Open Mike Eagle

Michael W. Eagle II (born November 14, 1980), better known by his pseudonym Open Mike Eagle, is an American rapper, record producer and comedian. Originally from Chicago, Illinois, he is now based in Los Angeles, California, where he is a member of the hip hop collective Project Blowed. He has also been a member of Thirsty Fish, and Cavanaugh.

Early life Born November 14, 1980, Eagle grew up in Chicago's Robert Taylor Homes and lived with his grandparents until he was 13, at which point he moved in with his mother. Eagle also has a younger brother and sister. He attended Whitney M. Young Magnet High School and went on to Southern Illinois University Carbondale where he majored in psychology. He became the 2nd African American homecoming king in the school's history, and a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

Eagle attended graduate school for one year, but quickly moved to Los Angeles to live with his dad. He began working for AmeriCorps for six months before getting a job at a non-profit halfway house. They released the first album Testing the Waters in 2007 and the second album Watergate on Mush Records in 2011. All three members of Thirsty Fish are also co-founders of the battle crew Swim Team. In 2008, Swim Team released the mixtape Ocean's 11.

In 2010, Eagle released his first solo album, Unapologetic Art Rap, on Mush Records. The album features Nocando, Busdriver, and Serengeti. His second album, Rappers Will Die of Natural Causes, was released on Hellfyre Club in 2011. It features vocal contributions from P.O.S and MC Paul Barman.

In 2012, Eagle released an album, 4nml Hsptl, on Fake Four Inc. It is entirely produced by Awkward. In that year, he co-authored and participated in a study conducted by the National Institutes of Health that observed the locations of increased brain activity during freestyle rapping.

In 2014, Eagle released an album, Dark Comedy. In 2016, he released Hella Personal Film Festival, a collaborative album with Paul White. In 2017, he released Brick Body Kids Still Daydream, a concept album about the Robert Taylor Homes, a public housing project in Chicago, Illinois. It was placed at number 34 on Rolling Stones "50 Best Albums of 2017" list, as well as number 49 on Pitchforks "50 Best Albums of 2017" list. In 2018, he released an EP, What Happens When I Try to Relax.

Podcasts and comedy

In June 2015, Eagle, along with John Moe, launched "Conversation Parade", a podcast in which the two discuss the Cartoon Network animated television series Adventure Time. The podcast has featured guests like Jeremy Shada, John DiMaggio, Hynden Walch, Adam Muto, Kent Osborne, Niki Yang, Olivia Olson, Jesse Moynihan, Jessica DiCicco, Elizabeth Ito, and Neko Case. More recently, Open Mike Eagle podcasts regularly on his podcast Secret Skin. Mike Eagle also co-hosts the pro wrestling podcast Tights and Fights with Hal Lublin and Danielle Radford on the Maximum Fun Network. Mike Eagle also hosts the podcast "What Had Happened Was," during which he conducts in-depth interviews with hip-hop artists about their careers. During Season 1, Mike Eagle spoke with producer Prince Paul, and during Season 2 he interviewed rapper and producer El-P. Season 3 featured Mike interviewing producer and record executive Dante Ross, while Season 4 featured Questlove.

Film and television Eagle has expressed his appreciation for Adventure Time. During Adventure Times tenth season, he appeared in the episode "Son of Rap Bear", voicing a rapping gingerbread man. On April 18, 2017, Comedy Central announced they were greenlighting The New Negroes, a stand-up and musical series co-hosted by Open Mike Eagle and Baron Vaughn. The New Negroes premiered on Comedy Central on April 9, 2019, and includes a new music video each episode in which Eagle collaborates with other hip-hop artists including MF Doom, Danny Brown, Phonte, and Lizzo. He also appeared in three episodes of Netflix's 2020 show History of Swear Words. He writes original songs for AppleTV+'s Strange Planet.

Style and influences Eagle has coined his own term for the style of some of his music, which he calls "art rap". In a 2016 interview, he stated that They Might Be Giants influenced him.

Personal life Eagle met his ex-wife Tiffany at a TransAfrica conference at UCLA, and they have one son together. "Celebrity Reduction Prayer" and "Dark Comedy Late Show" on Persona (2015) "How to Be Super Petty to Your Ex" on 30 Days, 50 Songs (2016)