Braille (rapper)
| Braille | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Bryan Winchester |
| Also known as | Braille Brizzy, Reflection |
| Born | Portland, Oregon, United States |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Labels | Syntax, HipHop IS Music, Talking Textures, Humble Beast |
| Associated acts | Acts 29, Beautiful Eulogy, Lightheaded, Odd Thomas, Ohmega Watts, Othello, Soul Plasma, Symbolyc One (S1) |
Bryan "Braille" Winchester (born 1981) is an American hip hop recording artist. He has been writing and recording hip-hop music since he was 13 years old. For a short time, Bryan and his family relocated to Marlton, New Jersey where he attended Eastern High School in Voorhees Township. Fully focused on music, Bryan Winchester adopted the stage name Braille Brizzy and headed back to experience the Portland music scene. The MC originally named himself "Reflection" and released one very narrowly distributed demo under the name, but later changed it to Braille.
The concept behind the name Braille relates to "Helping People Understand the things they can't see." He has worked with a host of premier hip hop recording acts including his group Lightheaded, with rapper-producer Ohmega Watts and rapper Othello. Braille was also a part of a group called Acts 29 consisting of himself, Ohmega Watts, and Soul Plasma. Acts 29 has only released one album and is not planning on releasing any more material. Braille was signed to Syntax Records in 1999 and continues to record for the label. The majority of his recordings are credited to his own label imprint "Hip-hop Is Music." Influenced by the positive vibe of the group A Tribe Called Quest, Braille started recording Christian hip hop music. His first album called Lifefirst: Half the Battle was released when he was 17 years old.
In 2009, Braille shut down his HipHop is Music label and started Humble Beast with his friend and fellow musician Thomas Terry (aka Odd Thomas), which is dedicated to giving all its music away for free. Artists currently signed to Humble Beast include Propaganda, Beautiful Eulogy, Jackie Hill-Perry, and JGivens.
In 2004, Braille collaborated with his group Lightheaded (consisting of himself, Ohmega Watts, and Othello), Manchild of Mars Ill, Sharlock Poems of LA Symphony, Tony Stone, Celph Titled, Kno of Cunninlynguists, the Masterminds, 9th Wonder and Rob Swift to produce the album and accompanying video for "Shades of Grey". That year the national publication URB Magazine recognized him as an up-and-coming "Artist to Watch". He was also named "Lyricist of the Year" with Shades of Grey and awarded "Album of the Year" honors by Sphereofhiphop. The following year Braille was selected to open for the Godfather of Soul James Brown's World Tour in 2005 -2006.
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