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Diversity & Inclusion: Hope Happens Here
After his empassioned testimony from the heart amid the Black Lives Matter protests in his hometown of Atlanta, rapper MICHAEL 'KILLER MIKE' RENDER has been a sought after voice to ignite social justice. He encourages us to stand - no, act - next to each other, and do the work on an everyday basis that changes mindsets, builds something beautiful, and converts the vision of equity into actual progress. A natural storyteller, Killer Mike tells the stories of the past and present and personal lessons learned, and interweaves facts that make the stories irrefutable and important lessons.
Social Activism and Community Engagement
In this talk, Grammy-award winning rapper MICHAEL 'KILLER MIKE' RENDER shares why he's more focused on cultivating his community than a fan following. Render was raised in the Adamsville/Collier Heights neighborhood on the Northwest side of Atlanta, and made a name for himself as a community activist well before he recorded a single song. Render heavily invests himself into youth programs, black businesses, and local culture, and he lobbies against systemic issues such as mass incarceration. It would be easy for someone of Render’s stature to focus exclusively on his career, but Render believes service to the community is the rent he pays for existing.
Michael 'Killer Mike' Render and Andrew Young collaborate on a Black-Owned Bank To Combat Systemic Racism
MICHAEL 'KILLER MIKE' RENDER, a well-known rapper and activist and ANDREW YOUNG, a former member of Congress, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and Mayor of Atlanta are collaborating to run a successful Black-owned bank that works to combat systemic racism. The bank is a digital banking system that focuses on Black and Latino communities, named Greenwood. The name is a nod to the Tulsa community, which was known as “Black Wall Street” before being destroyed by a white mob back in 1921. Greenwood aims to tackle discrimination and inequality in banking, such as home ownership by offering education on mortgages and loans, securing loans for new businesses by providing $10,000 a month in grants, serving those who live in banking deserts, recircling money back into the Black community, and more. Michael 'Killer Mike' Render frequently speaks on diversity and inclusion, social activism, and community engagement. He encourages us to stand - no, act - next to each other, and do the work on an everyday basis that changes mindsets, builds something beautiful, and converts the vision of equity into actual progress, including Greenwood. He shares why he's more focused on cultivating his community than a fan following - he made a name for himself as a community activist well before he recorded a single song, and his talks reflect that.
The successful bank is frequently making headlines in the mainstream news, featured in ABC News, ADWEEK, Bloomberg, Black Enterprise, Revolt, and more. The bank is so popular, the launch had to be delayed multiple times due to high demand to ensure the platform can uphold the demand when it does launch.
Virtual Programming: Rapper Killer Mike is a social activist, igniter, and thougtful voice on social justice and equity. He leads by example in doing the work to convert turbulence into progress, and helps audiences understand the imperative to stand together in hope and action
KILLER MIKE is a Grammy-winning rapper, community activist and important voice for social justice and equity. Since his empassioned testimony amid the Black Lives Matters protests in his hometown of Atlanta, he has appeared in virtual interviews everywhere from The Colbert Show to Rolling Stone online to MSNBC, and has appeared in print everywhere from GQ to Bloomberg. He was named to NME's "The Ten People Who Defined 2020" list for his powerful lyrics and activism and his album, RTJ4, made Variety's "Best Albums of 2020" list alongside Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, and more. And because he is a fan favorite, he was chosen to give a virtual commencement address on Adult Swim - an outlet known for being fun and irreverant - during which Killer Mike discussed the poignant messages of knowing who you are, having patience, and standing for something. A natural storyteller, Mike shares with audiences why he invests so heavily in his community and black businesses, the hope it brings to do the work, and how to ignite progress within a community or organization.
Atlanta’s favorite son Killer Mike gets recognized as many things - a rapper, an advocate for the disenfranchised, an entrepreneur, a Bernie Sanders whisperer, and for his widely lauded advocacy work on political and social causes - which yielded him Billboard’s inaugural 2020 Change Maker Award. Most recently his critically lauded 2023 album MICHAEL earned him three Grammy Awards (Best Rap Album and Best Rap Song & Performance for “SCIENTISTS & ENGINEERS”) for its complex portrait of Black southern masculinity. The honors marked his first awards from the Academy since taking home the Grammy for Best Rap Performance Duo or Group for his 2001 collaboration with Outkast, “The Whole World.”
While Killer Mike has been an active solo artist for over 20 years, releasing numerous studio projects while also collaborating with some of the biggest names in hip-hop (including Outkast, Jay-Z, Big Boi, T.I., Black Thought, and more), he is also widely renowned as half of the popular hip-hop super duo, Run The Jewels, with whom he has released four studio albums alongside his partner in rhyme EL-P. Their most recent, 2020’s RTJ4, soared to the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 and was met with widespread critical acclaim, landing at #1 on NME’s "The Best 50 Albums of 2020" list. Named the 2020 Spin Magazine Artist of the Year, Run The Jewels have won eleven Libera Awards, including the 2021 A2IM Humanitarian Award, took home four Clio Awards, including two Gold-winning Music Marketing campaigns, and received a 2018 Grammy nomination for Best Rap Song.
In addition to his success as a musician, Killer Mike has gained wide recognition beyond the industry. He has acted in several films, including Baby Driver, Idlewild, and ATL and showed up TV cameos on Ozark and Billions. He also provided voiceover for the 2021 Netflix film America: The Motion Picture and is the host of multiple series including the Emmy Award winning PBS show Love & Respect with Killer Mike, Facebook’s Roll’N with Killer Mike, and Netflix’s Trigger Warning with Killer Mike, while also turning in regular speaking appearances on Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Real Time with Bill Maher.
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