How many brothers does Akon have? Singer opens up about how they used to book shows pretending to be him
Senegalese-American singer Akon recently revealed that he has two brothers, and both of them once pretended to be him on stage. Speaking on the April 30 episode of The Bootleg Kev Podcast, the 49-year-old artist opened up about how he and his brother Abou "Bu" Thiam arranged for Bu to perform shows as his body-double when he was overbooked, as reported by Complex on May 2, 2025.
However, the singer also said that his other brother, Omar Thiam, took things a step further by booking gigs on his own, without Akon's knowledge, and kept the money.
The Locked Up singer explained that back in the early stages of his career, he was overwhelmed with performance requests. In some cases, he was booked in multiple cities on the same day. To keep up with demand and avoid leaving money behind, the R&B star enlisted Bu to fill in as a double.
"Bu used to fill in for me in shows," he said on the podcast. "This was before the internet. If you saw Abou in one place and you saw me, you couldn't tell the difference."
Akon's brothers once impersonated him on stage, but the artist now focuses on reinventing his music
Since Bu wasn't able to sing, the Senegalese-American musician said he would lip-sync during the gigs while a DJ played Akon's tracks. The artist admitted that the ruse worked perfectly because audiences couldn't tell the difference, especially since fans rarely saw him in person, as stated by Complex.
"That was probably the funnest part of our lives," the artist recalled during a previous interview on The Morning Hustle. He also clarified, "Bu was my double. He was my double."
While Bu stepped in with Akon's approval, Omar apparently acted on his own. During the Bootleg Kev interview, the singer shared how his older brother booked shows as Akon without even informing him.
The R&B star revealed that his brother Omar would sometimes take matters into his own hands by impersonating him at shows without permission. He explained that while he might be in New York, Omar would be in another city, like Baltimore, performing under Akon's name, collecting the payment, and not informing anyone.
The singer described Omar's boldness by saying he would simply take over a show, keep the money, and act as if Akon wouldn't find out. He summed it up by saying that Omar was "a straight gangsta about it." Akon added that Omar pulled it off so well that the crowd didn't know they were being duped.
"When you see me and my brother separately, if you didn't see me in person, you would definitely say 'OK, 1000%.' Omar was running it up," he said.
Despite being surprised by Omar's bold actions, the artist doesn't hold a grudge. In fact, he says the family often laughs about the whole situation today. "We laugh about it today," he told Kev. He made it clear there was no lasting tension about the impersonation incidents.
Over time, the trick no longer worked. Bu became a well-known music executive, making it harder for him to pass as a performer.
"Damn, Bu just too popular," the R&B star said. "He got big. Huge executive today."
The Grammy-nominated singer is currently pursuing two major ventures that mark new chapters in his career—his multi-genre music project and the development of Akon City. On the musical front, he is reimagining his entire catalog with a country music twist, a bold move that involves re-recording hits like Locked Up with country artists taking the lead.
According to his April 2025 interview with TMZ, the R&B star will appear as a featured performer on the project rather than the main act, showcasing his willingness to experiment and remain relevant in today's cross-genre music climate. The project has been in the works for over five years and is expected to be released soon.
