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Arts & Entertainment
 

Akon's album has radio 'Locked Up'

By Zach Lee
The Daily Cougar

It's a shame how similar Houston's two "urban" radio stations are. They constantly play the same songs within five minutes of each other, and their joint playlist has to be shorter than Carlos Beltran's All-Star Game workouts ? that is, before Ken Griffey Jr. got injured.

Of course, that not-so-well endowed list is excusable when a good song hits the charts, and that's exactly what Akon's "Locked Up" is. The remix has been floating around Houston radio stations for some time, even though Akon's debut album, Trouble, has been out for barely two weeks. His jazzy, reggae-infused voice and a simple piano-laced beat make the original a great song, too, even without Styles P's laid-back flow.

Akon's distinctive style is ripe with flavor gained from his Senegal roots, and he mixes reggae and hip-hop flawlessly. The reggae touches are so subtle it takes several listens to even define the faint aftertaste.

The album's redemption song, "Trouble Nobody," is another simple beat in which Akon croons about life as an ex-convict: "Let me tell you what hurts the most / I'm a convicted felon and I can't work."

From there, it's a short hop to "Bananza," a bouncing club song that samples Fun Boy 3's "The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)."

Akon takes a sample from Bobby Vinton's "Mr. Lonely" on his own song, aptly titled "Lonely," and Vinton's sped-up voice provides an Alvin and the Chipmunks-style chorus while Akon adds his own touch to the mix in an obvious ode to love lost.

"Gangsta" is a banger, with Daddy T, Picklehead and Devyne spicing it up with some harder rhymes while Akon sits back and does the chorus ? an often under-appreciated job, but something for which Akon seems as well-equipped as hip-hop's perennial hook man, Nate Dogg. "When the Time's Right," a song with both bounce and a hard-hitting beat, could well grace the playlists of club DJs very soon.

The album ends on an obvious high note with the remix of "Locked Up," but "Don't Let Up" is a funky love song with real guitar accompaniment, and the last listed track, "Easy Road," shows a glimpse of Akon's defiant side as he sings, "Came too far to turn back now / Ain't nobody gon' stop me."

Akon

Trouble

Upfront Entertainment/Universal Records

The verdict: You can't rip radio for this one.
 

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