Senegalese-American singer Akon, remains one of the biggest music executives that the music industry has ever seen. He’s renowned for his record Label Konvict Music which has impacted the careers of several artists both directly and indirectly.
The “Lonely” singer narrates how he put his career on the line to sign an artist who seemed to have been forgotten at Interscope, and how it turned out to be the best decision he ever made.
“So Lady Gaga was already at Interscope when I got there. She was actually an artist there, but at the time, I didn’t know what Interscope was going to do with her, because she was there for a minute. She walked in with these all go leotards and stuff and looking like she’s from the 80s and I was like, damn. But she looked like a real artist. I asked her what’s up and She was like, well, you know, I’m at Interscope. Like it was a situation. I said, really? I said, okay, give me a second. So I called Jimmy. I said, yo, Jimmy, what’s up with this Lady Gaga chick? He was like, why? I said, I think I want to sign her. He said, take her. He said, would you put your label on that? I said if this record doesn’t work, you can drop me. He let me take her and that probably been the best collective decision we’ve made together” – Akon
Imagine putting your own record Label deal with one of the most influential record labels on the line, just to sign an artist you just discovered ?
Well, Lady Gaga ended becoming one of the biggest female artists the industry has ever seen, winning 13 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, 18 MTV Video Music Awards, and awards from the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
