[5] During his adolescent years, McKinney played in various punk rock and hip hop based groups.
After co-writing and co-producing their entire breakthrough album Breath From Another,[8] McKinney was released from the group’s contract by Sony during their first tour and Esthero reverted back to being a solo act.
[9] McKinney has since worked with Santi White (Santigold) on various projects, including her 2008 release of her Solid Gold Mixtape.
[10] Since then, McKinney has had the opportunity to work with Sting, Drake, Kelis, Dr. Dre, G-Love, Raphael Saadiq, Mary J. Blige,[11] Sinéad O'Connor,[11][12] Alice Smith, Amanda Blank, Trouble Andrew, Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest),[13] Hawksley Workman[14] as well as Latin artists Belinda, RBD and Debi Nova.
McKinney is a supporter of War Child (charity), GEM's – Girls Educational and Mentoring Services, and Red Hot Organization (AIDS Awareness).