BRAINTAX BIOGRAPHY

Braintax is best known as one of the UK's foremost solo Hip Hop artists, rapper and producer, and the driving force and owner of Low Life Records, a pillar of the UK Hip Hop scene. Based in central London, Brains has spent well over a decade building a reputation based on hard work and fresh, creative music. Testament to this success is the Gorillaz' use of Low Life’s logo in their video artwork, Arctic Monkeys citing Braintax as an influence on their myspace page and Mr Scruff requesting a Braintax feature on his huge 'Trouser Jazz' album.

Beginning Hip Hop life in the early 1980s in Leeds in the north of England, Braintax was first introduced to the music via breakdancing and bodypopping and having already begun to write poetry and song lyrics it wasn't long before they took on rap form, heavily influenced by pioneers like Run DMC, Dougie Fresh and Captain Rock

The first commercial outing (released in the early days when Braintax was still a duo) was an EP called 'Fat Head', which surfaced in December 1992 to a barrage of praise and positive reviews. Along with label co-founders Breaking The Illusion, the crew went on to play support to Ice T, Das EFX, Redman, KRS-1 and The Pharcyde. Their early releases set the tone for Low Life which has always been a champion of quality control and British artists rapping with their own accents.

Braintax, by now rolling solo, spent the mid 90s in a haze of dole, daytime TV and drug-fuelled music-making from which a network of underground artists was established, honing their skills and creating a new league of UK hip hop artists. In 1997 Brains returned to the scene with another classic EP 'Future Years'. From then on Braintax performed guest spots on several other artists' tracks as well as mixing, co-producing and helping develop other artists to be released on Low Life Records. From 1998 Brains became busier and more productive and helped kick-start a wave of new UK Hip Hop, a fresh sound and a wider outlook, exemplified by the now classic 4 track EP 'The Travel Show' which was released in October 1999 and received much critical acclaim and purely positive reviews.

Throughout a hectic 1999 and 2000 Brains still found time to work with Universal Soldiers on 'Street Veterans', as well as recording, mixing and some production duties on Task Force's outstanding 'Voice of the Great Outdoors' EP and Jehst's 'High Plains Drifter' EP. Amongst a sweep of guest appearances Braintax dropped another monumental 12", 'Hardworking' featured three new tracks and instrumentals including the classic escapist anthem 'Escuchame'.

Finally in 2001, after 28 years of blood, sweat and tears, the debut Braintax LP 'Biro Funk' was finished and released to critical acclaim. 14 tracks deep, it is a fresh, thoughtful, political record and features guest appearances from some of the UK's finest MCs, DJs and producers including SkinnyMan, Mystro, Task Force, Jehst, Shortee Blitz and Harry Love. A slew of radio appearances followed along with a mass of gigs throughout the UK and Europe which saw Braintax perform alongside Mystro and DJ Harry Love, the 3 together had one of the tightest sets seen on the UK Hip Hop scene and set a precedent for other acts to follow. 'Biro Funk' was elevated to classic status and continues to sell well long after its release.

In the last 2 years Braintax has been pushing Low Life Records to new heights with his own projects taking the back seat due to label business. Nevertheless he has still contributed dope beats to new projects by Rodney P (with whom he also now runs the Riddim Killa label) and Verb T & Kashmere as well as legendary rhymes on tracks by Mr. Scruff (Ninja Tune) and Copperpot from the US and of course signing and overseeing albums like SkinnyMan’s 'Council Estate of Mind', Rodney P's 'The Future' and Jehst's 'Falling Down'.

Braintax beats cover a wide range of Hip Hop styles but Braintax lyrics reflect not just Hip Hop but life in general, with emphasis on the political and social issues and experiences that bind us all together, speaking directly to a dedicated fan base built up through years of connections, gigs and quality releases. If there is a point it should be that we benefit more from music we relate to than from that we just listen to.