Akon is setting the record straight about a controversial choice he made in 2020, when he faced backlash for collaborating with Tekashi 6ix9ine on a “Locked Up” remix. In a new interview with The Shade Room, he says he’d make the same decision again.
The online criticism stemmed from Tekashi’s reputation as a “snitch” after he cooperated with federal authorities in 2019 to reduce his racketeering sentence. After the single’s release, rapper Tory Lanez, who publicly expressed his desire to work with Akon on the remix, took to social media to express his disappointment.
“So what y’all telling me is …. Akon gave the #LockedUpRemix / SAMPLE to someone else !?!?? And not me?!???? I’m going back to bed, man,” the rapper who is currently serving 10 years in prison wrote on X.
Other fans agreed with Lanez, condemning the superproducer for violating “street code” by associating with Tekashi 6ix9ine.
Akon says he can’t violate what doesn’t exist.
“There is no street code,” the producer said.
He noted that the codes he grew up with, which were once followed, are no longer practiced by the younger generation.
“Everybody’s disobeying the codes, so there are no codes to even follow,” the artist said.
The singer-songwriter also added that he chose to give the sample to Tekashi to reach a particular audience.
“It was more of a creative decision and a generational decision. Because the generation that I needed to speak to, they all followed Tekashi at that time,” the artist said.
During the interview, the star discussed another controversial topic, polygamy. The Muslim Senegalese-American explained that a man having multiple wives is traditional. He also defends his friend Neyo’s lifestyle, which involves having multiple girlfriends.
“I applaud him for doing it, because he’s doing what a lot of guys wish and would want to do, they just don’t have the balls to be honest with the girls that they’re dealing with, Akon said.
The loverboy friends will join forces as they co-headline “Nights Like This” Global Tour. The 57-city tour kicks off Friday, April 24, in Dublin, Ireland.
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