In an interview on The Morning Hustle, Senegalese rapper and singer Akon confessed that, in the past, when he was overbooked, he had used his brother Abou ‘Bu’ Thiam as a body double to fill in for him. The 49-year-old singer, rapper and entrepreneur addressed the issue after some rumours began to surface on the internet.
Speaking on the situation, the singer (real name Aliaune Thiam) explained, “Let me clear some things up, so we all know. Bu was my double. He was my double. This was before [the] internet. If you saw Abou in one place and you saw me, you couldn’t tell the difference.”
The ‘Locked Up’ singer explained on the show how his brother was, in fact, his hype-man early on in his career, so he was used to being on stage. The singer confessed that as he began to gain more popularity and started to become a phenomenon, he was getting so many calls and opportunities that he didn’t want to turn down any chance to earn money.
Revealing that it was out of desperation, the singer stated, “I was like, ‘Man, all this money I’m leaving on the table. We cannot leave all this money on the table.” Intrigued as to whether or not his brother was actually singing the songs, during the interview, he was asked if his brother could even sing, to which he responded, “No. He can’t sing. He can’t do none of that.”
As the conversation progressed, the singer touched on his other brother Omar. However, the situation regarding Omar was beyond deceitful as Omar began making appearances as Akon without his permission or the permission of Abou.
Recalling the confusion it created, the singer disclosed, “Omar would be in another country, another city, getting money, and I’d be like, ‘What? They booked me already.” Although at the time he was angry, the singer admits that all three of them look back and laugh at the situation now. You can see all three of the brothers together below and watch the full interview as well.
