Killer Mike

Rapper Killer Mike became one of the hip-hop community's most outspoken social activists during a career in which he enjoyed critical and commercial success as both a solo artist and as one half of supergroup Run the Jewels. Born in Atlanta, GA, Michael Render adopted his Killer Mike nickname after meeting producers The Beat Bullies and Big Boi at Morehouse College in the mid-90s. The latter helped to guide his early career by inviting him to appear on Outkast's 2000 international breakthrough Stankonia and their Grammy-winning single "The Whole World" a year later. Following an appearance on Jay-Z's The Blueprint 2, Killer Mike released his debut album, Monster, in 2003, scoring his first solo US Hot 100 entry with "A.D.I.D.A.S," and later that same year contributed to Bone Crusher's Top 40 hit "Never Scared" and two tracks on Outkast's Speakerboxx/The Love Below LP. Killer Mike took three years to record his follow-up, I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind, which like its 2008 sequel and 2011 fourth record, PL3DGE, was released through his own Grind Time Official label. After being introduced by Cartoon Network executive Jason DeMarco, Killer Mike and El-P worked together on the former's R.A.P. Music LP in 2012 and the latter's Cancer 4 Cure album later that same year, and also headed out on tour together before forming the supergroup Run the Jewels in 2013. Their self-titled debut was released for free shortly after, and was followed by a 2014 sequel and a bizarre 2015 Kickstarter-funded album titled Meow the Jewels which remixed Run the Jewels 2 using various cat sounds.