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Brainpower

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Brainpower is the stage name of Gertjan Mulder, a Dutch-language rapper, born on 5 February 1975 in Antwerp and raised in Alphen aan den Rijn. He began rapping in the mid-1980s and returned in the 1990s to Amsterdam, his mother's city. His career began in 1998, when he took part in the Grote Prijs van Nederland, a talent contest for Dutch musicians. In 1999 he rapped on Zoete Inval by Extince, and in 2000 on Als niet Als by Doe Maar. In the same year his first single, Door Merg en Brain, was released, and in 2001 the debut album of the same name.

Music and breakthrough

In 2002 came the album Verschil moet er zijn, with Dansplaat as its first single. It topped the charts in the Netherlands and Belgium. That year he also started the rap group ADHD and won an MTV Award for best Dutch act. In 2003 a live album appeared, followed by an eighteen-month tour. Later came Even stil in 2005 and the double album Hart en Hard in 2008. In 2009 the box set Mijn Manier was released, with all thirty videos. In 2010 he played in Jamaica with the reggae and dancehall legend Yellowman and released Dub en Dwars, with re-recorded reggae versions of his biggest songs.

Influence

Brainpower became the best-selling Dutch-language solo rapper of all time. He showed that rap could work in Dutch, with wordplay and humour, and that a Dutch rapper could find his way to reggae and dancehall.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Dansplaat from 2002 and notice the wordplay in the lyrics. Try to hear how fast, and yet how clearly intelligible, he raps.

Discography

Studio albums

Mentioned in other articles

Categories: Artists