By Yasmine Peru – STAR Writer—
Akon–
Singer and entrepreneur Akon, in a Twitter post last week Tuesday, stated bluntly that he is not headlining a reggae-inspired project, as is being reported by various sources.
“For the record, I am not putting out a reggae compilation called AKON and Friends. I don’t know anything about this project, if you see it being promoted it’s not happening,” the singer tweeted on May 5. He tagged a few sites, including This is 50, 50 Cent’s official website; World Star Hip Hop; BET and The Source Magazine, which reported that the album, Akon And Friends Remastered, was an ambitious collaboration between Contractor Music Group, Golden Child Records, Beatbopper Records, and Kohanim Records.
However, producer Sean ‘Contractor’ Edwards, of Contractor Music Group, says the album is definitely not shelved, but admitted that it may be “altered somewhat in some capacity”. He said he wouldn’t know the extent of the changes until a few days time.
LICENSING NEGOTIATIONS
Edwards was reluctant to go into details yesterday, but shared with THE STAR that, “Negotiations with Akon and his team are happening now, so when that’s complete, I can comment.” He added, “We are tying up some licensing negotiations at the moment.”
In March, Edwards told THE STAR that the project was a collaborative effort between Akon’s Konvict Muzik label and Don Yute’s Golden Child Productions, with Contractor Music Marketing having executive producer responsibilities. He stated that “The album will feature several tracks with Akon, a track with DaBaby, as well reggae stars Jah Cure, Peetah Morgan, Wayne Wonder, Capleton, Black Uhuru, Warrior King, Nature Ellis, Shatta Wale, and others.”
Dancehall artistes Tommy Lee Sparta, K’Coneil and SkilliBeng, as well as up-and-coming hip-hop artistes Alonestar, Sandiego Chapo, YKRichRuler, and KingTiger were also name checked.
The Source Magazine, on April 17, reported that Akon And Friends Remastered will showcase a bevy of industry familiar names such as Sean Paul, Royce Da 59, Beenie Man, Elephant Man, and will connect the mainstream music scene with dancehall and reggae.
Then, last week Monday, BET released a version of the same story, headlined, ‘Akon to release reggae-inspired project featuring DaBaby,’ and noted that the record will feature rap, reggae and dancehall elements. The BET report gave Friday, May 8, as the release date of the album.
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