Maps of Music

Trouble (2003)

Where the lyrics of Trouble take you, and where it was really made.

The track that opened doors for Akon was not the one that became his worldwide hit: Locked Up was picked to break him on the streets, while Lonely went global.

Key places

Recording at White Room Studio, Detroit (2003)

Recording site Hitsville USA — The page links this album to White Room Studio in Detroit as its recording place, shown at city-center level. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Trouble: debut studio album by Senegalese-American singer-songwriter Akon
• Released June 29, 2004
• Contains the worldwide hit Lonely, Akon's commercial breakthrough
• Gunshot (Fiesta Riddim) released as a promotional single on May 11, 2004
• Sold 25,000 copies in the first week; 1.6 million copies overall
• Topped the UK Albums Chart

Background

• Locked Up propelled Akon to sign a record deal, although Lonely offered the album's best option for commercial breakthrough
• SRC Records A&R Jerome Foster said Locked Up was chosen to break Akon in the streets first and work towards a cross-over
• Lonely was regarded as the more commercial song to follow it
• The album first appeared on the UK Album Chart on February 12, 2005
• It climbed slowly and reached the summit on April 30, 2005
• Trouble is by far Akon's most successful album in the United Kingdom to date

Recording

• Recording location listed: White Room Studio, Detroit, Michigan (shown at city-center level)

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Artist

Formation

• Akon, born Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam on April 16, 1973 in St. Louis, Missouri, is a Senegalese-American singer, songwriter, record producer, businessman, and philanthropist.
• He spent a significant part of his childhood in Senegal and later moved to Union City, New Jersey at age seven.
• In 1996 he recorded the single "Operations of Nature", which earned him a deal with Elektra Records, but the deal fell through when the song failed to catch on in the United States.
• He came to the attention of SRC Records through producer Jerome "Knobody" Foster after Upfront Megatainment president Devyne Stephens developed him.

Career

• His debut album Trouble (2004) became his commercial breakthrough, led by "Locked Up".
• The follow-up single "Lonely" (2005) reached the top five on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped charts in Australia, the UK and Germany.
• His second album Konvicted (2006) debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and was nominated for Best Contemporary R&B Album at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards.
• "I Wanna Love You" and "Don't Matter" each gave him a Hot 100 number one, and his guest role on Gwen Stefani's "The Sweet Escape" reached number two.
• The album Freedom (2008) spawned the top ten single "Right Now (Na Na Na)".
• Akon founded Konvict Muzik in 2004 and KonLive Distribution in 2007, signing acts including Lady Gaga, T-Pain and Kardinal Offishall.
• He launched the non-profit Akon Lighting Africa in 2014, which provides electricity in 15 African countries.
• His later albums El Negreeto (2019) and Akonda (2019) explored Latin and Afrobeats styles but did not chart.

Reception

At release

• New York Times critic Kelefa Sanneh called Trouble a surprisingly strong debut album
• Sanneh wrote that Akon works in the tradition pioneered by R. Kelly, moving between hard-knock stories, dance-floor sleaze and inspirational ballads
• Sanneh noted nimble sing-rapping in the verses and simple, incantatory choruses with multitracked backing vocals
• musicOMH writer Azeem Ahmad felt Trouble stood out from typical street-to-success rap stories
• Ahmad praised Locked Up, Trouble Nobody and When the Time's Right for their emotion and strong beats
• Ahmad said Akon's distinctive, almost tribal vocals made the album both intense and easy to listen to
• AllMusic editor Andy Kellman wrote that no other song on Trouble comes close to being as gripping as Locked Up
• Kellman found the club-oriented tracks flat and the soul-searching moments forced
• Kellman judged the album at its worst to be excessively tedious
• Hot Press editor Colm O'Hare felt Trouble sounded like many other hip-hop and R&B records
• O'Hare admitted Akon had no bad voice but called themes and titles such as Gangsta, Ghetto and Gunshot clichéd in the extreme

Records

• Sold 25,000 copies in the first week
• Certified double platinum by the RIAA in the United States
• Overall sales reached 1.6 million copies
• Peaked at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart, with two non-consecutive weeks at the top
• Reached No. 18 on the Billboard 200 (per Spanish Wikipedia)
• Final Billboard 200 appearance on the chart dated November 26, 2005

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Jerome Foster of SRC Records chose Locked Up to break Akon in the streets first, even though Lonely was the more commercial option
• The UK version originally held 13 tracks, while US versions held 12 and left out Ghetto
• Lonely contains samples from Mr. Lonely, written by Bobby Vinton and Gene Allan and performed by Bobby Vinton
• Gunshot (Fiesta Riddim) was released as a promotional single on May 11, 2004, before the album came out
• Trouble spent two non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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