In 2018 Tomeka Thiam allowed her Instagram following to ask her anything. The glamorous mother of five eloquently answered questions about her life with Akon.
Tomeka Thiam has been with Akon since she was a teenager. Her husband is a practicing polygamist with nine children, but he won't confirm how many wives he has.
The superstar has spoken at length about the role of a mother in the household. His views on polygamy have gotten him in trouble with music execs.
Tomeka Thiam Is a Little Younger Than Akon
Tomeka Robinson was born around 1975 and had at least two siblings, a brother, and a sister. Her mother, Sandra, regularly visits her and her family at her large mansion in Atlanta, Georgia. The house has an impressive driveway and a huge swimming pool in the back.
She has been affiliated with Salon a la Saison in Buckhead, Atlanta, since 2012. In November 2012, she sent an open casting call for unpaid models for an avant-garde photo shoot from her Facebook profile. With the salon under new management, the beautician shared a job ad for a stylist in 2016.
The official Facebook page of the salon posted a video of Tomeka's son "coming up with ideas with dad," in what looks like a home studio. Akon is seen midway through the clip, bopping along to music before looking directly into the camera and taking a call.
Salon a la Saison has a five-star rating on Facebook but has not updated its page since 2018. Tomeka has also not posted anything about the business in a few years.
Tomeka's Instagram account is listed as a record company and mentions BuVision in the bio. According to the website of the BuVision recording label, Akon's brother, Bu Thiam, is the head of the title. They aim to restructure the system to have a more trusting relationship between the label and its artists.
Tomeka Thiam and Akon Met Thanks to Her Brother
Eighteen-year-old Tomeka met Akon through her brother at a friend's apartment in Georgia in the early nineties. She could not understand why the singer, then 20, kept staring at her and tried to put him off by looking back at him. She says there was a spark when their eyes locked:
"He put that West African Spell on me! Been trying to get that spell off since then!"
Tomeka does not try to keep up with the father of her children; she said in an Instagram Q&A that "he knows his way home." She believes that Akon's true "lifestyle" is his family. She can speak some Wolof, the official language of his homeland Senegal.
Tomeka and Akon's artist had their first child together, Ali Thiam, on May 27, 1996. According to the photos she shared on Instagram, they have five children as a couple, three older boys and two girls.
Akon laughed at the notion of being at every one of his children's recitals.
She seemed to be making a point by name-checking Akon in a tribute post to their eldest on his 22nd birthday. Her husband is vague about his other wives; he's a father of four other children.
Akon appears on 'The Morning Show' at The Morning Show Studios, on September 4, 2015, in Toronto, Canada. | Source: Getty Images
Akon Has His Own Opinion about Monogamy
Akon got candid about his take on monogamy at Los Angeles Airport in November 2013. He reckons that many marriages will be saved if Americans adapted to the customs of some African nations where one man has multiple wives. This is how he views marriage:
"Marriage solidifies the relationship between a man and a woman spiritually under God's eyes. So I can still be spiritually connected to her, and still be spiritually attached to her, and be spiritually attached to her."
An interview with Zeze Mills was very confrontational when she asked him if he agreed with how Nick Cannon has fathered multiple children with different women. When he argued that Cannon was rich enough to provide for all those kids, Mills countered that money is not the only way a father can be there for his kids.
Akon with his sons during the BET Awards 2007 at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, on June 26, 2007. | Source: Getty Images
Akon laughed at the notion of being at every one of his children's recitals, stating that communication via FaceTime is just as valuable as physically spending time together. He insisted:
"The reason why people like me can't spend every single day and minute with their children is because it is the mother's job to be there for the children. I'm the man; my job is to provide comfort so the mother and provide and raise the children to be like me."
He continued that a man's responsibility kicks in when the child reaches a certain age, and he needs to show them how to be responsible. Akon has said on multiple occasions that men are natural breeders and women would be much happier if they understood this.
Tomeka Thiam's Children Have Achievements of Their Own
Akon and Tomeka's eldest son performs and makes music under the name Ali Ozbrn. He performed new music at a free gig at OUR BAR ATL on Thursday, February 23, 2023. He produced DopeGirl Zane's album.
His dad was featured on his track "Get Money" in 2019, the same year the musician was named the CEO of the family label. Tomeka's younger sons also make music. Mo Thiam named an album after their hometown, "Atlanta," released under his stage name Moh in October 2022.
Jahvor performed in front of a crowd of 50,000 in November 2023 while on tour with Akon in Sydney, Australia. Tomeka shared a video from the side of the stage of her son performing with his dad.
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