Mike Shinoda's Real Name: Michael Kenji Shinoda

Quick answer: He is known as Mike Shinoda. AllMusic says he was born Michael Kenji Shinoda on February 11, 1977, and the Library of Congress gives the same full name and date. His official site describes him as a Japanese American musician, visual artist, and entrepreneur, and his art-school scholarship carries the name Michael K. Shinoda.

Real name and early life

AllMusic gives his birthplace as Panorama City, California. A Library of Congress record instead names Agoura Hills, California. The two sources disagree, and the point is unresolved.

AllMusic says he loved to paint as a child and studied classical piano before moving into jazz, hip-hop, and guitar. His influences ranged from N.W.A. and Boogie Down Productions to Led Zeppelin, Aphex Twin, Deftones, and Nine Inch Nails. In junior high he became friends with guitarist Brad Delson, and in high school they formed the band Xero with drummer Rob Bourdon.

His official site says he earned a B.F.A. in illustration from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena in 1998, received an honorary doctorate there in 2009, and set up the Michael K. Shinoda Endowed Scholarship. AllMusic says he met DJ Joe Hahn at the school, then worked as a graphic designer while Xero played gigs around Los Angeles.

Career highlights

AllMusic says Xero added bassist Dave "Phoenix" Farrell and vocalist Chester Bennington and became Linkin Park in 1999. The band signed with Warner Bros., and its debut, Hybrid Theory, sold diamond. Shinoda served as rapper, co-vocalist, and producer, and designed album artwork with Hahn. His official site calls him the band's founder, producer, and primary songwriter, and credits Linkin Park with two Grammys and more than 100 million albums sold.

In 2005 he released The Rising Tied as Fort Minor. His site lists a Grammy for a 2006 collaboration with Jay-Z and a 2022 Grammy for a Deftones remix. He has scored the video game Medal of Honor: Warfighter and the film The Raid: Redemption, and wrote theme music for Into the Badlands.

After Bennington's death in 2017, AllMusic says Shinoda released Post Traumatic (2018), billed as his solo debut, followed by the mostly instrumental Dropped Frames series in 2020. His site also notes his visual art, gallery exhibitions, and advisory roles with technology companies.

Name notes for searchers

Mike is the short form of Michael, and Kenji is his middle name. The Library of Congress lists the variant Shinoda, Michael Kenji. Searches for Michael Shinoda, Michael K. Shinoda, or Fort Minor's founder all lead to the same artist. AllMusic and the Library of Congress both give his birth date as February 11, 1977.