Lady Gaga was a songwriter for other artists at Interscope Records and was about to be dropped as an artist — her fourth release from a label when Akon recognized her unique fashion and her incredible vocal abilities and signed her as an artist on his new record label, Kon Live Distribution.

Akon, who was raised in former slave-trading African country Senegal, said Lady Gaga, who was born Stefani Germanotta in Brooklyn to her Italian-American parents, has made him so rich that he can retire from singing.

Yet, Akon soon will release an album of his own. He is the only artist to ever have the No. 1 and No. 2 song on Billboard’s 100 chart twice.

Lady Gaga, who beat out Britney Spears for two Grammy Awards last month, is the hottest name in music today. My Blackberry ringtone has featured a Lady Gaga song since last June. Since her debut a year and a half ago, Lady Gaga has sold eight million copies of her debut album, The Fame, and the re-release, Fame Monster and 35 million singles worldwide.

Akon appeared in the music video for Lady Gaga's first release, "Just Dance". The song was nominated for a Grammy last year, which kept her from consideration for Best New Artist this year.