Konvicted

Akon’s appeal is in the way he effortlessly straddles the worlds of saccharine R&B and hardcore hip-hop. His voice has a candy clarity that is perfectly suited to the kind of delirious song epitomized by “Smack That.” At the same time, “Don’t Matter” displays a strikingly plainspoken voice and melodic sensibility (partly absorbed from the deep musical culture of his native Senegal).