Michael Africk

Michael Africk (born 20 August 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-platinum record producer and software entrepreneur. After signing with Disney's Hollywood Records and releasing a solo album in 1999, he toured with N'Sync and Britney Spears.[1][2][3] He collaborated with Mai Kuraki on several singles, including the platinum Never Gonna Give You Up.[4] Africk also collaborated with her on the album Delicious Way which debuted at number one on the Oricon Albums Chart and had the highest first week sales for a debut album in Japanese music history and sixth overall.[5] In 2011, Africk released his second studio album with Japanese record label Northern Music/Being Music. The album was co-produced by Africk and Louis Bell.[6]

Michael Africk
Born (1975-08-20) August 20, 1975
Boston, Massachusetts, US
Genres
OccupationsSinger-songwriter, record producer
Years active1999–present
Labels

Since 2006, he has founded several mobile software companies, most notably Inmoji in 2014.[7][8]

Career

Musician

Africk sang "Someone Like Me", the theme song for Disney's animated film Doug's 1st Movie in 1999.[1] The song was written by William Squier and Jeffrey Lodin, and featured the Boston Symphony Orchestra.[1][9] In the same year, he released his 11-track self-titled album.[3][10]

Africk was the opening act for N'Sync and Britney Spears, and toured in Japan.[2][11] He composed the music for the Japanese anime series Secret of Cerulean Sand (2002).[12] "What Can I Do", his song for the final credits, features Mai Kuraki.[13]

Africk collaborated with Mai Kuraki for the song Baby Tonight, a single from the album Delicious Way. The album debuted at number one on the Oricon Albums Chart with 2,218,640 units sold, making it the highest first week sales for a debut album in Japanese music history and sixth overall.[5] He collaborated with Kuraki on other songs, including Never Gonna Give You Up from the same album. The song was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ).[4] He composed "Love One Another" with Kuraki for the benefit of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami victims.[14] The song, featuring his vocals, was released on his self-titled album and Kuraki's album Over the Rainbow in 2012.

Software entrepreneur

In 2006, Africk started his tech career when he co-founded XLR8 Mobile. He would go on to found Dijit, Echotag, and Openboard as well.[15]

Africk founded Inmoji with Perry Tell in Boston in May 2014.[8] Inmoji is a software company offering a software development kit to messaging apps and an extension for smartphones that both create clickable icons that enable users to share their favorite brands, products, and experiences directly within the apps without leaving the message.[7] Inmoji raised $2.5 million in seed funding in 2015 and $6.5 million in Series A round in 2016.[16][17]

Africk was named one of the 12 Top Tech Leaders To Watch In 2017 by Inc.[18]

Discography

Albums
Year Title Label
1999 Michael Africk[10] Hollywood Records
2011 Michael Africk II Giza Studio

Singles
Year Title[19] Writers Producers Label
1999 My Heart Belongs To You (Sexified)[20] Michael Africk, Perry Geyer, Miguel Pessoa Hollywood Records
2011 Make It Loud Michael Africk, Louis Bell, Jordan Knight,[2] Louis Bell[2] Handcraft Music
No... Yeah (featuring Sammy Adams) Michael Africk, Sammy Adams, Matty Trump Louis Bell Handcraft Music - MusicBall / Souldiggaz
2012 So Beautiful Michael Africk, Louis Bell Louis Bell, Michael Africk Handcraft Music
Year Title Label Album
2010 Boyfriend Giza Future Kiss
2011 "Love One Another"
(Mai Kuraki featuring Michael Africk)[21]		 Handcraft Music/Cybersound Music Over the Rainbow

Producer & Composer
Year Title[22] Label Album Performer Peak chart position in Japan
2000 "Never Gonna Give You Up" Giza Studio Delicious Way Mai Kuraki (ft.) Michael Africk) Weekly: 2 (Count Down TV),[23] 2 (Oricon)[24]
Yearly: 58 (Count Down TV),[25] 59 (Oricon)[26]
2000 Baby Tonight Giza Studio Delicious Way Mai Kuraki
2001 Come on! Come On! Giza Studio Perfect Crime Mai Kuraki
2001 "Never Gonna Give You Up (Never Never Land Mix One)" Giza Studio Start in My Life Mai Kuraki (ft.) Michael Africk)
2002 What Can I Do Giza Studio Michael Africk
2003 Just a Little Bit Giza Studio If I Believe Mai Kuraki
2003 Same Giza Studio If I Believe Mai Kuraki
2003 Mi Corazon Giza Studio If I Believe Mai Kuraki
2005 Don't Cry Madacy Records The Fix Jordan Knight
2005 "Chocolate: Kimi no Santa ni Naritakute" Mainichi Adventure Sparkling Point
"Winter*Swear" Giza Studio Growing of My Heart Mai Kuraki
2011 "Kimi e" Tenshi no Clover Aimi
2023 Someone Else Handcraft Entertainment/Virgin Music Anna Aya

Music videos
Year Song Album Director
2000 Never Gonna Give You Up Delicious Way
2011 "You Were Right" (live)[27] Michael Africk II

Accolades

Japan Gold Disc Awards
Year Award Category Work Credit Result
2001 15th Japan Gold Disc Award Rock Album of the Year Delicious Way Writer, Producer Won
Song of the Year "Secret of My Heart" Writer, Producer Won
2002 16th Japan Gold Disc Award Rock Album of the Year Perfect Crime Writer, Producer Won
2003 17th Japan Gold Disc Award Rock Album of the Year Fairy Tale Writer, Producer Won
2004 18th Japan Gold Disc Award Rock & Pop Album of the Year If I Believe Writer, Producer Won
2005 19th Japan Gold Disc Award Rock & Pop Album of the Year Wish You the Best Writer, Producer Won

References
  1. Hischak, Thomas S.; Robinson, Mark A. (29 July 2009). The Disney Song Encyclopedia. Google Books: Scarecrow Press. p. 180. ISBN 978-0810869387.
  2. Ralphie Aversa (8 September 2011). "INTERVIEW: Boston's Michael Africk, Known for Touring with N'Sync, Returns With New Single". ralphieaversa.com. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  3. Carol Beggy, Beth Carney (3 May 1999). "Africk's angelic audience". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  4. "GOLD ALBUM 他認定作品 2000年8月度" [Gold Albums, and other certified works. August 2000 Edition] (PDF). The Record (Bulletin) (in Japanese). Chūō, Tokyo: Recording Industry Association of Japan. 489: 8. August 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 17, 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  5. "Best Selling Albums for First Week Sales in Japan of all Time". Music TV Program Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  6. "MICHAEL AFRICK OFFICIAL WEB SITE". www.northernmusic.jp. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
  7. Barry Levine (26 February 2015). "Hoping to make clickable brand icons more common in messaging, InMoji nabs $1M". Venture Beat. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  8. Rebecca Strong (7 January 2015). "Inmoji Gets Initial Funding, Launches SDK to Boost Sharing of Brand Content via Messaging". BostInno. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  9. "Entertainment Tuesday". Newspapers.com. The Pantagraph. 11 May 1999.
  10. "Michael Africk - Michael Africk". Discogs. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  11. Carol Beggy, Beth Carney (5 July 1999). "When Michael Meets Sally". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  12. "Patapata hikousen no bouken". IMDb. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  13. "What Can I Do - Michael Africk Ft. Mai Kuraki". YouTube. 3 February 2008. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  14. "Love One Another - Single. Mai Kuraki & Michael Africk". iTunes. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  15. Jon Nastor (21 June 2016). "Driven to Create". Hack The Entrepreneur. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  16. Jeff Engel (11 March 2016). "Inmoji Raises $5M For "Branded Interactive Emojis"". Xconomy. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  17. Sara Castellanos (10 May 2015). "Adtech startup backed by startup evangelist David Chang quietly lands more funding". Boston Business Journal. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  18. Hendricks, Drew (19 January 2017). "12 Top Tech Leaders To Watch in 2017". Inc. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  19. "Michael Africk Discography of CDs". CD Universe. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  20. Taylor, Chuck (24 July 1999). "Reviews and Previews: Singles". Billboard. Google Books. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  21. "Mai Kuraki And Michael Africk - Love One Another". CD Universe. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  22. "Person: Michael Africk". aniDB. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  23. "CDTV PowerWeb! Ranking Singles Chart". Count Down TV; published through Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) (in Japanese). June 17, 2000. Archived from the original on June 19, 2006. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  24. "Mai Kuraki – Never Gonna Give You Up". Oricon Style (in Japanese). June 7, 2000. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  25. "CDTV PowerWeb! 2000 Annual Singles Chart". Count Down TV; published through Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) (in Japanese). 2000. Archived from the original on September 16, 2006. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  26. "Oricon Yearly Chart – Singles, Albums, and DVD Releases of 20000". Music TV Program Japan (in Japanese). December 2000. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  27. "Michael Africk (Live) "You Were Right"". YouTube. 31 January 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
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