Mike Will Made It

Mike Will - or Mike WiLL Made-It as he is commonly known - became, at a young age, one of the most exciting and most acclaimed producers known for his unique ability to blend hip-hop, R&B and pop styles in an original and commercial fashion. Born Michael Len Williams II in Marietta, Georgia, he's the youngest of three children in a musical family - his mother Shirley Williams once sang in the gospel group Dottie Peoples. An active child who excelled at basketball, baseball and American football, he had aspirations to be a professional athlete but music gradually took over as he started producing his own beats on a Korg ES-1 beat machine given to him as a Christmas present by his father. By the age of 16 he was hanging out at local recording studios in Atlanta trying to meet established artists and persuade them to listen to his tunes and finally got his break when one of his tapes was heard by Gucci Mane, who began to rap over his beats and record with him. Dropping out of Georgia State University to concentrate on music, he had his first hit with 'Tupac Back' in 2011, performed by Rick Ross and Meek Mill. He then collaborated with the rapper Future and at the end of 2011 released his first mixtape 'Estab. in 1989 (Last of a Dying Breed)', including songs by Diddy, Juicy J and Future. In 2013 he produced eight tracks on the Miley Cyrus album 'Bangerz' and then released his first single under his own name, '23'. This was followed by his debut album, featuring the likes of Khalifa, Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar. Further collaborations followed with Rihanna, Nicki Minaj and Jay-Z and in 2017 he received further acclaim for his album, 'Ransom 2'.

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