Sir Michael Rocks

They discovered Common influences (Outkast, Gorillaz, and 1980s hip hop) and a shared sense of Retro fashion.

Inspired by golden age hip hop and artists like LL Cool J and Eric B.. & Rakim, they formed a production duo The Cool Kids that year.

The band stated they "originally were only going to make beats and produce for other artists."

However, "Rocks himself rapped during a session and wound up as the temporary 'voice' of the Cool Kids", though the two soon began sharing vocal duties.

The group was soon booked by Josh Young of Flosstradamus for a DJ performance, where they encountered DJ Diplo.

Antoine Amari Reed (born December 24, 1987) is an American rapper better known by his stage name Sir Michael Rocks (or Mikey Rocks).

Antoine "Sir Michael Rocks" Reed was born in 1987 in the Chicago suburb of Matteson, Illinois, where he was raised.

At a young age he listened to artists such as Nas, Jay-Z, Slick Rick, and Eric B.. and Rakim, and he started rhyming at the age of ten.

Despite an interest in sports, academics, and graphic art, he has stated that even at age ten he knew he would go into hip hop.

"I never had a backup plan or plan B. I've always known that this was what I was supposed to be doing. As far as time goes, I've put all my time into it."

As a teenager he began producing his own music, also working on rhymes and making music with friends, including his future collaborators Tris J and Shorty K. He attended Rich South High School and Walter Payton College Prep in Chicago.

Beyond music he had an early interest in zoology, stating he would specializing in reptile and mammal studies if not rapping.

He began producing under the moniker Sir Michael Rocks, also going by Mikey Rocks.

He started his music career in 2005 as a member of the hip hop duo The Cool Kids, and later joined the groups All City Chess Club, the "super group" P.O.C. (Pulled Over by the Cops), and The Toothpick Clique.

In mid-2005 Rocks was mostly working on music production, and doing some rapping as well.

He founded the hip hop duo The Cool Kids when he was still sixteen.

He met co-founder Evan "Chuck Inglish" Ingersoll on Myspace in 2005, after Rocks found a beat that Ingersoll had produced.

The two met to discuss terms of the beat's sale, and eventually ended up recording for two hours.

Stated Inglish, "One day we just met up--I came over to his house with some CDs, and that's all she wrote. We were both, like, searching for each other without searching for each other."

Diplo offered to release a mixtape of their unreleased tracks titled Totally Flossed Out on his label Mad Decent, though it was eventually released on C.A.K.E. Recordings in 2007 instead.

Also in 2007 the group collaborated with Lil Wayne and DJ Benzi through the Internet on a track entitled "Gettin' It".

As of summer 2007 all of their material had been released solely on their MySpace page —their recording contract with Chocolate Industries and C.A.K.E. came after performances at the CMJ Music Festival and Pitchfork Music Festival that July.

In 2007 they opened for M.I.A. on her KALA Tour, and the band performed at the 2008 Rock the Bells hip hop festival.

They were listed in Rolling Stone 's Ten Artists to Watch in 2008.

According to Rolling Stone, "since "Black Mags" debuted, the Cool Kids have gone from an underground sensation in their native Chicago to the hottest ticket at New York's CMJ festival."

In January 2008 the duo put up their first for-profit single, selling the track online.

Devoted to their love of BMX bikes, "Black Mags" led to a black and white music video, and was featured in a Rhapsody TV commercial along with Sara Bareilles.

The group toured across Australia in February 2008 and also appeared at the Laneway Festival.

Their sophomore EP, The Bake Sale, was their first commercially available disc, released in June 2008.

As of 2008, an unofficial bootleg mixtape of their music, titled Totally Flossed Out, was being circulated online.

In August 2008 The Cool Kids became the first hip hop group signed to the Green Label Sound imprint, a label backed by Mountain Dew and devoted only to singles.

The duo was then endorsed by Mountain Dew for their single, "Delivery Man", to which commercials and the music video have aired on MTV2.

In 2008 they headlined the "NBA 2K Bounce Tour" along with Q-Tip.

Also in 2008, the group had a number of their singles featured in video games and television episodes.

The group also appeared at SUNY Purchase's Culture Shock event in April 2009.

The Cool Kids released their debut album When Fish Ride Bicycles in 2011, which features production by The Neptunes and artists such as Ghostface Killah.

The album peaked at No. 76 on the Billboard 200, and No. 9 on Top Rap Albums.

Starting in 2011 Rocks began releasing a number of free mixtapes, also contributing as a guest artist to tracks by Mac Miller, Dom Kennedy, Jeremih, Curren$y, Freddie Gibbs, Ski Beatz, and more.

In April 2014 he contributed to the Chuck Inglish album Convertibles.

His first commercial solo album, Banco, was released on July 29, 2014, and features guest appearances by artists such as Too $hort, Mac Miller, Twista, Iamsu, and Pouya.