Hip-hop’s crown prince Akon made a quiet entry into the city, as hardly anyone recognised the American singer-songwriter at the Chennai International Airport.

 For once, there were no bouncers, no security staff crowding around him and no fans mobbing him as he made his way out of the rather run-down Anna International Terminal around 8.30 pm on Saturday night. “No one at the airport recognised Akon as he arrived from America, with a stop-over in Dubai, via an Emirates airways flight,” said an airport source. Since his name wasn’t on any of the VIP protocol lists, there wasn’t any hullabaloo as he and his companion breezed through Customs and Immigration to enter namma Chennai.

The ‘Smack That’ star was at his effervescent best as he was hailed by Simbu - with whom he is collaborating to sing the Love Anthem - during the course of his stay in the city. “Simbu was clearly prepared to roll out the Tamilian red carpet because we saw him use the traditional saalvai (shawl) welcome for Akon, which the singer really appreciated,” added an airport source. Along with Simbu, Arya’s brother Sathya - who acted in Puththagam - was also there to welcome the singer, amongst others.

Akon will reportedly be in the city till May 6, working on the song’s lyrics, singing it and shooting for the video as well.

Incidentally, this is not Akon’s first visit to Chennai as he played a concert here a couple of years ago at a resort on the ECR. Intriguingly, he also kept a low profile on that occasion as he had come down to perform for the IPL opening ceremony and had clubbed it with initial work on the song Chamak Challo from Shah Rukh Khan’s Ra.One.

Akon is best known for his club favorites like ‘I Wanna Love You’, which earned him five Grammy nominations.

While in Dubai, Akon stopped off to watch a concert by DJ David Guetta, “Made a quick stop and surprised my man David Guetta,” he tweeted.