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Akon joins Kyle Meredith to talk about the 20th anniversary of his debut album, Trouble. The “Lonely” singer also previews his upcoming LP, so listen to the episode above or wherever you get your podcasts.

Akon takes us back to his 2004 mindset, in which his then-recent release from jail made up the bulk of inspiration for the songs on the record. He talks about breaking out of that persona after becoming so well known for it, as well as how he was musically looking towards Michael Jackson and Bob Marley. He also dives into the story of how he landed on the sped up Bobby Vinton sample in “Lonely,” and helping popularize auto-tune with T-Pain.

Elsewhere, Akon teases his upcoming album, noting that some of the new material arrives as a counterpoint to his lack of interest in the messages of today’s music scene. “I have to come back, only because the direction of where music is going I don’t think is helpful,” he says. “I just believe that it’s a lot of misguidance, misinformation. I think that the direction of where we’re steering kids at with music today is not helpful.”

He also touches on plans for a Superfan Festival to build off his recent “Superfan Tour,” so listen to Akon discuss all this above, or watch the interview below. Keep up on all the latest episodes by following Kyle Meredith With… on your favorite podcast platform; plus, check out all the series on the Consequence Podcast Network.

You can get the 20th anniversary edition of Akon’s Trouble on vinyl via Amazon, or stream it on Apple Music, Amazon Music, or Spotify.