A SWITCH TO THE SILVER SCREEN

KNOWN BY HIS STAGE NAME NOKI K-CLIQUE, IKHWAN LEE HAS GROWN A SOLID REPUTATION IN HIS MUSIC CAREER. AS HE TURNS 30 THIS JUNE, THE STAR REFLECTS ON HIS ARTISTIC EVOLUTION AS AN ARTIST AND IS EMBRACING HIS FLAIR FOR ACTING.

- ALISON LOH

THE FIRST FEW WORDS that come to mind when first meeting Ahmad Ikhwan Aji for the first time are: tall, muscular and handsome. With the right hair colour and styling, the Sabahan star could easily play Hercules and no one would blink an eye.

Famously known across the nation as Noki K-Clique, the artist has honed his skills in singing since high school. Born and raised in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Noki had a decent and memorable childhood. It was around this time when he developed a sense of brotherhood among his friends from school. They would go on to pursue a shared dream – starting a music band called K-Clique, which stands for Kinabalu Clique.

Besides producing hip-hop music with catchy lyrics, the septet wasn’t shy to explore other arts in the entertainment industry. Noki had a profound love of acting and had made appearances on several TV series in the past.

So as someone who’s been active in the music industry for a decade, shifting his focus towards his acting career seemed like a good challenge.

“I was advised by veterans in the entertainment industry to pursue it,” he said. “To sustain oneself in this industry, you need to upskill and test different waters. That could be anything from acting gigs to hosting shows.”

GEARING UP IN FILM

While Noki has had some experience in acting, he had never starred in a feature film before. That was until last November, when he starred in a local film called War on Terror: KL Anarchy. Produced in 2022, the action-thriller film received much praise for its depiction of terrorism.