Akon is desperate to work with British rap sensation Dizzee Rascal - because he is sure the star will be a huge hit in the U.S.

Akon is a huge fan of the U.K. hip-hop scene and wants to lay down tracks with the Dance Wiv Me star so that American rap fans will hear his material.

 And the 34-year-old believes he is holding Rascal's key to the gates of the American music market.

He says, "Dizzee is dope (good). I really like him. I think that whole sound, if it ever breaks outside the U.K., is going to be huge, it's so new and fresh.

"I want to be the one to bring it over to the U.S. and one way would be to get Dizzee on my album."

It's not the first time Akon has been impressed by a U.K. hip-hop artist - he signed London rapper Sway to his record label last month.