However, the plans which Akon and the King of Pop had to bolster music education in Africa were cut short when Jackson passed away in 2009.
Michael Jackson and I wanted to open music schools across Africa - Akon
Senegalese-American musician Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam, known mononymously as Akon, says he and Michael Jackson were deep in plans to open a range of music-focused schools across Africa, including Uganda.
Akon, while in New York City, recently said this concept he and Jackson had cooked up comprised a series of music universities all over Africa, geared towards tapping into the lyrical souls of Africans.
To make sure the plan was most effective, Akon says he and Jackson sought to supply students with instruments, infrastructure and industry advice to improve upon their musical skills. He claims Jackson saw Africa as an untapped reservoir of talent where the best musical minds could be elevated to elevate the value of music in Africa, and the world.
Tragically, as Akon points out anew, Jackson died in 2009 before he and Akon could break ground on any schools. However, Akon says that he has not let go of the dream and hopes to put the vision into reality one day.
This latest revelation of Jackson’s intentions is sure to burnish his legacy and make his fans further rue the day he passed on.
Hold My Hand
Jackson and Akon would not have collaborated for the first time had they ever got the chance to launch the music schools across Africa.
The two first collaborated when they performed the song "Hold My Hand", a duet from Jackson's first posthumous album Michael (2010).
According to Wikipedia, the song was originally recorded by Akon and Jackson in 2007. The song was an international top 10 hit in nations such as Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
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