Akon’s Video Considered Blasphemous To Buddhists, Sri Lankan Visa Denied

Singer Akon has postponed his April concert in Sri Lanka after the island nation’s government said they planned to deny his visa on Tuesday..

Their announcement followed a violent incident on Monday, when more than 200 protestors in the city of Colombo threw rocks at the offices of Capital Maharaja, Akon’s concert promoters. Chevan Daniel, Maharaja broadcasting’s head of news, told The Associated Press that the mob - some carrying signs that read “Stop Akon Now” — broke windows and hit cars parked near the building. Four employees were reportedly injured.

The protestors were incited by Akon’s video, “Sexy Chick,” the #3 hit song he recorded for Dave Guetta’s One Love album. The video features bikini-clad women dancing suggestively in front of a Buddha statue during a pool scene. The clip “triggered a lot of disappointment among Buddhists all over the world,” a government spokesperson said in a statement. Online dissension emerged as well. The “We Hate Akon” page on Facebook has more than 12,000 members. They posted a flyer featuring screenshots of controversial images from the video.

“I was not aware that the statue was even on the set of the video until now,” Akon said in a statement Wednesday. “I would never set out to offend or desecrate anyone’s religion or religious beliefs.”

More than 60 percent of Sri Lanka’s population is Buddhist. The nation’s Buddhist clergy are influential, and protestors have previously resorted to violence when they felt disrespect had been shown towards the religion. “I myself am a spiritual man, so I can understand why they are offended,” the singer added. “But violence is never the answer and I am disheartened.”.

American Talent Agency, Akon’s international booking company, is hopeful the singer’s concert will still happen..

“Akon is looking forward to performing for the people of Sri Lanka and we hope to have this situation resolved in the coming weeks,” the firm said in a statement.

Billy Johnson, Jr. Yahoo music

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY

Although he was born in St. Louis, MO, Aliaune Thiam — aka Akon — grew up in Senegal before he and his family (including his father, jazz percussionist Mor Thiam) returned to the United States and settled in New Jersey when he was seven. There he discovered hip-hop for the first time, as well as crime. He was eventually jailed but he used the time — three years, he claimed — to work on his musical ideas. Upon release, Akon began writing and recording tracks in a home studio. The tapes found their way to SRC/Universal, which eventually released Trouble, Akon’s debut LP, in June 2004. The album was an interesting hybrid of Akon’s silky, West African-styled vocals with East Coast- and Southern-styled beats. The success of the song “Locked Up,” a Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 hit, made Akon a star and desired collaborator. After appearing on Young Jeezy’s “Soul Survivor,” his number of guest appearances seemed to multiply each month. Konvicted, his second album was released in November 2006. Soon enough, two of the album’s singles, “I Wanna Love You” and “Smack That,” made their way to the upper regions of the Billboard charts. The surprisingly Euro-pop-flavored Freedom, his third album, followed two years later, and it repeated Konvicted’s chart success by peaking within the Top Ten of the Billboard 200.

Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide

THE SEXY CHICK VIDEO