One thing is clear though: Akon may have fallen off the rap radar, but he's still somewhere in the industry, making his cash and ensuring that he's leaving a mark on music for future generations. But how is Akon making his mark, since his tunes haven't rocketed up the charts in the last few years? Well, he has released multiple albums since "Konvicted. Akon also has more music upcoming, though he doesn't seem to have any plans to return to touring with Gwen Stefani or anything as high-profile as his prior gigs.
Still, it's worth noting that Akon did launch two record labels that later signed successful artists. A post shared by AKON akon. After construction begins in early , the first phase of the project alone could take more than three years, he said.
The almost surrealist, water-like designs of Akon City were inspired by the shapes of traditional sculptures long made in Africa's villages, he said.
However the gleaming structures of Akon City will be made of metal and glass, not wood. A hotel within the city plans to feature rooms decorated for each of the 54 nations of Africa. However, the project was designed by a Dubai-based architect because Akon said he couldn't find a suitable one in Africa fast enough.
It's also unclear what percentage of the building materials and construction teams will be sourced locally. Akon may not be lonely for much longer. Naturally, the new city will have a futuristic aesthetic to match the cutting-edge tech. In fact, the renderings look like the backdrop of a Ridley Scott film. The singer told the Associated Press the project is geared toward stimulating the local economy and creating much-needed jobs for the Senegalese. Understandably, Senegalese authorities have praised Akon, whom they refer to by his given name Aliuane Thiam, for investing in the country amid such economic uncertainty.
He declined to publicly identify his investors, citing non-disclosure agreements. Karas said that while he couldn't yet reveal the other partners in the project, they are made up of "companies and high-net-worth individuals" from around the globe, particularly Africa and the Persian Gulf states. With the project still in its relative infancy, the question remains whether Akon's vision can be realized. On August 31, Akon, clad in a powder-blue suit and a white face mask, stood next to Senegal's minister of tourism, Alioune Sarr, as the minister laid the first stone in a ceremony at Akon City's construction site.
They were surrounded by media, local politicians, members of Senegal's tourism agency, and residents of Mbodiene, the coastal village of fewer than 3, people that sits closest to the site. Construction is expected to start in early The first phase of the city — including the construction of roads, residences, a police station, and a school — is expected to be completed in about three years.
Within 10 years of the start of construction, the plan is for Akon City to be completed and running exclusively on Akoin. It will support up to , people, according to Bakri. But right now, Akon City is an empty 2,acre plot of land. It's more than a two-hour drive from Dakar on a narrow two-lane highway, according to Google Maps. And Akon is far from the first person to attempt to build a smart city in Africa. Many proposed smart-city projects, which are typically defined as developments that use technology to run more efficiently and sustainably, have stalled.
Plans for a smart city in South Africa , once hailed as an "African Manhattan," were thwarted when the city of Johannesburg rejected the proposal because it didn't include affordable housing. And a proposed "Silicon Savannah" in Kenya is struggling because of " grandiose plans, red tape and a lack of funding ," VOA News reported last year.
Then there's the matter of the money. Karas, who was previously involved in real-estate-development projects in New York City, acknowledged that many major development projects end up costing more than initially planned. The key players of Akon City also don't seem to agree on whom exactly the city is being built for.
According to Bakri, the city will be open to everyone, from janitors to engineers to Hollywood stars. Karas, on the other hand, described the likely initial residents as business owners, businesspeople, and "a certain number of Europeans looking for a vacation spot.
That list includes himself: "Once it's up, that's where you're going to find me," he said. For some in Senegal, the question isn't whether Akon can build a glitzy, sustainable smart city in Senegal — but whether he should. Africa could indeed be an ideal place to develop smart cities because its booming young population is more likely to adopt the technology, according to a report by the consulting firm Deloitte.
The continent is also home to a growing young population that's hungry for jobs in cities. And by , the continent is expected to be home to the largest working-age population — about 1. But experts in sustainable development and smart cities, as well as leaders in the local tech scene, agree that Akon should include the community in the development process, rather than wait for the working class to trickle into Akon City after the elite crowd settles in.
Slavova, the smart-cities researcher at the University of Warwick, said she had yet to see the construction of a smart city "done in a sensitive and considerate and inclusive way that takes into account local people.
People don't want somebody to come from America and throw around bitcoins and solve their problems. Fara Ndiaye, the deputy executive director of Speak Up Africa, a nonprofit organization focused on sustainable development, told Business Insider her group had not been contacted by anyone from the project.
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