Thomas Idir was born in Paris on 26 June 1980, but ended up growing up in Les Ulis, 25 kilometres outside the capital. Thomas grew up with a mixed culture at home, his mother being French while his Algerian father came from Kabylia. By his early teens, Thomas’ friends had already started calling him by the nickname Sinik (which he later adopted as his official rap name). Thomas left school as soon as he could and made his debut in the rap world in 1996, originally performing with the group Amalgame, then moving on to work with the Ul Team Atom collective.

The young rapper had ambitions of launching a solo career, however. And in 2000, he went on to release a mini six-track EP entitled "Malsain" (which included two instrumental tracks). On one of the songs on this EP, "Rien à arroser", Sinik teamed up with the feisty French ‘rappeuse’ Diam’s whom he had met a few years earlier. (The pair remain very close, enjoying a sort of brother-sister relationship). Sinik maintained a hectic schedule after that, collaborating with various rap artists. In 2001 he contributed a track to the cutting-edge rap compilation "Mission suicide" and he also teamed up with fellow French rap pioneer Stomy Bugsy to co-produce the soundtrack for Fabien Onteniente’s film "3 zéros" (which hit French cinema screens in 2002).

In 2002, after setting up his own record label 6O9 (Six-O-nine), Sinik went on to bring out a five-track EP entitled "Artiste triste." But he was unable to get out and promote his new release on the road as a judge sentenced him to another term in prison. Sinik, who acknowledged that he had frequently been in trouble with the police, had in fact been sentenced by a judge on four different occasions and ended up spending a total of twelve months behind bars. This did not appear to stop his burgeoning popularity amongst rap fans, however. Besides guesting on albums by Sniper and Zoxea, Sinik also appeared on an impressive number of mix-tapes around that time which confirmed his reputation on the rap scene. In June 2004, he went on to release an unofficial street CD entitled "En attendant l’album" (Waiting for the Album). Marketed outside classic distribution circuits, the CD established him as a hot new talent on the up.

Several tracks from Sinik’s street CD featured on his first official album, "La Main sur le cœur", released in January 2005. "La Main sur le cœur" proved to be an instant hit with rap fans, rocketing up the charts and going gold shortly after its release. The album was a hardhitting aggressive affair and included the punchy "L’Assassin", a track on which Sinik recycled killer insults he had directed at his opponents during the regular slanging matches organised between rival rappers. (In 2003, Sinik triumphed at the second edition of the "Dégaine ton style" contest, extracts of which featured on a live DVD). The other fifteen tracks on "La Main sur le cœur" included “D.3.32” (a reference to his cell number in Fleury-Mérogis prison) and "Le même sang" (another duet with Diam’s).

Following the release of "La Main sur le cœur", Sinik hit the road on tour promoting the songs from his new album live on stage. His ‘Indépendance Tour’, on which he was accompanied by French rap groups L’Skadrille and Tandem, included a memorable concert at L’Elysée-Montmartre, in Paris, in May 2005. Three weeks earlier, French rap icon Kool Shen (former frontman of NTM) had invited Sinik to appear live on stage with him at his final concert at the Paris Zénith.

After borrowing the melody line of NTM’s "That’s For My People", Sinik returned the favour, inviting Kool Shen to guest on his second album, "Sang Froid." The pair recorded a new version of the NTM classic, renamed "Si proche des miens." A host of other guest artists also featured on Sinik’s second album, including Tunisiano (from the group Sniper) and female singers Vitaa and Kayna Samet. Part of the production work on "Sang Froid" was carried out by Tefa & Masta (a tandem of producers renowned for their work with other French rap stars including Diam’s). The high quality of the instrumentals on Sinik’s second album was matched by the sharpness and incisiveness of his lyric-writing. Highlights of the album included "Mon pire ennemi", a song on which Sinik used a series of clever metaphors to describe his addiction to cannabis and "La Cité des Anges" on which he recounted a visit to a children’s hospital. His hardhitting rap spirit remained firmly intact, however. The album finished with a hidden track on which Sinik verbally demolished Kizito, a rapper who had tried to humiliate him a few months earlier.

"Sang Froid", released at the beginning of April 2006, proved to be another big hit with rap fans, shooting to the number 2 spot in the French album charts shortly after its release. Later that same month, Sinik brought the house down when he appeared at Le Bataclan, in Paris. He then embarked upon another major national tour. In July 2006, Sinik headed out to his father’s birthplace, Algeria, to perform two concerts there: one in the capital, Algiers, another at the Timgad Festival. Then, after flying out to play on the Indian Ocean island of Réunion in October, the rapper headlined at the legendary Olympia in Paris in November. (Live highlights from the show were released on a DVD four weeks later).

Besides assuring a hectic schedule on the solo front, Sinik continued to collaborate on a number of projects with other artists. In 2007, he appeared on a new album by Idir and contributed a song to the soundtrack of Gérard Krawczyk’s film "Taxi 4." But the event that really catapulted Sinik back into the headlines was his ongoing feud with fellow French rapper Booba which culminated in a brawl on the Champs-Élysées in February. Booba had sought to humiliate Sinik on his track "DUC." Sinik had then retaliated with "L’Homme à abattre" and then Booba had come back with another attack on "Carton Rose". Sinik had apparently intended to continue the hostilities with a track entitled "Carton Rouge", but then gave up the project, preferring to concentrate on writing material for his third album, instead. The album, entitled "Le Toit du Monde", is due out some time in December.

November 2007