Killer Mike

Rapper Killer Mike was born Michael Render in Atlanta, Georgia on April 20, 1975. Mike did a brief stint at Morehouse College, where he met Big Boi of OutKast in 1995.  His musical debut came in 2000 when he appeared on  “Snappin’ and Trappin’” from OutKast’s Stankonia album.  He also appeared on OutKast’s Grammy award winning track “The Whole World” from their 2001 greatest hits collection, Big Boi and Andre 3000 Present…OutKast.  After several more features, including one on Jay-Z’s “Poppin’ Tags” from 2002’s Blueprint 2, Killer Mike signed to Columbia records and released his debut album, Monster, in 2003.  The album debuted in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 200 albums chart and included single “A.D.I.D.A.S.”

After his second album was scrapped, Killer Mike reverted to his independent status and released I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind in 2006.  I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind II followed in 2008 and included appearances by Ice Cube and Chamillionaire. Later in 2008, Mike signed with T.I.’s Grand Hustle Entertainment and released the third album in the series, PL3DGE, which featured  appearances by T.I., Young Jeezy, Big Boi, and Gucci Mane.

R.A.P. Music was released in 2012 and earned an 8.6 rating from Pitchfork. Production was handled solely by Brooklyn’s El-P and later in 2012, Killer Mike and El-P joined forces to form duo Run The Jewels.  Their self-titled 2013 album was released to critical acclaim.  Two more lauded albums, Run The Jewels 2 and Run The Jewels 3 followed in 2014 and 2016, respectively.

At times addressing themes of racism and police brutality in his music, Mike is also known as a social and political activist.