Akon Explains Why He Didn't Sign Moneybagg Yo

Akon recently reflected on why he passed on signing Moneybagg Yo.

BYCole Blake
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Akon has explained why he decided against signing Moneybagg Yo before he joined the roster for Yo Gotti’s Collective Music Group. The "Locked Up" singer says that the decision went against the advice of Memphis rapper OG Boo Dirty.

“And mind you OG Boo Dirty was the one that introduced me to Moneybagg [Moneybagg Yo] you know he’s signed to Yo Gotti but we had him first okay but we never signed him,” Akon said while speaking with VladTV. “Ain’t that crazy, OG came to me and said, ‘Yo Kon he’s the next n***a,’ like, but at the time I wasn’t focused.”

SEVILLE, SPAIN - NOVEMBER 03: Akon performs on stage during the MTV EMAs 2019 at FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre on November 03, 2019 in Seville, Spain. (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Getty Images for MTV)

As for how he met Moneybagg Yo, Akon recalled: “OG came to the house, I mean um he brought Moneybagg with him and Moneybagg had a record bro, till this day if he release it I always said that was gonna be his biggest record, it’s called ‘I Need A Plug’ okay I heard that record I went fuckin’ crazy. I was like, ‘Oh this record is out of here this kid is gone,’ that’s what convinced me to what it was.”

Unfortunately for Akon, he put off singing Moneybagg Yo while he had to fly overseas for business. By the time he got back to the states, Akon saw that he was already releasing mixtapes.

“Then I flew off the overseas and come back for like six months later,” Akon continued. “By the time I came back he was already moving on mixtape circuits, but then again I didn’t want to be dealing with rappers so. OG kept saying ‘Yo man I’m telling this n***a going, he going. Get him Kon, get him.’ I said ,’I know man but I don’t know if I want to be dealing with no rappers man,’ OG was like ‘All right bro I’m telling you gonna regret it’. Not saying I regret it, but, OG called it yeah OG Boo dirty caught all that.”

Moneybagg Yo's latest album, A Gangsta's Pain, debuted atop the US Billboard 200, earning 110,000 album-equivalent units. The project features Future, Polo G, Lil Durk, Jhené Aiko, and Pharrell Williams, among others.

Check out Akon's explanation with VladTV below.

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About The Author
Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.