Akon Admits To Using Brother As Stage Double When Overbooked
“We cannot leave all this money on the table.”
Akon performs on stage during the MTV EMAs 2019 at FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre on November 03, 2019 in Seville, Spain. Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for MTV
Akon has confessed that in the past, he has counted on brother Abou ‘Bu’ Thiam to fill in for him on stage when double booked. The 49-year-old musician made the admission as a guest on The Morning Hustle when asked about the rumors.

“Let me clear some things up so we all know,” he explained. “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.”

Akon and Brother Bu
Akon with brother Bu attends House Of Hype Music Awards Event Presented By Nissan at SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills on August 28, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. Getty
The “Don’t Matter” singer continued to explain how his brother began as his hype man. As his fanbase and platform grew, the requests for shows and appearances came in abundance. Together, Akon and Bu decided to make it happen.

“I was like, ‘Man, all this money I’m leaving on the table,’” he continued. “We cannot leave all this money on the table.”

When asked if his brother could sing, Akon had a simple response:

“No. He can’t sing. He can’t do none of that.”

Later in the conversation, Akon joked his other brother, Omar, would also claim his identity, however without the singer or Bu’s permission.

“Omar would be in another country, another city, getting money and I’d be like, ‘What? They booked me already,” Akon reflected and laughed.

Watch the full conversation below.