Micah Lei (born 17 June 1982), better known by the stage name Gak Jonze, is an English

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

. He released his debut album, ''Intelligent Mess'', in 2013, through his own label Mykali Records. He has self funded his own solo tours in

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

, and China! He's currently based in Dubai, playing live and producing music.

Early life

Jonze was born Mi'cah Lei in

Camden Town Camden Town (), often shortened to Camden, is a district of northwest London, England, north of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Camden, and identified in the London Plan as o ...

, North London, as the youngest of six to single mother of Jamaican descent. His parents separated when Jonze was one year old. Though born and raised in the United Kingdom he moved around regularly, switching schools, and had lived in Spanish Town,

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

early in his teens, before moving to

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Waltham ...

, London, and later finished school at Northumberland Park Community School His stage name pronounced 'Jack Jones' comes from an old

cockney rhyming slang Rhyming slang is a form of slang word construction in the English language. It is especially prevalent among Cockneys in England, and was first used in the early 19th century in the East End of London; hence its alternative name, Cockney rhymin ...

, meaning 'on your own', 8 November 2013 Jonze stated to Wolverhampton's Wolf FM that the name also came from being a bit of a recluse at school. "I was always out on a mission making beats and writing and my peers would mock me, they couldn't see it so left them to it and did my own thing." He cites

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

Cee-lo Green Thomas DeCarlo Callaway - Burton (born May 30, 1975), known professionally as CeeLo Green (or Cee Lo Green), is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. He is known for his work in hip hop and R&B, including the Gnarls ...

Tupac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...

and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony as musical influences.

Career

2003–2006: First appearance

Gak Jonze first emerged as a feature hip hop artist supporting girlband Cherry Falls doing school tours in 2003 on indie labe Paperdoll Productions. July 2006 was Gak Jonze's first television appearance where he featured alongside

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...

and presenter

Dave Gorman David James Gorman (born 2 March 1971) is an English comedian, presenter, and writer. Gorman began his career writing for comedy series such as ''The Mrs Merton Show'' (1993–1998) and ''The Fast Show'' (1994–1997), and later garnered ac ...

for

ITV2 ITV2 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the five analogue terrestrial stations, a ...

show ''Best Man's Speech''.

2009–2011: City Boy Soul

In June 2009, Gak Jonze collaborated with

Coreé Richards Damage are a British Contemporary R&B, R&B boy band who achieved success in the 1990s with eleven hit Single (music), singles, including four top 10 successes on the UK Singles Chart. They have sold 4 million records worldwide. The band current ...

forming the duo band City Boy Soul. Releases included "No Regrets (Who We Are)" and "Be Ok" which featured

Mutya Buena Rosa Isabel Mutya Buena (born 21 May 1985) is an English singer and songwriter who rose to fame as a member of girl group the Sugababes. With the Sugababes, Buena had four UK number one singles, an additional six top-ten hits and three multi-pl ...

. In 2010 they stepped in for

Sister Sledge Sister Sledge is an American musical vocal group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formed in 1971, the group consisted of sisters Debbie, Joni, Kim, and Kathy Sledge. The siblings achieved international success at the height of the disco era. ...

headlining The 2010 Ndoro Children's Charity Gala, whilst being twice nominated for The People's Music Award. The duo toured throughout the UK between 2009 and 2011 covering nightclubs, schools and cross genre live circuit venues. They made an exclusive appearance at

Party in the Park Party in the Park is the generic name given to music concerts organised by various radio stations and local authorities and groups in the United Kingdom, typically in large parks during the summer, however it is also used to refer to a family ori ...

and again on

Lava TV Greatest Hits TV was a British satellite TV music channel owned by UltimateHits Limited. The channel is ultimately owned by All Around the World Productions, a British record label who also operated Channel AKA, Clubland TV and Planet Pop. His ...

(Now Greatest Hits TV) as celebrity guest's in a Celebrity Ghost Hunt for ''Gorezone Magazine''. The duo disbanded in 2011, with both following solo paths.

Commercial breakthrough

With a supporting feature by

Bradley McIntosh Bradley John McIntosh (born 8 August 1981), also known as City Boy, is a British singer, rapper, record producer and actor. He was a member of the pop group S Club 7 where he enjoyed five years of hit singles, arena tours and awards. Since 2008, ...

aka 'Citi Boi', Gak Jonze released his debut single "Rock Boi" via Mykali Records. Jonze and McIntosh are still friends and continue to write and collaborate on projects. On 6 May 2013, Jonze collaborated with DJ Urban to release his second studio single, "My Party". It got picked up by Zoe McNulty and was placed internationally as the official song of her 'Zumba Workout Campaign' for 2013. On 17 June, Jonze announced the release of his debut studio album ''Intelligent Mess''.

2012–present: Intelligent Mess Tour

With international success from his debut album, Jonze decided to fund his own international solo tour in 2013, and has performed various stages in and around

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

, Australia and China, where he is writing his follow up album. On 12 June 2014, Jonze announced that he had been writing and collaborating with

Basshunter Jonas Erik Altberg (; born 22 December 1984), known professionally as Basshunter, is a Swedish singer, record producer, songwriter and DJ. Basshunter has recorded five studio albums: ''The Bassmachine'' (2004), ''LOL (Basshunter album), LOL'' (2 ...

for a song on his album and dropped hints it would be a late 2015 release. On 23 November 2014, Jonze announced he will be in collaboration with Alonestar on a couple of tracks for the new album. Jonze has currently just returned from touring his latest material in China.

Discography

;Album appearances

Filmography

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jonze, Gak 1982 births Living people Actors from the London Borough of Camden Actors from the London Borough of Haringey British people of Jamaican descent British people of Chinese descent 21st-century Black British male singers English pop singers English male rappers Rappers from the London Borough of Camden Rappers from the London Borough of Haringey People from Camden Town People from Spanish Town People from Tottenham British male songwriters Male actors from London Singers from the London Borough of Camden Singers from the London Borough of Haringey