Growing up, I was constantly told to “shhh!” Whether I was right or wrong, happy or in distress, I was repeatedly reminded to lower my voice and take up less space—even while being simultaneously assured that I could be anything I wanted to be and that my gifts were worth sharing with the world. Granted, I was a…
Last week Akon opened up about what may perhaps been his greatest feat thus far: building his own city in the West African country of Senegal.
During an appearance at Nick Cannon‘s radio show on Los Angeles’ Power 106, the “Locked Up” singer said the new city is expected to be up and running sometime over the next decade.
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Last year, the entertainer announced that he referred to the area as “Crypto City” because he wants its citizens to use the cryptocurrency he created called AKoin. But now he’s revealed that it will officially be called “Akon City.”
Previously, he has also talked about his Lighting Africa Initiative, which seeks to bring electricity to people on the African continent by use of solar power.
“It’s all renewable, the Akon-tainment solar city. It’s all renewable,” he explained to Cannon. “[It’s] A real physical place, it’s going to have a real airport. It’s a 10-year building block so we’re doing it in stages. We started construction in March and stage two is going to be 2025.”
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The host, who was understandably blown away by the massive plans, pointed out that building a whole city isn’t something he’s even heard of billionaires doing, to which Akon responded, “I always felt like if you have to label yourself a billionaire, I don’t even think billionaires label themselves billionaires. Because you have no idea [how much you’re worth].”
“When I hear stuff like that, it makes me sad in such a way because when I travel I see so many things that happen,” he added. “So many people that need … Things to be resolved. And if you can have a billion dollars sitting in the bank, while you have all these people suffering, it’s crazy to me. It’s like a waste of a billion dollars.”
Check out the full interview below.
The post Akon opens up about building his own solar powered city in Senegal appeared first on theGrio.
Look, it’s time that we stop hemming and hawing around what we know to be the truth: Trump tied Ukrainian aid to dirt on possible Democratic 2020 rival Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. That happened.
According to Vogue, superstar Robyn Rihanna Fenty has launched a new jewelry collection.
Rihanna unveiled her Fenty Cameo Jewelry Collection celebrating the beauty of all black women. On Oct. 30, the wealthiest female musician released a four-piece collection named The Cameo with prices ranging between $340 and $530. The Fenty fashion jewelry line offers customers a ring, earrings, a pendant and a brooch that converts to a pendant with some of the pieces available in a white or black and detailed with sparkly Swarovski crystals or pearls.
According to the Fenty website, “The Cameo is an emblem of fearlessness, elevation, creativity, and joy — everything FENTY stands for. More than a sisterhood, FENTY is a coming together of powerful women. The Cameo is part of our legacy.”
Fenty announced the collection on its Instagram account.
After Forbes revealed Rihanna as the richest female musician with a net worth of approximately $600 million, she is definitely claiming her stake and reaching for that billionaire status.
Savage X Fenty started in May 2018 as a joint venture between Rihanna and Techstyle Fashion Group; although this wasn’t her first endeavor—she launched her Fenty Beauty cosmetics line sometime in 2017 to immediate success. And this past June, she announced that she will collaborate with LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton to produce a Fenty luxury fashion label as well.
She also collaborated with Amazon Prime Video to stream the premiere of Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty Show, which took place Sept. 20, featuring her new Fall/Winter 2019 lingerie collection. The Savage X Fenty special showed the audience behind-the-scenes of the making of the show and “a one-of-a-kind event blending music, fashion, and culture” with surprises and guest performances. It will be archived on Amazon Prime Video so customers can relive the experience over and over again.
In 2012, the superstar founded her charity organization, the Clara Lionel Foundation, which supports health and education efforts in impoverished communities around the world, which led to Harvard University naming her humanitarian of the year in February 2017.
