Biography
Undoubtedly the first and probably the last hip-hop artist to sample Westlife, the multi-talented Ironik is one of the rising talents of the U.K.'s urban music scene. Born Michael Laurence in 1988, Ironik started DJing at the age of 13 at his uncle Steve Gordon's TwiceasNice parties and later earned a support slot on So Solid Crew's U.K. tour. At 16 he was producing for various artists, and at 20 he signed to the Asylum label, an offshoot of Atlantic/Warner Bros., under the moniker Ironik. Building up a loyal Internet following, he was voted the number one unsigned artist on MySpace for three months and his first single, "So Nice," became a staple on the urban music Channel U. But it was his second release, "Stay with Me," that became his breakthrough hit, charting at number five in the U.K. Written about his fears for his ten-year-old sister growing up in a society rife with knife crime and violence, it bizarrely sampled "Written in the Stars," a track from Westlife's Unbreakable, Vol. 1: The Greatest Hits album. Inspired by U.K. grime artists Wiley and Dizzee Rascal, and U.S. hip-hop stars Kanye West and Lupe Fiasco, his debut album, No Point in Wasting Tears, was scheduled for release in 2008. Ironik also has his own radio show on Xtreme FM and is set to launch his own label, Venemous Records. ~ Jon O'Brien, All Music Guide
