Michael Francis Seander (born October 30, 1988), known professionally as Mike (stylized as mike.; formerly Mike Stud), is an American
hip hop recording artist. His first musical recognition came with the release of his viral single "College Humor", which he recorded on
GarageBand
GarageBand is a line of digital audio workstations developed by Apple Inc. for macOS, iPadOS, and iOS devices that allows users to create music or podcasts. GarageBand is developed by Apple for macOS, and was once part of the iLife software s ...
ironically while he was a relief pitcher at
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
.
Early life
In 2006, Seander graduated from
St. Raphael Academy in
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence and East Providence to the south, Central Falls ...
. At , he
lettered
Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...
in both baseball and basketball and was named Rhode Island's 2006 Gatorade Player of the Year, earning him an athletic scholarship to Duke University. Seander earned 2nd team all-state honors in basketball after averaging 21 points and 7 rebounds as a senior. He earned an 8-2 record with a 0.72 ERA and 88 strikeouts for the Saints as a junior. In his senior season, he posted a 9-2 record, an ERA of 0.91, and struck out 107 en route to being named both the Gatorade Player of the Year and Louisville Slugger Player of the Year in Rhode Island.
Baseball career
After graduating, Seander attended
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
in
Durham, North Carolina
Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...
, to play baseball. While at
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
, he was teammates with current
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...
pitcher
Marcus Stroman
Marcus Earl Stroman (born May 1, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Mets. Stroman is listed at , making him o ...
, who is now generally noted as Seander's best friend. He was named the team's closer as a true freshman. Seander saved 9 games in 28 appearances and earned a 1.61 ERA (lowest in Duke baseball history). Those 9 saves were the fifth highest total in school history and was good for fourth best in the
ACC
ACC most often refers to:
* Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US
*American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...
that season. At season's end, Seander was named to the Louisville Slugger and Rivals.com Freshman All-American teams. The Rhode Island native also spent a summer in 2007 as the closer for the
Newport Gulls
The Newport Gulls are a wooden-bat, collegiate summer baseball team based in Newport, Rhode Island. The Newport Gulls Baseball Club is a member of both the New England Collegiate Baseball League and the NECBL's Coastal Division. Since 2001, the Gu ...
in the
NECBL.
Seander suffered from arm issues following his sophomore season that would eventually require
Tommy John surgery
Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...
. After missing the entire 2009 season recovering from the surgery, Seander graduated from Duke on the All-ACC Honor Roll with a 3.4 GPA. He decided to use his final year of college eligibility at
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
in Washington, D.C. He appeared in 9 games as a senior for the Hoyas, striking out 9 in 8.2 innings pitched, and earned a graduate degree in sports management.
Music career
While recovering from surgery, Stud turned to music to pass the time.
In December 2010, Stud released a music video for "College Humor". Stud stated that he originally made the track as a joke for his baseball teammates. Since its release, the video has been viewed over 2.5 million times (as of April 2021). In March, Stud followed up his hit with "In This Life", which featured West Coast rapper
Alex Lagemann
Alexander Robert Lagemann (born July 28, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter, TV personality, and former collegiate athlete. During his time playing football at UC Berkeley, he began making hip-hop music, which eventually led him to start the ...
.
All three hits were featured on Stud's first mixtape—''A Toast to Tommy''—which he released in October 2011. In August, Stud released another mixtape, ''Click'', as a collaboration with fellow hip-hop artist Huey Mack.
On May 13, 2013, Stud released his debut studio album ''
Relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
''.
On July 7, 2014, he released his second album ''
Closer''.
On October 30, 2015, he released an 8-track mini-album, ''This Isn't the Album'', a mix of previously released singles and new tracks.
On January 12, 2016, Stud released his third studio album, ''These Days'', which includes a feature from
New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
pitcher and former Duke teammate,
Marcus Stroman
Marcus Earl Stroman (born May 1, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Mets. Stroman is listed at , making him o ...
.
Mike most recently starred in a TV show on the Esquire Network called ''This Is Mike Stud''. The show follows him and his crew around on his most recent Back2YouTour. The show premiered Tuesday, June 21, 2016.
In 2017, Stud was featured on "To the Grave" by American singer-songwriter
Bea Miller
Beatrice Annika Miller (born February 7, 1999) is an American singer and actress. She came in ninth place on season two of ''The X Factor'' (US) when she was 13 years old. She was later signed to Hollywood Records. Her debut EP '' Young Blood'' ...
, which is included on her EP, ''
Chapter Three: Yellow'' and her second studio album, ''Aurora''.
On November 12, 2018, Stud released his fourth album, ''4TheHomies'', which included 23 songs and features from
Vory
Tavoris Javon Hollins Jr. (born August 17, 1997), known professionally as Vory (formerly King Vory), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He won a Grammy for his work on The Carters' '' Everything Is Love'' and has released several solo ...
and
Goody Grace
Goody Grace (born Branson Gudmundson; June 19, 1997) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter and producer from Selkirk, Manitoba. He has released one full length album and two EPs, as well as having co-written songs for musicians such as Machine ...
. The album is very special to Stud, as the pinned tweet reads, "Hey guys. I released a new project last night. 23 songs that are basically the last 2 years of my life in music form. I made every song in my house. this shit couldn't be more me. I hope u guys have as much fun listening as we did making it."
In 2018, Stud began his Final Mike Stud Tour, leading many fans to believe it was his last tour ever. However, he clarified this by saying he was merely changing his stage name to "Mike" after the tour concluded.
In 2021, the highs., was mike.'s first album released under his new stage name.
Discography
Albums
* ''
Relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
'' (2013)
* ''
Closer'' (2014)
* ''These Days'' (2016)
* ''4TheHomies'' (2018)
* ''Uhyuready?'' (2019)
* ''the highs.'' (2021) – No. 56 US
''Billboard'' 200
* ''Why Not Us?'' (2022)
* ''the lows.'' (TBA)
Mixtapes
* ''A Toast to Tommy'' (2011)
* ''Click'' with Huey Mack (2012)
* ''#SundayStudTape'' (2013)
* ''#SundayStudTapeVol.2'' (2013)
* ''It's Spring Break, Homie'' (2015)
* ''This Isn't the Album'' (2015)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stud, Mike
Living people
American male rappers
Rappers from Rhode Island
Baseball players from Rhode Island
Musicians from Providence, Rhode Island
Duke Blue Devils baseball players
Georgetown Hoyas baseball players
East Coast hip hop musicians
1988 births
Atlantic Records artists
21st-century American rappers
21st-century American male musicians