Akon Threatens to Sue Suge Knight For Defamation After Rape Accusation

Suge Knight's making an audacious claim about Akon on his new "Collect Call" podcast, accusing Akon of raping underaged girls in studio ... a statement just might land Suge in court.

Akon tells TMZ Hip Hop ... the claims are false, and he's not standing for the slander. He says, "I need to make it very clear that I absolutely deny these outrageous false and disgusting claims Suge Knight made on his podcast about me."

"I've never called, received, or had any contact with Suge Knight since he has been incarcerated. My voice you heard on his podcast was as a soundbite previously recorded from an interview I did with DJ Vlad 3 years ago regarding Suge Knight in 2009."

He continues, "I’ve never been a guest on Suge Knight’s podcast. I always believe in building positivity into the world and my actions and legacy have spoken to that."

"It’s unfortunate that I have to defend myself from these lies and I will be involving my legal team in filing a defamation lawsuit against Mr. Knight, my prayers for him will still continue."

In 2020, Akon addressed a violent confrontation between Suge and Akon's road manager ... which he says came from a business dispute between himself, Suge and Detail.

TMZ broke the story back in 2009 ... Suge was left KO'ed on the pavement and a man in Akon's camp, Robert Carnes Jr., was arrested for felony assault in Scottsdale, AZ.

As we first reported ... Suge launched his podcast with The Source magazine founder Dave Mays to discuss his colorful history as a founder of Death Row. He's recording the pod while doing 28 years for voluntary manslaughter.