Akon says he`d work with Chris Brown

Washington, March 10: Akon, who has gone through legal woes and bad publicity himself — says he`d be willing to work with pop`s latest problem child, Chris Brown. "Oh, absolutely!" Akon said in a phone interview Monday. "I wouldn`t take anybody`s personal issues or problems_ I won`t hold them accountable for that when it comes to work. I think it`s two separate things."

The 19-year-old R&B singer was charged with two felonies last week in connection with an alleged attack on his girlfriend, pop star Rihanna, 21. Brown is accused of beating her in the early morning hours of Feb 8, the day of the Grammy Awards: Both were due to perform but bowed out. He was arrested that night. Since then, a photo has surfaced that purportedly shows a badly beaten Rihanna, and an affidavit released last week offered brutal details of the alleged assault. Brown has seen endorsements evaporate and some stations have stopped playing the music of the platinum star. But Akon said it`s not fair "to hold his whole career at bay because of it. He`s gonna learn and he`s gonna move forward and just hopefully he won`t treat the next woman the same way." Akon has been through legal troubles and public relations disasters of his own. He agreed last December to perform community service and pay a fine for throwing a teen off a stage in 2007 after someone in a crowd apparently threw something at him. He also apologized for simulating sex with a teen at a Trinidadian concert; he said he did not know the girl was so young. Akon said making music helped him get through those difficult times, and that may be the case for Brown: "If you are going through personal issues to me, those are the best times to make records." Akon also said the media needed to stop focusing its attention on Brown and Rihanna and let the couple work through their issues, stressing that both are very young stars. "At the end of the day, what Rihanna and Chris went through is nothing different than what couples go through every day," he said. "They have problems, they go through issues, and some of them, of course, expand to domestic violence which I don`t in any way condone. But, you know, sometimes you really can`t control it and some people just need to seek help and figure out ways to deal with their emotions and how they deal with issues and certain things." Bureau Report