Braille

A Christian rapper from Portland, OR, influenced by the positivity of A Tribe Called Quest in the midst of gangsta rap's heyday, Braille Brizzy started making music as a teen and had released Lifefirst: Half the Battle by the time he was 17. With a poor response, difficult times followed, and after a job cleaning out repossessed homes proved unsatisfactory, he decided to follow his heart and hit the road with his wife to tour the country in his van, living off the money made from selling merchandise at shows. By 2004, he had saved enough to record a second album and collaborated with 9th Wonder and Rob Swift to make Shades of Grey. URB Magazine took notice, naming him an upcoming artist to watch, and James Brown took notice as well, inviting him to open up for the Godfather of Soul on his 2005 and 2006 tour. The spiritual Box of Rhymes followed, along with a tour with his idols De La Soul. In 2008, he dropped his fourth album, The IV Edition, featuring members of Lifesavas and Cunninlynguists as guests.