While the glory days of African-born rapper Akon might be in the past, he produced no less than 12 Billboard Top Ten Hits nonetheless, cementing his name into the pages of music history. It seems that Akon has turned the page on his music career and moved into the crypto waters, as he announced the creation of his own digital currency ‘Akoin’, which will be used in his new “Akon Crypto City” in Senegal, the country of his descent.

Akon, whose real name is Aliaume Thiam, hopes that virtual currency and blockchain technology could be “the savior for Africa in many ways”, especially due to its high level of security and decentralization that empowers the people instead of governments.

While the Akoin project might sound ambitious, it is only the first part of Akon‘s master plan, as the cryptocurrency will be used to power a “100% crypto-based city.” The Akoin website claims the Akon Crypto City will be “a real-life Wakanda”, referring to the futuristic high-tech nation from Marvel’s Black Panther movie and comics.

The website also sheds some additional light on the crypto city, detailing that, “This futuristic city, already in development, beginning with 2,000 acres of land gifted to Akon from the President of Senegal, is within 5 minutes of the new international airport, close to the coast and a short drive from Dakar, the capital city of Senegal (Akon’s homeland). Akon Crypto City blends leading Smart City planning designs with a blank canvas for cryptonizing our daily human and business exchanges, towards inventing a radical new way of existence.“

Whilst inventing a new way of existence surely sounds enticing, the project sounds a bit too ambitious to put it mildly. The overuse of a term “blockchain” as a way to solve all currency problems is also alarming as it is a common feature of numerous failed or fraudulent ICOs. Akon admitted to not having the technical knowledge on the technology, saying that, “I come up with the concepts and let the geeks figure it out.“

Nonetheless, the rapper has already helped millions in the Dark Continent via his Lighting Africa charity. The project helps arrange financing for solar panels in 25 countries and has won numerous awards, United Nations recognition as well as $1 billion credit line from China.

However, the dubious nature of the rapper remains a potential issue, as after finishing his speech on the crypto city, he hinted at running for the US president office in 2020, alongside Kanye West and Donald Trump. We will leave you with a curious quote that illustrates the point pretty well.

“It’s gonna be entertaining, it’s gonna be something worth watching. I’m going to go after Trump, and Kanye will get offended because he likes Trump, and he’s going to go after me. Then I’m going to go after Kanye, and then Trump’s going to get offended because he likes Kanye, and he’s going to go after me. And the debate stage will be set where it’s all about me. It’s perfect, a master plan.”

Image source: “Flickr”