Michael Kenji Shinoda (/ʃɪˈnoʊdə/; born February 11, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and graphic designer.

In 2018, Shinoda released his debut solo album Post Traumatic, which consists of 18 songs about his feelings following the death of Chester Bennington, his Linkin Park bandmate.

[3][9] Shinoda attended Agoura High School with future Linkin Park bandmates Brad Delson and Rob Bourdon.

The band was limited in resources and originally produced and recorded music in Shinoda's bedroom, which resulted in the release of a four-track demo tape, entitled Xero, in 1997.

[3][17] Shinoda is closely involved in the technical aspects of the band's recordings; over the subsequent releases, that role continued to expand.

Shinoda collaborated with graffiti artist DELTA, graphic designer Frank Maddocks, and bandmate Joe Hahn to prepare Reanimation's artwork.

Mike also collaborated with the Flem, Delta, James R. Minchin III, Nick Spanos, and Joe Hahn for the artwork of the band's second studio album Meteora.

By the release of the Jay-Z and Linkin Park collaborative mashup EP, entitled Collision Course in 2004, Shinoda's involvement in the creation of the albums continued to grow.

[30][31] Despite the rarity of Shinoda-fronted singing tracks, music magazine Hit Parader ranked him at number 72 of the Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time.

[32] Shinoda and Rubin again shared a production credit for Linkin Park's fourth album, A Thousand Suns, which was released on September 14, 2010.

Bennington and Shinoda sang simultaneously together on "The Catalyst", "Jornada del Muerto" and "Robot Boy", while "Iridescent" features all band members singing together.

[37] Allmusic described Shinoda's work for the album as, "a fitting soundtrack for aging rap-rockers who are comfortable in their skin but restless at heart".

[41] In 2014, Shinoda worked with Delson to produce the band's sixth studio album, The Hunting Party, which was released on June 17, 2014.

[42][43][44] The album is the first one to have featuring artists like Page Hamilton of Helmet, Rakim, Daron Malakian of System of a Down, and Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine.

In September 2024, along with fellow band members of Linkin Park, Shinoda announced they would be collaborating with new co-vocalist Emily Armstrong and drummer Colin Brittain for their next new album, From Zero.

[56] Fort Minor: We Major was a mixtape by Shinoda and DJ Green Lantern to promote his upcoming studio album.

[59] The album featured musical collaborations from Styles of Beyond, Lupe Fiasco, Common, Black Thought of the Roots, John Legend, Holly Brook, Jonah Matranga, and Celph Titled.

[59][62] Shinoda told Corey Moss of MTV News that he imposed on himself a requirement to play all the instruments and write all the lyrics to the album, except for the strings, percussion, or choir parts.

[67] Another track, "Kenji", describes the experiences of a Japanese-American family during the Japanese American internment of World War II.

On January 25, 2018, Shinoda released the Post Traumatic EP, featuring three songs about his own feelings in the aftermath of Chester Bennington's death on July 20, 2017.

He performed on August 25 and 26 as part of the Reading & Leeds Festivals, joining artists and bands such as Post Malone, Panic!

at the Disco, Dua Lipa, Brockhampton, and Travis Scott; Fall Out Boy, Kendrick Lamar, and Kings of Leon were headlining the event.

[102] On March 10, 2023, in the midst of re-releasing Linkin Park's Meteora to celebrate its 20th anniversary, Shinoda released a new solo single titled "In My Head" as part of the soundtrack to the film Scream VI.

[108] Shinoda has had a hand in most artistic facets of Linkin Park's imagery, including the group's album artwork, band merchandise, web design, and on-stage production art.

That series became the backbone for the packaging of the album, and was featured in Shinoda's first public art show "Diamonds Spades Hearts & Clubs".

[116][119] On July 11, 2008, Shinoda's second public art show "Glorious Excess (BORN)" premiered at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles.

He grew up listening to Boogie Down Productions, Public Enemy, N.W.A, and Juice Crew,[140] and later Nine Inch Nails, Deftones, the Roots and Aphex Twin.

[141] Other influences and favorites of Shinoda's include Led Zeppelin, Run-DMC, the Beatles, Rage Against the Machine, Purity Ring, Arctic Monkeys and Santigold.

"[143] In an Impericon interview, Shinoda stated his 'non-definitive' top three bands of all time to be Nine Inch Nails, Led Zeppelin, and Creedence Clearwater Revival.

"[146] A reviewer of the Scripps Howard News Service stated that Shinoda's rapping is "a smidge closer to Eminem than he is to Vanilla Ice.