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

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

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

[3] Michael Render was born in the Adamsville neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia, on April 20, 1975,[4] the son of a policeman father and a florist mother.

[5][6] 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.

[7][5] 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.

[7] He was featured on several other tracks that year, including the Jay-Z's song "Poppin' Tags" from his album The Blueprint 2, where he guest performed alongside both Big Boi and Chicago rapper Twista.

[10] 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.

[11] 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.

[31] On July 29, 2024, Mike announced his seventh studio album, Songs for Sinners & Saints, with his gospel group, Michael & The Mighty Midnight Revival.

He has performed as a voice actor, playing a rapper/actor-turned-U.S. President named Taqu'il in the Adult Swim cartoon Frisky Dingo from 2006 to 2008.

Mike guest-voiced a Boost Mobile phone in an episode of the same name of Adult Swim's Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

He appeared twice on an Adult Swim surreal comedy series The Eric Andre Show, once in 2012, where he acted as a hype man for a female opera singer,[33] and again in 2014, where he performed a rap battle with Action Bronson while the two were forced to walk on treadmills.

[38] The barbershop is decorated with artwork on the walls honoring historic Black leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr. Mike said that he hopes to "lift up men in the community who are out of work and help move them toward sustainable, lifelong careers" and give his employees "opportunity for real economic elevation".

[38] The enterprise has been successful and the shop has become a gathering place for the community, in addition to hosting events such as a season premiere for The Boondocks and serving as the setting for several music videos.

[39][40] In October 2020, Render, Bounce TV founder Ryan Glover, and former Atlanta mayor Andrew Young founded Greenwood, an online bank targeting "Black and Latinx communities and anyone else who wants to support Black-owned businesses".

[50]In an op-ed published in Billboard magazine, Render stated that "there is no reason that Mike Brown and also Eric Garner are dead today—except bad policing, excessive force, and the hunt-and-capture-prey mentality many thrill-seeking cops have adapted".

[51] Mike and El-P performed at The Ready Room in St. Louis, Missouri on November 24, 2014, the same night that the Grand Jury verdict was announced stating that Darren Wilson would not be charged with a crime in the shooting of Michael Brown.

[54] Mike gave a keynote address on free speech, and particularly with respect to the criminalization of rap music (he has a particular interest in championing the expressive rights of artists, and led the way in a successful campaign against the use of lyrics as criminal evidence in California), at the inaugural gala for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression in New York City in April 2023.

[55] Commenting on the 2015 Baltimore uprising related to the death of Freddie Gray, Render noted that he understood the frustrations leading to violent demonstrations, but encouraged protesters to use their energy to organize for lasting change.

Despite encouraging voters to write in his real name, Michael Render, any votes he received would not have been considered valid due to his failure to previously register as an official candidate in the election.

[75][76] In June 2017, at Glastonbury festival, Mike endorsed Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in the 2017 UK general election.

[78][79] On May 29, 2020, Mike spoke during a press conference with Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms in response to the murder of George Floyd and the ensuing protests.

[80][81] In 2020, Mike supported both Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in the 2020–2021 United States Senate special election in Georgia, both of whom won.

He again endorsed Warnock in the 2022 United States Senate election in Georgia, although he interviewed his opponent, Herschel Walker in May of that year on his Love & Respect series.

[85][5] Mike was arrested and booked for misdemeanor battery following an altercation with a security guard on February 4, 2024, shortly after he won three Grammy Awards.

[88] Studio albums In 2020, Render was the recipient of the first Billboard Change Maker Award, created to recognize an artist or group that speaks truth to power through their music and celebrity.