the penalty for this offense was a $1,000 fine and three months probation. The allegations come in addition to public backlash that resulted in 2007 after videos surfaced of Akon performing a sexually explicit dance with a 14-year-old girl and throwing a 15-year-old boy off of a concert stage. Akon and his representatives have yet to comment on The Smoking Gun's report.