Ironik

Among hip-hop acts, Ironik remains the sole and quite possibly final example of an artist to draw from Westlife material, and this versatile talent has steadily climbed within Britain’s urban scene. Michael Laurence came into the world in 1988 and first took up DJ duties at thirteen, spinning records at TwiceasNice events hosted by his uncle Steve Gordon before securing an opening slot on So Solid Crew’s national tour. By sixteen he was already crafting beats for other performers, and at twenty he inked a deal with the Asylum imprint, an Atlantic/Warner Bros. subsidiary, adopting the stage name Ironik.

Through consistent online engagement he cultivated a dedicated following, earning the top unsigned-artist ranking on MySpace across three consecutive months, while his debut single “So Nice” gained regular rotation on the urban outlet Channel U. His next offering, “Stay with Me,” marked a genuine breakthrough by peaking at number five on the U.K. chart. The track, which addressed his anxieties for a ten-year-old sister navigating a climate marked by knife crime and aggression, unexpectedly incorporated the Westlife recording “Written in the Stars” from the album Unbreakable, Vol. 1: The Greatest Hits.

Shaped by the U.K. grime work of Wiley and Dizzee Rascal alongside the American hip-hop approaches of Kanye West and Lupe Fiasco, Ironik released his first full-length project, No Point in Wasting Tears, in 2008. He simultaneously hosted a program on Xtreme FM and established his own Venemous Records label. The Elton John–sampling and –featuring single “Tiny Dancer (Hold Me Closer)” delivered his highest chart placement, reaching number three across the U.K. in 2010. Two subsequent EPs, Independently Unstoppable and T.O.B.D (Ticking Off Boyhood Dreams), arrived in 2013 and 2015, clearing the path for the 2017 follow-up album Truth Be Told on RU Listening Records.