Open Mike Eagle

Michael W. Eagle II (born November 14, 1980), better known by his stage name Open Mike Eagle, is an American alternative hip hop artist. 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 is also a member of Thirsty Fish and Swim Team.

Mike grew up in Chicago and lived with his grandparents until he was 13 at which point he moved in with his mother. He attended Whitney M. Young Magnet High School and went on to Southern Illinois University Carbondale where he majored in psychology. There he became good friends with Hannibal Buress after being his resident adviser.

He did a year of grad school, 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. As he continued to work odd jobs, Mike rapped as a hobby before discovering Project Blowed and then creating Thirsty Fish.

In 2010, Open Mike Eagle released the 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, Open Mike Eagle released the album, 4nml Hsptl, on Fake Four Inc. It is entirely produced by Awkward.

In 2012, 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.

Open Mike Eagle, Dumbfoundead and Psychosiz make up the rap trio Thirsty Fish. 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.

On June 13, 2014 & August 15, 2014, Mike Eagle appeared live on Ron and Fez show.

He met his wife Tiffany at a TransAfrica nationalist conference at UCLA and they have one son together. Mike also has a younger brother and sister.

Mike Eagle has expressed his appreciation for the Cartoon Network animated television series Adventure Time. In June 2015, Eagle along with John Moe, launched "Conversation Parade", a podcast in which the two discuss the show. The podcast has featured guests like Jeremy Shada (the voice of Finn the Human), John DiMaggio (the voice of Jake the Dog), Hynden Walch (the voice of Princess Bubblegum), and Adam Muto (the series' co-executive producer and showrunner), Kent Osborne (Adventure Time's head writer), Niki Yang (the voice of BMO and Lady Rainicorn), Olivia Olson (the voice of Marceline), Jesse Moynihan (former storyboard artist), Jessica DiCicco (the voice of Flame Princess), Elizabeth Ito (one of the show's supervising directors), and alternative country musician Neko Case.

More recently, Open Mike Eagle podcasts regularly on his podcast Secret Skin.

He has coined his own term for the style of some of his music, which he calls Art Rap.

Solo albums

• Unapologetic Art Rap (Mush Records, 2010)
• Rappers Will Die of Natural Causes (Hellfyre Club, 2011)
• 4NML HSPTL (Fake Four Inc., 2012) (with Awkward)
• Dark Comedy (Mello Music Group, 2014)
• Hella Personal Film Festival (Mello Music Group, 2016) (with Paul White)

Collaboration albums

• Testing the Waters (Bell Rang Records, 2007) (with Dumbfoundead & Psychosiz, as Thirsty Fish)
• Ocean's 11 (Project Blowed, 2008) (with Swim Team)
• Watergate (Mush Records, 2011) (with Dumbfoundead & Psychosiz, as Thirsty Fish)

EPs

• Art Rap After Party (Mush Records, 2011)
• Extended Nightmares Getdown: The Dark Blue Door (Hellfyre Club, 2011)
• Rent Party Extension (Hellfyre Club, 2012)
• Sir Rockabye (Hellfyre Club, 2013)
• A Special Episode Of (Mello Music Group, 2015)
• Time & Materials (Mello Music Group, 2015) (with Serengeti as Cavanaugh)

Singles

• "I Rock" (Mush Records, 2010)
• "Home Movies" (self-released, 2012) (with Thirsty Fish)
• "Ziggy Starfish (Anti-Anxiety Raps) feat. Thundercat" (self-released, 2015)

Guest appearances

• Abstract Rude - "Thynk Eye Can (Blowedian Next Generation Mix)" from Rejuvenation (2009)
• Nocando - "DSD2" from Jimmy the Lock (2010)
• Busdriver - "Deer God" from Computer Cooties (2010)
• Flash Bang Grenada - "In a Perfect World" from 10 Haters (2011)
• Mega Ran - "Now Hiring" from Mega Ran 10 (2011)
• Myka 9 & Factor - "5 Mikes" from Sovereign Soul (2012)
• Zilla Rocca - "Full Spectrum 2" from Full Spectrum (2012)
• Busdriver - "Werner Herzog" from Arguments with Dreams (2012)
• Cars & Trains - "Stay Awake" from We Are All Storms (2012)
• Sole - "Definition of Slave" from A Ruthless Criticism of Everything Existing (2012)
• Premrock & Willie Green - "Jogger" from Premrock & Willie Green (2012)
• Ras G - Kampala Blackouts (2012)
• Random - "Super Move" from Language Arts Volume 2 (2012)
• Illogic & Blockhead - "From Scratch" from Preparing for Capture 2 (2012)
• Curly Castro - "My Beloved" (2013)
• Loden - "An Evening with Open Mike Eagle" from The Star-Eyed Condition (2013)
• Milo - "The Otherground Pizza Party" from Things That Happen at Night (2013)
• Kool A.D. - "Red Wine" from 63 (2013)
• Billy Woods - "Fool's Gold" from Dour Candy (2013)
• Steel Tipped Dove - "Hyperbolic Chamber Music II" (2013)
• Gregory Pepper & Madadam - "Stirring Dead Leaves" from Big Huge Truck (2013)
• Factor - "Stone Cold" from Woke Up Alone (2013)
• MC Frontalot - "Much Chubbier" from Question Bedtime (2014)
• Megabusive w/ Awkward - "Apexes and Peaks" and "So Much" from Hell on Hell (2014)
• Drummachinemike - "The Anti-Socialite's Theme Song", "Bowling Tips" and "The Kids Don't Like Me" from Drum Machine Music (2014)
• Busdriver - "When the Tooth-lined Horizon Blinks" from Perfect Hair (2014)
• Milo - "Objectifying Rabbits" from A Toothpaste Suburb (2014)
• Factor Chandelier - "Dozer II" from Factoria (2016)
• P.O.S - "Sleepdrone/Superposition" from "Chill, dummy" (2017)

Compilation appearances

• "Silent Protest (A Modest Proposal)" on Prometheus (2011)
• "Celebrity Reduction Prayer" and "Dark Comedy Late Show" on Persona (2015)

• "Pop & Hiss premiere: The Hellfyre Club's 'Prometheus' mixtape". Los Angeles Times. March 11, 2011. Retrieved February 16, 2012. 
• Kaye, Ben (February 27, 2015). "Open Mike Eagle teams with Oddisee for "Celebrity Reduction Prayer" — listen". Consequence of Sound.