Brainpower was the performance moniker of one Gertjan Mulder, a Belgian-born (Antwerp, 1975) rapper who made his base in Amsterdam, Netherlands. His first forays into writing rap came about in 1989, and began to blossom after 1994, when he had moved to Amsterdam to attend college. He began by MCing at parties in the city, and by 1998 had made a serious name for himself by winning the best R&B/Hip-Hop award at the Grand Prix of the Netherlands talent show. His first recorded appearance, backing up Dutch rapper Extince, came about in 1999, and in 2000, Brainpower released his own debut single, "Door Merg & Brain" (Through Bone & Brain). The single led to a debut album in 2001, which was also named Door Merg & Brain, and Brainpower's momentum landed him a spot on that year's Pinkpop Festival roster. The year 2002 saw the re-release of the debut full-length, as well as his winning numerous music awards and occupying both the Belgian and Dutch chart top spots. He would continue to push forward, releasing a single with American rapper Nas, and in 2005 Brainpower released his third album, Even Stil. He continued to record full-length albums, including the double album Hart/Hard in 2008. ~ Chris True