Michael Africk Explained

Michael Africk (born 20 August 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-platinum record producer and entrepreneur. After signing with Disney's Hollywood Records and releasing a solo album in 1999, he toured with N'Sync and Britney Spears. He collaborated with Mai Kuraki as a producer, songwriter and featured performer 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 with 2,218,640 units sold and remains the sixth best selling album of all time in Japan.^[1] He has collaborated on many chart topping singles and albums with Kuraki over the years, including the multi-platinum single Never Gonna Give You Up where he is also featured as a performer. Africk has six number one albums and ten top three singles to his credit as a writer and producer, and has received 6 Japan Gold Disc Awards for album and/or song of the year.

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.^[2]

Since 2006, he has founded several entertainment and tech companies, including Handcraft Entertainment and Inmoji.^[3]

Career

Musician

Africk sang "Someone Like Me", the theme song for Disney's animated film Doug's 1st Movie .^[4] The song was written by William Squier and Jeffrey Lodin, produced by Africk, Perry Geyer and Miguel Sa Pessoa, and featured the Boston Symphony Orchestra.^{[4] [5]} In the same year, he released his 11-track self-titled album.^{[6] [7]}

Africk was the opening act for N'Sync and Britney Spears, and toured in Japan.^{[8] [9]} He composed the music for the Japanese anime series Secret of Cerulean Sand (2002).^[10] "What Can I Do", his song for the final credits, features Mai Kuraki.^[11]

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.^[1] He collaborated with Kuraki on other songs as a writer and/or producer, including Never Gonna Give You Up, Secret of my heart, Love Day After Tomorrow, Stay By My Side, and others from the same album. Never Gonna Give You Up, which features Africk as a performer was certified double Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ).^[12] He composed "Love One Another" with Kuraki for the benefit of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami victims.^[13] The song, featuring his vocals, was released on his self-titled album and Kuraki's album Over the Rainbow in 2012.

Entrepreneur

In 2006, Africk started his tech career when he co-founded XLR8 Mobile. He would go on to found Dijit, Inmoji and Handcraft Entertainment as well.^[14]

Africk founded Inmoji with Perry Tell in Boston in May 2014.^[15] 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.^[16] Inmoji raised $2.5 million in seed funding in 2015 and $6.5 million in Series A round in 2016.^{[17] [18]}

Africk was named one of the 12 Top Tech Leaders To Watch In 2017 by Inc.^[19]

Discography

Producer & Composer

Year	Title[20]	Label	Album	Performer	Peak chart position in Japan	Certification &Units Sold RIAJ
1999	Love Day After Tomorrow	Giza Studio	Delicious Way	Mai Kuraki	Oricon #2[21] Japan Hot 100 (Billboard) #63[22]	1X Million1,400,000
2000	Delicious Way (Album)	Giza Studio	Delicious Way	Mai Kuraki	Oricon #1 (weekly & yearly)[23]	3X Million3,530,000
2000	Secret Of My Heart	Giza Studio	Delicious Way	Mai Kuraki	Oricon #2	1x Million968,980 (physical sales) 100,000+ (digital sales)
2000	"Never Gonna Give You Up"	Giza Studio	Delicious Way	Mai Kuraki (ft.) Michael Africk	Weekly: #2 (Count Down TV),[24] #2 (Oricon)[25] Yearly: #58 (Count Down TV),[26] #59 (Oricon)[27]	2X Platinum434,250[28]
2000	Baby Tonight	Giza Studio	Delicious Way	Mai Kuraki
2000	Stay By My Side	Giza Studio	Delicious Way	Mai Kuraki	Oricon #1	1X Million922,140 (physical sales)[29]
2000	Simply Wonderful	Giza Studio	Delicious Way	Mai Kuraki	Oricon #2	2X Platinum600,000
2001	Perfect Crime (Album)	Giza Studio	Perfect Crime	Mai Kuraki	Oricon #1[30]	JPN Million 1,600,0006X Platinum
2001	Can't Forget Your Love/Perfect Crime	Giza Studio	Perfect Crime	Mai Kuraki	Oricon #2	2X Gold180,040 (physical sales)
2001	Always	Giza Studio	Delicious Way	Mai Kuraki	Oricon #2	Platinum200,000
2001	Come on! Come On		Giza Studio	Perfect Crime	Mai Kuraki
2001	Never Gonna Give You Up (Never Never Land Mix)	Giza Studio	Start in My Life	Mai Kuraki (ft.) Michael Africk)
2001	Promised You	B-Gram	Toki no Tsubasa	Zard	Oricon #6	Gold115,000(physical sales)
2001	Toki no Tsubasa	B-Gram		Zard	Oricon #1	Platinum371,000
2001	Reach For The Sky	Giza Studio	Perfect Crime	Mai Kuraki	Oricon #3	2X Platinum486,320[31]
2001	Tsumetai Umi (冷たい海)	Giza Studio	Perfect Crime	Mai Kuraki	Oricon #2	Platinum400,000
2002	Fairy Tale (Album)	Giza Studio	Fairy Tale (Album)	Mai Kuraki	Oricon #1	3X Platinum800,000
2002	What Can I Do	Giza Studio		Michael Africk
2003	If I Believe (Album)	Giza Studio	If I Believe	Mai Kuraki	Oricon #1	2x Platinum[32] 444,536[33]
2003	Same	Giza Studio	If I Believe	Mai Kuraki
2003	Just a Little Bit	Giza Studio	If I Believe	Mai Kuraki
2003	Time After Time	Giza Studio	If I Believe	Mai Kuraki	Oricon #3	Gold200,000
2003	Mi Corazon	Giza Studio	If I Believe	Mai Kuraki
2004	Wish You The Best (Album)	Giza Studio	Wish You The Best	Mai Kuraki	Oricon #1	1x Million956,162 (physical)[34]
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
2007	Season Of Love	Northern Music	One Life	Mai Kuraki	Oricon #5
2007		Northern Music	One Life	Mai Kuraki	Oricon #5
2008	One Life (Album)	Northern Music	One Life	Mai Kuraki	Oricon #14	Gold
2011	"Kimi e"		Tenshi no Clover	Aimi
2023	Someone Else	Handcraft Entertainment/Virgin Music/B ZONE		Anna Aya
2024	Hit Me With Your Love	Handcraft Entertainment/Virgin Music/B ZONE		Anna Aya
2024	Forever for you	Northern Music	Forever for you	Mai Kuraki	Oricon #3,[35] Billboard #4[36]

Albums

Year	Title	Label
1999	Michael Africk	Hollywood Records
2011	Michael Africk II	Giza Studio

Singles

Year	Title[37]	Writers	Producers	Label
1999	My Heart Belongs To You (Sexified)[38]	Michael Africk, Perry Geyer, Miguel Pessoa	Michael Africk, Perry Geyer, Miguel Pessoa	Hollywood Records
2011	Make It Loud	Michael Africk, Louis Bell, Jordan Knight	Louis Bell	Handcraft Music
	No... Yeah	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

Featured artist

Year	Title	Label	Album
2000	"Never Gonna Give You Up"	Giza Studio	Delicious Way
2010	Boyfriend	Giza Studio	Future Kiss
2011	"Love One Another" [39]	Handcraft Music/Cybersound Music	Over the Rainbow

Music videos

Year	Song	Album	Director
2000	Never Gonna Give You Up	Delicious Way
2011	"You Were Right" (live)[40]	Michael Africk II

Accolades

Japan Gold Disc Awards

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

References

Notes and References

1. Web site: Best Selling Albums for First Week Sales in Japan of all Time . July 15, 2016 . Music TV Program Japan . Japanese.
2. Web site: MICHAEL AFRICK OFFICIAL WEB SITE . 2022-12-14 . www.northernmusic.jp.
3. Web site: Thomson . Zangba . 2023-10-26 . Global Princess of J-Pop: Follow Anna Aya's Musical Journey with "Someone Else" . 2024-08-31 . Bong Mines Entertainment . en-US.
4. Book: Hischak . Thomas S. . Robinson . Mark A. . 29 July 2009 . The Disney Song Encyclopedia . Scarecrow Press . Google Books . 180 . 978-0810869387.
5. News: Entertainment Tuesday. The Pantagraph. Newspapers.com. 11 May 1999.
6. Web site: Africk's angelic audience . https://web.archive.org/web/20170312034610/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8564607.html . dead . 12 March 2017 . The Boston Globe . Carol Beggy, Beth Carney . 3 May 1999 . 3 March 2017.
7. Web site: Michael Africk - Michael Africk . Discogs . 3 March 2017.
8. Web site: INTERVIEW: Boston's Michael Africk, Known for Touring with N'Sync, Returns With New Single . ralphieaversa.com . Ralphie Aversa . 8 September 2011 . 3 March 2017.
9. Web site: When Michael Meets Sally . https://web.archive.org/web/20170312034610/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8564607.html . dead . 12 March 2017 . The Boston Globe . Carol Beggy, Beth Carney . 5 July 1999 . 3 March 2017.
10. Web site: Patapata hikousen no bouken . IMDb . 3 March 2017.
11. Web site: What Can I Do - Michael Africk Ft. Mai Kuraki . YouTube . 3 February 2008 . 3 March 2017.
12. GOLD ALBUM 他認定作品 2000年8月度 . Gold Albums, and other certified works. August 2000 Edition . The Record . Bulletin . Japanese . Chūō, Tokyo . Recording Industry Association of Japan . August 2000 . 489 . 8 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140117092718/http://www.riaj.or.jp/issue/record/2000/200008.pdf. January 17, 2014 . 3 March 2017.
13. Web site: Love One Another - Single. Mai Kuraki & Michael Africk . iTunes . 3 March 2017.
14. Web site: Driven to Create . Hack The Entrepreneur . Jon Nastor . 21 June 2016 . 3 March 2017.
15. Web site: Inmoji Gets Initial Funding, Launches SDK to Boost Sharing of Brand Content via Messaging . BostInno . Rebecca Strong . 7 January 2015 . 3 March 2017.
16. Web site: Hoping to make clickable brand icons more common in messaging, InMoji nabs $1M . Venture Beat . Barry Levine . 26 February 2015 . 3 March 2017.
17. Web site: Inmoji Raises $5M For "Branded Interactive Emojis" . Xconomy . Jeff Engel . 11 March 2016 . 3 March 2017.
18. Web site: Adtech startup backed by startup evangelist David Chang quietly lands more funding . Boston Business Journal . Sara Castellanos . 10 May 2015 . 3 March 2017.
19. News: Hendricks. Drew. 12 Top Tech Leaders To Watch in 2017. 3 March 2017. Inc.. 19 January 2017.
20. Web site: Person: Michael Africk . aniDB.
21. Web site: Love,Day After Tomorrow 倉木麻衣 . 2024-08-20 . ORICON NEWS.
22. Web site: Billboard Japan Hot 100 Charts . 2024-08-20 . Billboard JAPAN . ja.
23. Web site: delicious way 倉木麻衣 . 2024-08-18 . ORICON NEWS.
24. Web site: CDTV PowerWeb! Ranking Singles Chart. Count Down TV

    published through Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS)

    . June 17, 2000. 3 March 2017. Japanese. https://web.archive.org/web/20060619221359/http://www.tbs.co.jp/cdtv/cddb/countdown20000617-j.html. June 19, 2006 .
25. News: Mai Kuraki – Never Gonna Give You Up. Oricon Style. June 7, 2000. 3 March 2017. Japanese.
26. Web site: CDTV PowerWeb! 2000 Annual Singles Chart. Count Down TV; published through Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS). 2000. 3 March 2017. Japanese. https://web.archive.org/web/20060916021345/http://www.tbs.co.jp/cdtv/cddb/countdown2000total-j.html. September 16, 2006 .
27. News: Oricon Yearly Chart – Singles, Albums, and DVD Releases of 20000. Music TV Program Japan. December 2000. 3 March 2017. Japanese.
28. Web site: オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」 －CD・ブルーレイ・DVD・書籍・コミック－ . 2024-08-25 . ranking.oricon.co.jp.
29. Web site: インタビュー：倉木麻衣「本当に歌が好きなので、歌以外は考えられない」 . 2024-08-20 . ライブドアニュース . ja.
30. Web site: オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」 －CD・ブルーレイ・DVD・書籍・コミック－ . 2024-08-19 . ORICON NEWS.
31. Web site: アーティスト別シングル／アルバム売上データ補完 @ ウィキ . 2024-08-20 . アーティスト別シングル／アルバム売上データ補完 @ ウィキ . ja.
32. Web site: 一般社団法人 日本レコード協会 . 2024-08-25 . www.riaj.or.jp.
33. Web site: 2011-07-20 . GIZA＠売上データ補完スレ - 売上スレ避難所＠JBBS掲示板 . 2024-08-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110720021201/http://jbbs.livedoor.jp/bbs/read.cgi/music/3914/1044683463/46 . 2011-07-20 .
34. Web site: 2011-07-20 . ビーイング＠売上データ補完スレ - 売上スレ避難所＠JBBS掲示板 . 2024-08-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110720021626/http://jbbs.livedoor.jp/bbs/read.cgi/music/3914/1092585293/84 . 2011-07-20 .
35. Web site: 2024年07月01日～2024年07月07日 オリコン週間 アルバムランキング . 2024-08-18 . ORICON NEWS.
36. Web site: Billboard Japan Hot Albums Charts . 2024-08-18 . Billboard JAPAN . ja.
37. Web site: Michael Africk Discography of CDs . 3 March 2017 . CD Universe.
38. Taylor . Chuck . 24 July 1999 . Reviews and Previews: Singles . 3 March 2017 . Billboard . Google Books.
39. Web site: Mai Kuraki And Michael Africk - Love One Another . 3 March 2017 . CD Universe.
40. Web site: Michael Africk (Live) "You Were Right" . YouTube . 31 January 2011 . 3 March 2017.