Akon has no regrets he didn't sign his hairdresser to a record deal ... now that she's a big deal on "Empire."

We showed Akon a pic of Bre-Z at LAX Monday and he immediately recognized her. She plays rapper Freda Gatz on the show.

Akon has an interesting take on signing talent ... his takeaway seems to be that if you try to sign everyone, you end up screwing yourself.