Akon is literally a man on the run. In between working on his upcoming release 'Stadium,' touring, his myriad of outside collaborations, and gearing up for Lady Gaga's upcoming buzz-heavy 'Born This Way' set, it's a miracle that the singer/songwriter/producer has time to sleep. But Akon says all the hard work will translate to what he calls his most ambitious project to date.

"We are going to branch this new album off with something new," Akon tells The BoomBox. "It's been a minute since we broke off heavily in the States outside of my collaborations."

When asked if 'Stadium' will feature the same club-oriented dance grooves that has propelled his most recent work to global chart success, Akon says some of those musical elements will be present, but there will also be new sounds. "I always try to give my own albums space in between so I have time to create a new sound and give time for people to miss me," he adds. "You have to come out fresh and reinvent yourself. I've been doing the Euro-pop thing for a minute. Now everybody is doing that style. It's time for something new. But I'm also working on eight other projects, including Gaga's upcoming album. I like staying busy."

However, Akon says he takes exception to some of the criticism he has received over his usage of the up-tempo sound. "People say what they want to say, but they don't study the history of dance music," he says. "It's the same thing with hip-hop. This generation loves hip-hop, but they don't have a clue on how it started and why it started. They don't know why we used DJ's back in the day. They couldn't answer any of those questions ... they just like what they like. If they studied they would know."

Watch Akon's 'Home Grown'
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