Bionik Brown

Born in the hotbed of musical activity that is New Orleans, Bionik Brown was exposed to a myriad of musical styles from quite young. His poet/singer mother and singer/pianist father showed him the best of every musical genre. The diverse sounds he encountered then would act as the precursor to a life spent in pursuit of microphones. Influences like The Funky Meters, A Tribe Called Quest, Karen Carpenter, Outkast and Donny Hathaway led to Bionik finding artistic balance. Through that solid foundation, Bionik has developed into an artist able to float above the rap infatuation with diamonds, cars, women and violence without being pigeonholed as “preachy” or simply a “conscious rapper.” He is one of the rare artists able to linger in the gray area between the so-called underground “backpack” movement and the commercialism-drenched mainstream. Treading similar terrain as artists like Kanye West and Eminem, Brown never forsakes his humble, battle-heavy roots but also embraces stylistic and conceptual diversity. About his musical niche Bionik states, I don’t think I should have to choose a vibe. I make good music for everybody. People can use labels to describe what I do but at the end of the day it’s just me, 2 tables and the microphone. Love it or leave it. Bionik’s talents led to opening slots with Common, KRS-One, The Clipse, The Roots and Outkast. Before these milestones, he made a name in the open mic circuit where he gained fans with mind blowing freestyle skills, earning his name through his machine-like lyrical precision. Bionik took the title of Champion in the 2001 Mic Check Rap Battle Semifinals after eliminating 31 of the City’s best emcees and took 2nd place in the 2002 Mic Check Finals in San Francisco. He also contributed a standout joint on Cash Money Records’ tour deejay, Raj Smoove’s, album Bayou Classic. Since then, Bionik has been steadily building his reputation through shows, recordings and collaborations. Bionik is no one trick pony, his skills go beyond the freestyle and battle arenas. He rocked the 2004 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival along with his primary producer Deejay Quickie Mart. Brown released his freshman album, The Darkness and the Light, which was produced by Bass Heavy on Renaissance Records back in 2001. Brown left Renaissance in 2002 to pursue other opportunities and is currently in the studio recording at a Tupac-like pace. His skills and work ethic have earned him high praise from producers like his partner Deejay Quickie Mart. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.