MNEK
Encyclopedia
Uzoechi Osisioma Emenike professionally known as MNEK (born 9 November 1994 in Bellingham
, London
), is a British
singer, songwriter
and record producer
. He is of Nigerian-Igbo descent. He is signed to EMI Music Publishing. He is known for his retro style, colourful glasses, and hi-top fade
. His stage name is in fact his surname, Emenike, in phonetics (em-en-ee-kay/MNEK) - a realisation brought to him by a fellow student at Bonus Pastor Catholic College
.
. In early 2009, he'd gotten some online and industry recognition for the songs featured on his MySpace
, many bloggers noting his electropop sound and young age. In May of the same year, he signed on with EMI Music Publishing. He received some press for his music, being featured in NME Magazine, Dazed & Confused (magazine)
, The Fader
's online blog, and the front page of Super Super with Daisy Dares You
. He's remixed for Tinashé
, Graffiti6
, and Tinie Tempah
and was named one of the "top 20 hottest producers in music right now" by NME
. In 2011, he was nominated in "one of the 10 producers of the new generation" by The Guardian.. In April 2011, an instrumental named "Lunar Riddim" created by Nathan Retro and MNEK was used during Nike's Air Lunar campaign starring Mario Balotelli
.
' single All Fired Up
(produced by Xenomania
) - with the single charting at #3 selling over 75,000 units - the quintet's highest first week sales for a single tp date.
On November 7th 2011, 2 days before he turned 17, he released his debut single as a recording artist - "If Truth Be Told". Produced and written by him, it was released by independent label, Moshi Moshi Records. A video was also shot.
A debut album is slated for mid 2013.
! Year
! Song
! Album
|-
| 2011
| "If Truth Be Told"
| "If Truth Be Told - Single"
|-
|}
Year
Artist
Tracks
Album
2011
The Saturdays
All Fired Up
On Your Radar
2011
The Saturdays
Get Ready Get Set
On Your Radar
2011
The Wanted
I'll Be Your Strength
Battleground
Bellingham, London
Bellingham is a neighbourhood and electoral ward in the London Borough of Lewisham, and consists mainly of social/council housing built in the 1920s on what was then farm land. Many houses have been bought by the tenants under the Right to Buy Scheme. However, the majority are still rented out to...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
), is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
singer, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
. He is of Nigerian-Igbo descent. He is signed to EMI Music Publishing. He is known for his retro style, colourful glasses, and hi-top fade
Hi-top fade
A hi-top fade is a style of haircut where hair on the sides is cut off or kept very short and hair on the top of the head is very long . The hi-top has been a trend symbolizing the Golden Era of hip hop and urban contemporary music during the late 1980s and the early 1990s...
. His stage name is in fact his surname, Emenike, in phonetics (em-en-ee-kay/MNEK) - a realisation brought to him by a fellow student at Bonus Pastor Catholic College
Bonus Pastor Catholic College
Bonus Pastor Catholic College was founded by the Catholic Church to provide education for children of Catholic families. The College succeeded in becoming the first school in Lewisham to specialise as a Maths and Computing College, in 2006....
.
Career
MNEK started writing/producing music when he was 9 years old. He'd learnt how to sing through watching MTVMTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
. In early 2009, he'd gotten some online and industry recognition for the songs featured on his MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
, many bloggers noting his electropop sound and young age. In May of the same year, he signed on with EMI Music Publishing. He received some press for his music, being featured in NME Magazine, Dazed & Confused (magazine)
Dazed & Confused (magazine)
Dazed & Confused is a British style magazine, that was set up in 1992 and published monthly. Its founding editors were Jefferson Hack and Rankin...
, The Fader
The Fader
The FADER, or FADER, is an United States-based music/culture/fashion magazine that covers hip-hop, reggae, independent rock, pop and dance music from around the world.-Overview:...
's online blog, and the front page of Super Super with Daisy Dares You
Daisy Dares You
Daisy May Keeley Coburn , better known by her stage name Daisy Dares You, is a British singer and songwriter. The stage name is a direct reference to the character of the same name from the 1990s British television show ZZZap!.-Early life:...
. He's remixed for Tinashé
Tinashe
Tinashé is a Zimbabwe-born British singer-songwriter, born in Zimbabwe 4 April 1984, known for his synth-pop sound and his African influences.-Biography:Tinashé was born in the township of Highfield, birthplace to Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe...
, Graffiti6
Graffiti6
-History:UK producer TommyD and singer/songwriter Jamie Scott started collaborating in 2008 on material that would become Graffiti6.Writer/producer/DJ, Tommy and artist/frontman/songwriter Jamie scott made a collection of songs that was later called “Stare...
, and Tinie Tempah
Tinie Tempah
Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu , better known by his stage name Tinie Tempah, is a British rapper. He made his first mixtape in 2007 with 28 songs, freestyles and remixes, the album features Mz Bratt, Chipmunk and G-Unit...
and was named one of the "top 20 hottest producers in music right now" by NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
. In 2011, he was nominated in "one of the 10 producers of the new generation" by The Guardian.. In April 2011, an instrumental named "Lunar Riddim" created by Nathan Retro and MNEK was used during Nike's Air Lunar campaign starring Mario Balotelli
Mario Balotelli
Mario Balotelli is an Italian footballer who plays as a striker for English team Manchester City and the Italian national team.He started his professional football career at Lumezzane and only played for the first team twice before having an unsuccessful trial at FC Barcelona, and subsequently...
.
(2011-present)
MNEK got his first top 5 single as a songwriter in 2011 with The SaturdaysThe Saturdays
The Saturdays are a British and Irish pop girl group based in London, United Kingdom. The group consists of five members Una Healy, Mollie King, Frankie Sandford, Vanessa White and Rochelle Wiseman. In 2007 the band were formed through Fascination Records which gave them an instant record deal with...
' single All Fired Up
All Fired Up (song)
"All Fired Up" is the second single released from girl-group The Saturdays's third studio album, On Your Radar. The single is their eleventh single released to date. The single was released on 4 September 2011. The song was written by Xenomania, Tim Deal, Matt Gray, Annie Yuill, Miranda Cooper, and...
(produced by Xenomania
Xenomania
Xenomania is a British songwriting and production team founded by Brian Higgins and based in Kent, England. Formed after Higgins met Miranda Cooper, Xenomania has written and produced for renowned artists such as Cher, Kylie Minogue, Dannii Minogue, Pet Shop Boys, and Sugababes...
) - with the single charting at #3 selling over 75,000 units - the quintet's highest first week sales for a single tp date.
On November 7th 2011, 2 days before he turned 17, he released his debut single as a recording artist - "If Truth Be Told". Produced and written by him, it was released by independent label, Moshi Moshi Records. A video was also shot.
A debut album is slated for mid 2013.
Singles
|-! Year
! Song
! Album
|-
| 2011
| "If Truth Be Told"
| "If Truth Be Told - Single"
|-
|}
Songwriting Credits
>The Saturdays
The Saturdays are a British and Irish pop girl group based in London, United Kingdom. The group consists of five members Una Healy, Mollie King, Frankie Sandford, Vanessa White and Rochelle Wiseman. In 2007 the band were formed through Fascination Records which gave them an instant record deal with...
All Fired Up (song)
"All Fired Up" is the second single released from girl-group The Saturdays's third studio album, On Your Radar. The single is their eleventh single released to date. The single was released on 4 September 2011. The song was written by Xenomania, Tim Deal, Matt Gray, Annie Yuill, Miranda Cooper, and...
On Your Radar (album)
On Your Radar is the third full-length studio album by British-Irish pop girl-group The Saturdays. The album was released 21 November 2011 under Fascination Records...
The Saturdays
The Saturdays are a British and Irish pop girl group based in London, United Kingdom. The group consists of five members Una Healy, Mollie King, Frankie Sandford, Vanessa White and Rochelle Wiseman. In 2007 the band were formed through Fascination Records which gave them an instant record deal with...
On Your Radar (album)
On Your Radar is the third full-length studio album by British-Irish pop girl-group The Saturdays. The album was released 21 November 2011 under Fascination Records...
The Wanted
The Wanted are a British-Irish boy band based in London, England. The band consists of Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness, Tom Parker and Nathan Sykes. Their debut single, "All Time Low", was released in July 2010 and reached number one in the United Kingdom for one week...
Battleground (album)
Battleground is the second studio album released by British boyband The Wanted on 4 November 2011 through Island Records. Three singles preceded the album, "Gold Forever" , "Glad You Came" and "Lightning" .The album was released in two different editions, the standard edition features 11 tracks...
Remixography
| Year | Artist | Song Title |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Graffiti6 Graffiti6 -History:UK producer TommyD and singer/songwriter Jamie Scott started collaborating in 2008 on material that would become Graffiti6.Writer/producer/DJ, Tommy and artist/frontman/songwriter Jamie scott made a collection of songs that was later called “Stare... |
"Annie You Save Me" (MNEK Remix) |
| 2010 | Tinashe Tinashe Tinashé is a Zimbabwe-born British singer-songwriter, born in Zimbabwe 4 April 1984, known for his synth-pop sound and his African influences.-Biography:Tinashé was born in the township of Highfield, birthplace to Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe... |
"Saved" (MNEK's Mission Remix/Dub) |
| 2010 | Tinie Tempah Tinie Tempah Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu , better known by his stage name Tinie Tempah, is a British rapper. He made his first mixtape in 2007 with 28 songs, freestyles and remixes, the album features Mz Bratt, Chipmunk and G-Unit... |
"Written In The Stars" (MNEK's Shooting Dub) |
| 2011 | Spark Spark -Physical sparks:* Spark , a small glowing particle or ember* An electric spark, usually with a flash and a sharp noise-Computer science:* SPARK... |
"Crave" (MNEK's Floor Owner Mix) |
| 2011 | Frankmusik Frankmusik Vincent Frank born Vincent James Turner is known professionally as Frankmusik is an English electropop musician. The name "Frank" is derived from the surname of his grandfather, whose name he took in tribute.-Early life:... |
"Do It In The AM" (MNEK's f*ckedupsleepingpattern Mix) |
| 2011 | CocknBullKid CocknBullKid Anita Blay better known by her professional name CocknBullKid, is an English singer-songwriter. Her first releases were released under the name thecocknbullkid.-Career:... |
"Yellow" (MNEK's Noise Pop Mix) |
| 2011 | Tiny Dancer | "Take My Breath Away" (MNEK's doyouneedanasthmapump? Mix) |
| 2011 | Olly Murs Olly Murs Oliver Stanley "Olly" Murs is an English singer-songwriter and TV presenter. Murs rose to fame after being the runner-up on the sixth series of The X Factor... |
"Heart Skips A Beat" (MNEK's gimmeabeat Mix) |