Killer Mike

Michael Santiago Render (born April 20, 1975), better known by his stage name Killer Mike, is an American rapper and activist.

Michael 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, and attended Douglass High School.

In 1995, Render briefly attended Atlanta's Morehouse College, where he met producers The Beat Bullies, and soon met rapper Big Boi of Outkast.

He made his recording debut on Outkast's fourth album Stankonia (2000), and later appeared on their Grammy Award-winning single "The Whole World" from their greatest hits album Big Boi and Dre Present... Outkast (2001).

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 the Jay-Z's song "Poppin' Tags" from hid album The Blueprint 2, where he guest performed alongside both Big Boi and Chicago rapper Twista.

He signed with Big Boi's Purple Ribbon Records (known then as Aquemini Records) and Columbia Records to release his debut studio album Monster (2003), which received critical acclaim and peaked at number ten on the Billboard 200.

In 2003, Render released his debut studio album, Monster, while being managed by Dayo Adebiyi and Al Thrash of Own Music.

The album's lead single, "Akshon (Yeah!)", featured both Outkast members as guest performers.

A remix of the song 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 number 60 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

It remains Render's only single to enter the chart 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 appeared on "Southern Takeover" with Pastor Troy on Chamillionaire's album The Sound of Revenge.

Render appeared alongside T.I. on the song "Never Scared" by Bone Crusher on 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 used on the Madden NFL 2004 game soundtrack and by the Atlanta Braves for their 2003 season.

What was to be his second album, Ghetto Extraordinary, had its release date pushed back several times due to disputes between Big Boi and Sony Music.

Originally recorded in 2005, the album was eventually self-released as a mixtape in 2008.

He followed up with the independent albums I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind (2006) and I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind II (2008); he then signed with T.I.'s Grand Hustle to release his fourth album Pledge (2011), and later Williams Street Records to release his fifth album, R.A.P. Music (2012).

His sixth album, Michael (2023) was met with continued acclaim and won three awards at 66th Annual Grammy Awards, including Best Rap Album.

Render's second album, I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind, was released on his own Grind Time Official label in 2006, followed by I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind II in 2008.

T.I. announced that he and Render had been in talks about bringing Mike to his Grand Hustle imprint on Atlantic, and Render confirmed that he had signed in December 2008.

He released his fourth album, PL3DGE, on Grand Hustle in 2011.

His fifth album, R.A.P. Music, followed in 2012.

Following R.A.P. Music, which was produced entirely by rapper and producer El-P, he and Render subsequently formed the duo Run the Jewels in 2013.

They signed with Fool's Gold Records and released their self-titled debut in June of that year to critical acclaim.

In 2013, Render announced that he was working to release two albums in 2014, I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind IV and R.A.P. Music II, both of which were to feature production by El-P.

Although neither album was released as planned, 2013 and 2014 did see the release of two Run the Jewels albums, both collaborative efforts between Render and El-P.

Render announced in 2013 that his next solo album would be titled Elegant Elephant, a project he described as his "Moby Dick".

He did not specify a timeline for its release.

Its three sequels–Run the Jewels 2 (2014), Run the Jewels 3 (2016) and RTJ4 (2020)—were met with continued critical praise, the latter of which matched his debut solo album in chart position on the Billboard 200.

He was a visible and vocal supporter of Bernie Sanders' 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, and supported Sanders once more in his 2020 presidential campaign.

Render has appeared in films such as Idlewild, Baby Driver, ATL, and America: The Motion Picture.

The duo guest appeared alongside Big Boi on Danger Mouse's 2017 single "Chase Me", which received a Grammy Award nomination.

Outside of music, Render has been a social and political activist, focusing on subjects including social inequality, police brutality, and systemic racism.

In addition to discussing related topics in his music, he has lectured about similar issues at colleges and universities, written about such matters for publications including Billboard, and been the subject of interviews regarding police misconduct and race relations.

His six episode docu-series, Trigger Warning with Killer Mike investigated social issues that affect Black Americans, and premiered on Netflix in January 2019.

His weekly interview program for Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), Love & Respect (2021–present) won an Emmy Award in 2022.