In the midst of channel surfing the television, I came across Akon’s Don’t Matter video. I must admit I have listened to the entire CD so I digested the video and to my surprise realized that the end has a Trinidad and Tobago feel.

As second nature I headed online to see what reaction, if any, this was getting from the blogosphere or internet at large and only found a mention via Afrobella.

I personally have no problem with this as I think it gives our music exposure to those who may not have heard of Calypso or Soca, thereby increasing the awareness of the culture.

What I want however is to know your thoughts on Akon’s sample and by extension the representation of our culture by others. If anyone could shed some light on music using that beat that would also help. Feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts, you can even say it “Don’t Matter”.

I wonder if Akon paid COTT the required fees for the sample or if TriniHits knows about this and has started stocking his album.

The cultural representation is at approximately 1:01 remaining in the video in case you don’t want to look at its entirety.