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Akon reveals how he knew T-Pain, Jeffree Starr & Wizkid had star quality
20 May 2026, 11:58
Akon joined us on Capital XTRA Breakfast to talk all-things his 2026 ‘Nights Like This Tour’ with Ne-Yo. But the Senegalese artist is also an artist manager, finding artists like T-Pain and Lady Gaga, as well as discovering makeup artist Jeffree Starr. Here are all the details.
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Akon crowns the BEST JOLLOF & spills on Wizkid and T-Pain's 'Star Power’ 🏆
Akon was on Capital XTRA Breakfast with Robert Bruce and Shayna Marie, to talk all things ‘Nights Like This Tour’ with Ne-Yo, alongside his new album, but what piqued everyone’s interest as Akon talked about discovering the stars T-Pain, Wizkid, Lady Gaga, and, surprisingly, Jeffree Starr.
The ‘Lonely’ singer has had a long and successful career, first debuting in 2004; he has maintained success up until this day, creating pop hits like ‘Smack That’ and ‘Locked Up’.
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But whilst he has been making waves with viral videos of his tour with Ne-Yo, he is also a hustler off stage.
Being the CEO of his record label Konvict Kulture, he has discovered lots of artists, including megastars Wizkid, Lady Gaga, and T-Pain.
When talking about just how he knew they had that star power, Akon explained his thought process.
Akon said: “When you see a star, you just know, you just know, it’s almost like it’s a God-given aura that comes with them. It’s no different than when I went to Nigeria and saw Wizkid; this kid is a star. Why? I don’t know, I’m just telling you you’re a star.”
The ‘Smack That’ artist elaborated on that it-factor through his prodigy T-Pain, who he claims was a unique star, one that others didn’t see at first.
He said: “When [T-Pain] first came in, no labels wanted to touch him because they felt like he didn’t have the look. But I didn’t understand why he was glowing to me. I knew it wasn’t the sexy look it was more comical."
He continued: “ He literally had a bear suit on when he came to visit me for the first time…The fact he had the courage to come dressed like a mascot, to me that tells me he’s a star. When I heard the music, I was like oh wow!”
So, while we all know Akon as an artist himself, he should be getting more credit for his impact on the music industry as a whole with his talent for spotting the likes of Lady Gaga and Wizkid.
