brainpower n : mental ability; "he's got plenty of brains but no common sense" [syn: brain, learning ability, mental capacity, mentality, wit]

English

Noun

1. Mental ability; intelligence
2. Intelligent people considered as a group

Gertjan Mulder (born February 5, 1975), professionally know as Brainpower, is a Dutch language rapper. He was born in Belgium and grew up in the Netherlands. In 1998, he won a music competition in the Netherlands. Since 2001, he released three studio albums.

Early life

Gertjan Mulder was born on February 5, 1975 in Antwerp, Belgium as son of a progressive Reverend. He was raised in Alphen aan den Rijn in the Netherlands, where he became a fan of hip hop and rap. In 1994, he enrolled at University of Amsterdam and studied Communication Sciences.

Career

In 1998, as Brainpower, he entered the Grote Prijs van Nederland—a national talent show in music—in the categories R&B and hip hop, winning both the jury prize and the public's appreciation prize. In 1999, he had his first Top-40 hit together with several other Dutch-language rap artists, all featuring on the Extince track Zoete Inval ("Sweet Incursion"). In 2000, Brainpower was both seen and heard in the video clip of the song Als niet Als ("If not If"), by the renowned musicians of Doe Maar. In that same year, he had his first solo hit, Door Merg en Brain ("Through Marrow and Brain").

In 2001, Brainpower released his first album, named after the hit single Door Merg en Brain. It contains a number of songs with an emotional touch, like the famous Je Moest Waarschijnlijk Gaan ("You Probably had to Go"), referring to the suicide killing of one his best friends.

In 2002, Brainpower received a TMF Award in the category Best National Hip Hop Act. In that same year, Dansplaat ("Dance Track") was released, a single that swiftly topped the charts in both the Netherlands and Belgium. Also in 2002, Brainpower won an MTV Award for best Dutch act.

In 2003, Brainpower won a second TMF Award as well as an Edison award for Best National R&B/Hip Hop act. He started a new project called ADHD, altering the acronym's meaning to Aanbevolen Dagelijkse Hoeveelheid Dopeness ("Daily Recommended Dosage of Dopeness").

In 2005, Brainpower returned with the hit Even Stil ("Moment of Silence"), it has the same name as his new album.

Discography

Albums

• Door Merg & Brain ("Through Marrow & Brain", 2001)
• Verschil Moet Er Zijn ("There Has to be Distinction", 2002)
• Even Stil ("Moment of Silence", 2005)
• Hart ("Heart", 2008)
• Hard ("Hard", 2008)

Singles

• Als niet Als ("If not If", 8-4-2000, with Doe Maar and Def P.)
• Door Merg en Brain ("Through Marrow and Brain", 2-9-2000)
• De Vierde Kaart ("The Fourth Card", 10-2-2001)
• Wat een Jinx is ("What a Jinx Is", 23-6-2001)
• Je Moest Waarschijnlijk Gaan ("You Probably had to Go", 17-11-2001)
• Dansplaat ("Dance Track", 4-5-2002)
• Voel de Vibe ("Feel the Vibe", 24-8-2002)
• One Mic (remix) / Made You Look (with Nas, 14-12-2002)
• Schreeuwetuit! ("Cryitoutloud", 26-4-2003)
• Alles ("Everything", 2-5-2005)
• Even Stil ("Moment of Silence", 2005)
• Vlinders ("Butterflies", 2006)
• Non Stop ("Non Stop", 2007)

References

External links

• Brainpower (official website)