CULVER CITY, California — Remember when it took artists years to transform into moguls?

Now, with only one album behind him, here comes Akon chasing the same dream as some of the most established guys in the game (think Jay-Z and Diddy).

"We've got the Konvict Records popping off — it's doing very well," Akon said at the Vibe Awards, where he walked the red carpet alongside Konvict's T-Pain (see "T-Pain's Akon-Approved 'Hard R&B' Calms His Fear Of Sounding Soft"). "I've got my own diamond line that I'm about to start launching in February, so definitely look forward to that. And then of course we're gonna get into Konvict Films. We'll be doing movies based on gangstas locked up in prison and presenting their whole life stories and where they're at now, so kids can watch it and not make the same mistake and end up in that same position."

The first film, "Trouble," will star Akon himself (see "Akon's 'Bananza' Inspired By A Post-Jail Trip To The Strip Club"), and the convict-turned-singer has cleared his schedule in early 2006 to shoot it.

As for his follow-up to Trouble, have no fear.

"The next album is completely finished, and in a minute I'll be promoting that," Akon said. "It's called Dark and Light Shadows. That's the most I'm gonna tell you."

In the meantime, he just shot a video for the fifth and final single from Trouble, "Pot of Gold."

" 'Pot of Gold' is the biggest record on the album to me," Akon said. "It's pretty much about that one place that you go when you're going through a lot to get away. There's been a whole bunch of tragedies, a whole bunch of natural disasters going on in the world, and I feel like 'Pot of Gold' is the perfect record to put out to close out the album."