Born in Los Angeles in 1977, Mike Shinoda is a founding member of US rock band Linkin Park. They garnered huge acclaim in the 00s as one of the pioneering groups in the nu-metal genre. Initially establishing a loyal online fanbase in the late 90s, their popularity filtered into the mainstream in 2000 with their debut album, Hybrid Theory – one of the bestselling albums of all time. After seven albums, Shinoda released his solo debut, Post Traumatic, a collection of songs written after Linkin Park co-frontman Chester Bennington killed himself in 2017. His new EP, The Crimson Chapter, is out now.
I was 25 and backstage on a US tour when this photo was taken. Back then, there was a difference between the way I might act in a social situation with friends versus the person I was on a photoshoot or on stage with Linkin Park. Like many artists, I created a persona as a defence mechanism. I wasn’t entirely comfortable being in the spotlight, so I developed a way I’d act around people. I think that comes across in a lot of the pictures from the time: I look a little more cocky, as if I am trying to emulate the rappers that I grew up loving, such as Public Enemy. Thankfully, now I am a lot more at ease and have stopped that.
