Joe Christie, better known as Braintax, is a

British hip hop British hip hop, also known as UK hip hop or UK rap, is a genre of music, and a culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop music made in the United Kingdom. It is generally classified as one of a number of styles of R&B/Hip-Hop. Britis ...

artist and producer. Christie had also recorded or appeared under the pseudonyms Brando Flux and Joey Brains. All of his releases were on his own record label, Low Life Records. Originally Braintax was a duo, consisting of Christie and DJ Test, who also contributed vocals and production. Test departed following the 1997 release of the '' Future Years'' EP and Christie retained the Braintax name; it has since become synonymous with him as a solo artist. On the track "Monsoon Funk" on ''

Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined i ...

'', Christie explained Braintax means "we can all get busy if we use our brains." Braintax's lyrics have made multiple references to

spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape ...

, healthy eating, the state of hip hop music,

environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment (biophysical), environment, par ...

, and

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

. On

Mr. Scruff Andrew Carthy (born 10 February 1972), better known by his stage name Mr. Scruff, is an English record producer and DJ. He lives in Stretford, Greater Manchester and studied fine art at the Psalter Lane campus of Sheffield Hallam University. B ...

's 2002 album '' Trouser Jazz'', Braintax was featured on the song "Vibrate". In 2008, Braintax suddenly announced his retirement with the release of his final album titled '' My Last And Best Album'' and also the end of Low Life Records.

Discography

Albums

* ''

Biro Funk ''Biro Funk'' is the debut studio album by Braintax, released on Low Life Records in 2001. By the time of the album's release, Braintax was a solo artist - Joseph Christie. Prior to the release of Biro Funk, Braintax had released a number of EPs ...

'' (2001) * ''

'' (2006) * '' My Last and Best Album'' (2008)

Singles and EPs

* ''Fat Head'' EP (1992) * '' Future Years'' EP (1997) * ''

The Travel Show ''The Travel Show'' is an EP by British rapper Braintax, was released through Low Life Records in 1999. The EP was never released on CD; however, it can be purchased on the Internet as a digital download in MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audi ...

'' EP (1999) * '' Hard Working EP'' (2000) * "Don't Drag Me In" (2001) * "Riviera Hustle" (2002) * "Godnose" (2002) * ''Chapter Seven - Verse Two EP "Out the Bunker"'' (2003) * "D90 Rules" (2006) * "Run the Yards" (2006) * "Syriana Style" (2006)

Low Life Records

Low Life Records was an

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

from London established in 1992, promoting and releasing

UK hip hop British hip hop, also known as UK hip hop or UK rap, is a genre of music, and a culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop music made in the United Kingdom. It is generally classified as one of a number of styles of R&B/Hip-Hop. Briti ...

music.

History

Low Life was owned by Braintax. The label's signed artists included many UK hip hop artists such as; Braintax himself, Task Force, Skinnyman, Jehst, Harry Love,

Verb T Thomas Conning (born 11 January 1981), better known by the stage name Verb T is a UK hip-hop artist based in London. Biography Verb T has released 10 albums and six EPs as well as numerous singles. His first release was the 12-track EP ''Bac ...

, Mystro, Asaviour, Dubbledge, Micall Parknsun &

Rodney P Rodney Panton, also known as Rodney P (born in Balham, London, 12 December 1969) is an English MC, as well as a radio and television personality who first gained attention via the UK hip hop scene in the 1980s. A former member of UK hip-hop group ...

. Low Life released around 70 records, including 12" singles, EPs and LPs.

Cessation

Low Life came to an abrupt end in 2008 when Braintax announced his retirement and release of his last record; 'My Last and Best Album'. This came as a shock and disappointment to many

fans. According to various sources, many of the artists signed to Low Life felt as if they had been ripped off/underpaid by Braintax - however Braintax stated in an interview, "There's been too much stress, mainly the large amount of b*****t you have to contend with when you run a record label. If you're not ripping people off then you're busy not trying hard enough to sell records that no one wants to buy."

References

External links

Braintax Interview on ukhh.com

Braintax Discography on discogs.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braintax English male rappers Living people Musicians from Leeds Year of birth missing (living people)