Killer Mike
Michael Santiago Render (born April 20, 1975), better known by his stage name Killer Mike, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and activist. He is the founder of Grind Time Official Records, which he launched through the SMC and Fontana Distribution. Mike made his debut on "Snappin' and Trappin'" from OutKast's 2000 LP Stankonia, and later appeared on the Grammy-winning song "The Whole World" from their greatest hits album Big Boi and Dre Present...Outkast. He has since released five full-length albums as a solo artist.
In December 2008, Mike signed to fellow Atlanta-based rapper T.I.'s Grand Hustle Records. In 2012, he released R.A.P. Music, produced entirely by American rapper and producer El-P. Killer Mike and El-P subsequently formed a duo in 2013, branding themselves Run the Jewels; the duo was signed to Fool's Gold Records and released their self-titled debut in June of that year.
Mike is also known as a social and political activist, focusing on subjects including social inequality, police brutality, and systemic racism. In addition to addressing themes of racism and police brutality in his music, he has also delivered several lectures at colleges and universities, written about social justice topics for publications such as Billboard, and been the subject of interviews regarding police misconduct and race relations. He was a visible and vocal supporter of Bernie Sanders' 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, refusing to support Hillary Clinton after Sanders left the race, and again supported Sanders in his 2020 presidential campaign.
Mike has appeared in films such as Idlewild, Baby Driver, and ATL. The documentary series Trigger Warning with Killer Mike, in which he explores issues in the U.S. that affect the black community, premiered on Netflix in January 2019.
Michael Santiago Render was born in the Adamsville neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia, on April 20, 1975, the son of a policeman father and a florist mother. Because his parents were teenagers at the time of his birth, he was partly raised by his grandparents in the Collier Heights neighborhood of Atlanta. In 1995, Killer Mike briefly attended Atlanta's Morehouse College, where he met producers The Beat Bullies and eventually Big Boi of OutKast. His music debut was a feature appearance on OutKast's "Snappin' & Trappin'" from the 2000 album Stankonia, followed by their 2001 single "The Whole World", which won the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.He was featured on several other tracks that year, including "Poppin' Tags" from Jay-Z's The Blueprint 2.
Killer Mike released his debut album, Monster, in 2003 while being managed by Dayo Adebiyi and Al Thrash of Own Music. The album's lead single was "Akshon (Yeah!)", which featured OutKast on guest vocals. A remix of "Akshon (Yeah!)" was included on the soundtrack of EA Sports' video game Madden NFL 2004. The album's second single was "A.D.I.D.A.S.", featuring Big Boi and Sleepy Brown, which peaked at #60 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is Killer Mike's highest charting single to date as a lead artist.
Following the release of his own material, he appeared on "Flip Flop Rock" and "Bust" on the Speakerboxx half of OutKast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below double album. He also appeared on "Southern Takeover" with Pastor Troy on Chamillionaire's CD The Sound of Revenge. Killer Mike appeared alongside T.I. on the song "Never Scared" by Bone Crusher in his album AttenCHUN!. It peaked at #26 on the Hot 100, becoming Mike's second top 40 hit ("The Whole World" being the first). The song was also used on the Madden NFL 2004 game soundtrack[4] and by the Atlanta Braves for their 2003 season
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_Mike