Brainpower

Gertjan Mulder (born , 1975), professionally known 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 five studio albums.

Early life

Gertjan Mulder was born on , 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.