Akon was arrested last week in DeKalb County, Georgia, according to police records.
The “Locked Up” singer, whose real name is Aliaune Thiam, was arrested by the Chamblee Police Department on Friday morning and was released from jail after six hours. The singer’s mugshot shows him stone-faced in a black hoodie.
Officers arrested Akon after Flock security cameras alerted them that a car registered to someone with an out-of-county arrest warrant was at Tint World, an auto styling center where he had dropped off his car. CPD’s arrest report stated that the singer, 52, was calm during the arrest and told officers he was aware of his outstanding warrant, according to an arrest report obtained by The Independent.
Akon was wanted in Roswell, Georgia, after an incident two months ago when police discovered he was driving with a suspended license, according to an incident report.
The Roswell Police Department said the rapper got in trouble in September after police found him stranded on the road due to a dead battery in his Tesla Cybertruck . His car was towed, and then officers discovered he had a suspended license for failure to appear in January 2023. Cops issued him a citation, took his license, and confiscated an illegal vape that was in the center console of his car at the time.
Akon has yet to comment publicly on his arrest. A representative for the artist told The Independent in a statement that the arrest should have never happened.
“Due to a clerical issue the suspended license should have never been escalated, it was paid but not properly entered into the system. This will be soon rectified in the courts in early December,” the spokesperson said.
The singer is currently on tour in India and has posted on social media as usual following his arrest, even sharing a video on Wednesday morning captioned, “It’s a beautiful day.”
The Grammy-nominated singer shot to fame in the early 2000s with his song “Locked Up.” He’s also known for his hits “Smack That,” Lonely,” and “I Wanna Love You.”
After he became famous, Akon raised eyebrows by publicly claiming in multiple interviews that he was a convicted felon and, at one point, the leader of a car theft ring. However, a 2008 report by The Smoking Gun revealed that the singer fictionalized his criminal past. Although he was previously arrested six times, he was only convicted of one felony: he pleaded guilty to gun possession in New Jersey in 1998, landing him with three years of probation.
Akon recently made headlines when his wife, Tomeka Thiam, filed for divorce in September after 28 years of marriage. The father of nine is seeking joint legal custody and sole physical custody of their 17-year-old daughter, as well as spousal support.
