Mike Shinoda

As a founding member of nu-metal heroes Linkin Park, Mike Shinoda – born in Panorama City, California on February 11, 1977 - helped craft a scorching mix of metal thunder, funk licks and hip-hop breaks and helped the band to five number 1 albums before the sudden death of front man Chester Bennington in 2017. Growing up in a Japanese American family, Mike Shinoda threw himself into art and music from a young age and, after taking up classical piano at the age of six, he was inspired by his love of Beastie Boys, Led Zeppelin, and Rage Against the Machine to form his high school band Xero. After college, he worked as a graphic designer before Linkin Park landed a deal with Warner Bros. in 1999. Linkin Park’s 2000 debut album Hybrid Theory sold over 30 million copies with the major hit single “In the End.” With Mike Shinoda providing keyboards, guitar, and vocals while also playing a major part in the band's artwork, their passionate, emotional rap-rock style made Linkin Park one of the major US alternative acts of the 2000s and won them two Grammy Awards. Mike Shinoda also led hip hop side project Fort Minor who released their debut album, The Rising Tide, in 2005, and reached number 4 in the US charts with the single “Where'd You Go.” He also produced albums for rap acts including Celph Titled, Styles of Beyond, Cypress Hill, and Lupe Fiasco, as well as starting the label Machine Shop Records and founding several charities. The suicide of his close friend and long-time musical cohort Chester Bennington left Mike Shinoda shocked and grief stricken, but after performing at a memorial concert at the Hollywood Bowl, he turned to music and art as form of solace. Releasing his solo debut Post Trauma in 2018, Mike Shinoda described the work as a ‘journey out of the darkness’ and, though raw and painfully honest at times, the album was typically anthemic and resolutely defiant in spirit. In 2020, he released a series of digital albums inspired by his time on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic: Dropped Frames, Vol. 1, Vol. 2, and Vol.3. After a relatively quiet period, Mike Shinoda returned in 2023 with the single “In My Head” (featuring Kailee Morgue), which was featured on the soundtrack to the horror film Scream VI.