If there’s one thing that we love about the Internet, it is its ability to share information that would otherwise have never seen the light!

This time, Akon let the world in on a big secret — he and the King of Pop were planning to open music-focused schools in Africa ahead of his untimely death in 2009. That’s right, the Senegal native and Michael Jackson had big dreams of collaborating in a huge way to bless students on the continent.

His Friendship With The King of Pop

“Mike was just an amazing person man, I wish people had a chance to understand and really experience the person the way I did,” said Akon during an interview with HipHopDX, opening up about their friendship.

“We had like a good two years together where we just hung out practically four, five times a week, right? Real conversations and he would shock you, the kind of shit that he like, the kind of shit he would say,” he shared exclusively with the outlet.

MJ's Passion For Helping Others

One thing in particular that Akon noticed about the “Thriller” crooner was his desire to help children across the world due to the fact that he never really experienced a childhood himself, having risen to stardom by the tender age of eight.

His Life As Child

“His biggest thing was always making sure that kids were in a comfortable position to be a kid. Because he never really had a childhood himself,” said the “Lonely” singer, according to HipHopDX. “He was a big star as a child. He didn’t get a chance to go to the carnival, go to the movies, eat candy, like things that kids naturally did so when he got older, he surrounded himself with all those kiddish things that he never had a chance to be at.”

Thinking With The Future Generation In Mind

One way that the late entertainer wanted to give back was by partnering with Akon to create schools across Africa that would introduce children to music.

“There are a few things that we did discuss. One of them was we were gonna build music schools all throughout Africa,” Akon revealed. “We wanted to create a music school that allowed kids to learn how to play instruments, vocal coaching, the music business, entertainment, so they don’t just walk into it not knowing the education of how the business works and things like that.”

Akon City

As previously reported by AfroTech, Akon is currently working on building Akon City in his home of Senegal and was said to snag $4 billion in funding from investors to begin construction on what he has dubbed a “futuristic cryptocurrency-themed city.”

The city will include parks, a hotel, and a stadium, plus Akon’s digital currency “Akoin” would drive the economy.

Fulfilling MJ's Wish

Staying true to his commitment with MJ, Akon revealed his plans to name the educational district in the forthcoming city after the pop icon.

“Even in Akon City in the educational district the first one will be built in there and I’m naming it after the Michael Jackson Foundation,” he explained. “So I’m gonna be naming it MJ University.”