2011–2012: Early career and record deals Jankel released his debut EP
Step in the City on 12 December 2011, through Marco Del Horno's record label Bullet Train. "Manage Ya", one of the EP tracks, was supported by
BBC Radio 1 and
1Xtra DJs including
MistaJam and
Toddla T. On 23 July 2012, he released his second EP
Left and Right with the label. Throughout the year, he released many remixes and
bootlegs. Towards the end of 2012, he gained the attention of
Borgore's record label Buygore and his song "Wiggle With It" featured exclusively on the label's
Buygore Allstars Vol. 1 compilation. He released his third EP
Let You Down through Buygore, and the track "Geeky Playtime" gained exposure through being uploaded to
UKF.
2013–present: Breakthrough In 2013, Jankel changed his stage name from Shift Key to Shift K3y. In March 2013, he released his fourth EP
Frozen, through Buygore. He remixed
Tinie Tempah's song "
Trampoline", which was premiered by
SB.TV (as the first of their
SB.TV Beats features) and topped the
Beatport hip hop charts. He also remixed
AlunaGeorge's "
Attracting Flies", and the remix was heavily supported by 1Xtra. Throughout 2013, he released three free singles: "Keep Ya Mouth Shut (Things People Say)" featuring Griminal; "Make It Good"; and "Laughing At You" which features vocals by Ruby Francis. On 13 April 2014, he released his breakthrough single "
Touch". On 16 April 2014, the song was at number 3 on
The Official Chart Update in the UK. On 20 April 2014, the song managed to maintain its position and entered the
UK Singles Chart at number 3, making it his first UK top 5 single. The follow-up single, "
I Know", was released on 21 September 2014. It reached number 25 on the UK Singles Chart. A non-single, titled "Not Into It (LA Mix)", samples vocals from "
Long Way 2 Go" by
Cassie and premiered on
Annie Mac's Radio 1 show on 10 October 2014. Jankel's third mainstream single, "
Name & Number", was released on 3 May 2015. ==Personal life==