- published: 23 Mar 2016
- views: 873
Michael Robert "Mike" Posner (born February 12, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer. Posner released his debut album, 31 Minutes to Takeoff, on August 10, 2010. The album includes the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 single "Cooler Than Me," his second single, "Please Don't Go," as well as his third single, "Bow Chicka Wow Wow". As of 2012, he is the ambassador of Reebok Classic's RealFlex range.
Posner was born and raised in Southfield, Michigan. His father, a criminal defense attorney, is Jewish, and his mother is Catholic. Posner attended and graduated from Groves High School, where he ran varsity track and cross-country, and went on to attend Duke University. There, Posner went Sigma Nu and graduated in 2010 with a degree in sociology and a certificate in markets and management, with an overall GPA of 3.59.
Manager Daniel Weisman of Elitaste Inc. first heard about Mike Posner in 2008 when Jared Evan manager Saytum passed on some tracks Posner had created for Weisman's then client Wale. Weisman got in touch with Posner and, impressed by songs including "Cooler Than Me", began an informal mentoring relationship with the artist over iChat. The association was made official in early 2009 after Posner's second mixtape, A Matter of Time (the first mixtape being Reflections of a Lost Teen) started attracting industry attention. Working with Don Cannon and DJ Benzi, the mixtape was released from his dorm room at Duke University in March 2009 under the name, "Mike Posner & the Brain Trust," the Brain Trust referring to Posner's supporters. The release was unusual for being distributed for free through iTunes U, a channel designed for educational audio content. Although Posner was not the only artist to take advantage of this loophole, his release was the most organised and high profile, and attracted the largest response, immediately reaching the number one position on the iTunes U chart, thanks to his manager Saytum.