Rapper Akon has claimed Michael Jackson took pills prior to his death as he was too excited to sleep while planning the "greatest show on earth".
The Mr Lonely singer, 49, was speaking ahead of a hugely anticipated documentary about the King of Pop’s demise. And the R&B star Akon revealed the drive Jacko had was both a gift and a curse in the build up to his London concert residency in 2009.
Akon believes the Thriller star's obsession with his work played a part in his death from an overdose of anaesthetic Propofol and benzodiazepines 13 years ago.
Speaking to The US Sun, Akon said revealed the music icon was so excited to perform on the 50 dates pencilled in as he was keen to remind the world exactly who he was.
"He didn’t even sleep," Akon said. "That is why he was taking sleeping pills because he was too damn excited.
"He would be up for weeks at a time thinking about how he wanted everybody to have the most amazing experience, he wanted to create something that was going to be talked about for centuries."
Akon then claimed that if you have that level of energy, you simply don't sleep. He added: "You are going to need help to get sleep because your mind is constantly moving and your energy and your flow [are] electric to the point where you cannot turn it off."
Akon, who collaborated with the Beat It star on his critically acclaimed Thriller 25 album, said the star was constantly pushing himself to the limit and wouldn't stop until he achieved the best result possible.
He claims Jacko didn't believe there was anything he couldn't do and would often "find a way to make it work" no matter what obstacles were in his way.
"He was that kind of person," he said. "So he pushed himself to the limit and if he wasn’t satisfied he was going to stay there until he was satisfied. It's kind of a gift and a curse."
A documentary by FOX TV titled TMZ Investigates: Who Really Killed Michael Jackson is set to look into the star's demise. It will focus on Dr Conrad Murray, who was convicted in 2011 of involuntary manslaughter for providing the dose of Propofol that killed him, as well as claims a lot of other people were also to blame.
