Akon didn't sign Drake because "he sounded like Eminem"

25 August 2020, 13:04

Akon revealed he passe don signing Drake as he sounded like Eminem. Picture: Getty

Akon's revealed he passed on the chance to sign Drake and explained his thought process at that time.

By Matt Tarr

When it comes to signing successful artists who go on to become hugely successful stars, Akon has enjoyed several successes - from T-Pain to Lady Gaga, the 'Locked Up' star certainly has some W's to his name.

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But one artist he passed up on signing was Drake and Akon has now spoken out about his reasons for deciding not to snap up the rapper who would go on and define the sound of a generation.

Akon revealed he had the chance to sign Drake back in 2005. Picture: Getty

In an interview with VLAD TV, Akon was quizzed on his chance to sign Drake and he revealed that it was fellow music star Kardinal Offishall who brought the Canadian rapper to his attention.

Akon revealed, "Kardinal Offishall brought him to me back in 2005, right before 'Best I Ever Had' blew up, cos at the time it was more mixtape-ish".

But explaining that he decided not to sign him due to his similarities with Eminem, Akon explained, "At the time, believe it or not, Drake sounded more like Eminem. That's every artists' development. You can see the difference between that demo and 'Best I Ever Had'."

Akon said Drake sounded more like Eminem on his demo tape. Picture: Getty

Drake's track 'Best I Ever Had' caught the attention of everyone in the music business before he went on to sign for Lil Wayne's Young Money label and Akon revealed there was a huge bidding war for the star.

"That's when Kardi was like 'N***a, I told you this n***a was going to be the s**t,'" he joked. "I said, 'well, reach out.' He said, 'you can but the lowest bid right not is a million.'"

With Akon not able to spend one million dollars on signing Drizzy, his chance of working closely with the iconic rapper passed by, but Akon revealed that he still has huge admiration for Drake.

Akon: I Had a Chance to Sign Drake, But He Sounded Like Eminem at the Time (Part 15)

Appreciating the Canadian rapper's musical talent, Akon said, "Out of all the artists today, to me, [Drake] is worth every single f****ng penny, Every single penny. That motherf****r's a genius, bro. It's revolutionary what he's done."

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