Brainpower was the performance moniker of Belgian rapper Gertjan Mulder, who made his base in Amsterdam, Netherlands. His first forays into rap came in the late '80s and early '90s. By 1998, he had made a serious name for himself by winning the hip-hop award at the Grand Prix of the Netherlands talent show. His first recorded appearance, backing up Dutch rapper Extince, came in 1999, and in 2000, Brainpower released his own debut single, "Door Merg & Brain," and a debut album of the same name in 2001. It charted well in Belgium and the Netherlands, and he even recorded a single in 2002 with American rapper Nas. Brainpower continued to record full-length albums, including the double album Hart and Hard in 2008. ~ Chris True