Akon’s brother pulled off epic impersonations, lip-syncing his shows and booking gigs under his name

Akon reveals how his brother would often double for him in performances, lip-syncing and secretly booking shows too.

Akon recently revealed that his brothers once impersonated him during concerts, with one of them, Abou “Bu” Thiam, acting as his double.

In a candid interview on the “Bootleg Kev” podcast, the Grammy-nominated artist admitted that Bu would occasionally step in for him at shows when Akon’s schedule became too hectic. Bu, however, didn’t sing live but would lip-sync to Akon’s tracks while a DJ played in the background, and the audience never realized the difference.

The family’s hustle didn’t stop there. Akon’s other brother, Omar Thiam, took it a step further by booking performances under Akon’s name without his permission, pocketing the earnings. Akon described Omar’s actions as “gangsta,” acknowledging that his brothers had managed to pull off the deception successfully for some time.

Akon explained that the resemblance between him and his brothers was so strong that fans couldn’t distinguish them unless they saw him in person. Despite the deception, Akon noted there were no hard feelings, and the family laughs about it today.

However, the trick eventually stopped working when Bu became widely recognized in the music industry. Bu Thiam went on to carve out a successful career, becoming the youngest VP of A&R at Def Jam at just 28. He played a pivotal role in shaping the careers of artists like Rihanna and helped launch Lady Gaga’s career. Bu later served as EVP at Columbia Records, managed Kanye West, and founded his own label, BuVision, which partnered with Atlantic Music Group in 2025.

Before becoming a major music executive, Bu had a hand in Akon’s early success, discovering T-Pain, Jeremih, and producing hits like Watch the Throne.