BRAILLE IMAGE: Milton Campbell for Brokin nglish Design

[HIP-HOP] Braille doesn’t know how to front. It’s because of this that his albums progress as he himself progresses—the 27-year-old native Portlander and MC drops life lessons, relates family tragedies and discusses his dreams—allowing listeners to grow with him as he examines the human condition. Because Braille wears his emotions—and perhaps more commercially dangerous, his Christianity—on his sleeve, he’s not the kind of MC one would ever expect to land a No. 1 single on the Billboard charts. But he’s also careful not to allow his genuine nature to interfere with the quality of music: Braille maintains a high level of creativity on the microphone throughout his latest album, CloudNineteen, and surrounds himself with similarly qualified collaborators—especially the album’s producer, Symbolyc One­­, whose beats ache with the same desire for communication and healing that permeates Braille’s verses.

When WW called Braille (born Bryan Winchester) he was shopping for food to serve during an upcoming video shoot. He showed remarkable focus for a man in a grocery store with his wife and daughter.

WW: You’ve never been shy about expressing your spirituality on records, but it seems like you’re on that topic even more with CloudNineteen.
Braille: I started touching on spiritual topics as a writer back when I was, like, 15. Twelve years have passed and it’s who I am. I listen to a beat and I get on a topic or I get on something that’s on my heart. I just try to be honest. I’ve always been careful in my own music. I don’t wanna build a fanbase off some buzz words. So if I say “Jesus” in a song, I want it to be a powerful and meaningful moment in the song that really represents my true feeling and my true heart.

Do you ever worry about isolating your secular fan base when you talk about your spirituality?
I came up listening to the Native Tongues, and when gangster rap and club rap came up the artists I listened to got phased out of the mainstream. So to me, if you’re not being real, what’s the point of even doing this? I can’t really be motivated by what’s going to make me popular. If people are rolling with it, that’s awesome, and I’m going continue working on the quality of my expression. But how many people listen to 50 Cent that have never held a gun, you know? If we can tolerate an excess of negativity that is more than we would personally live out, then I think on the flipside sometimes we can tolerate a level of positivity or spirituality that is more excessive than we’re willing to live out.

So, your daughter is 2 1/2 now. How has being a dad changed your life?
It’s just the value of human life—it just brought it up another level. I’ve always valued human life in theory, but then you start thinkin’ like, man, every one of us was somebody’s baby once, and if I see two people fighting, I start thinking, man, those two dudes were babies once. Some mom was holding them. You know? And you realize we’re not as big and as tough as we think we are sometimes. And when I’m out on the road, it’s a sacrifice for me at this point. People will be like, “Oh, you’re living out your dream.” You are, but there’s that part of you that wishes you could just sit on the couch and cuddle with your daughter and watch American Idol and just be a regular dude.

You’re planning to give away 30,000 copies of your album, right?
Yeah, we’ve already raised enough money to give out 5,000 copies. One of my frustrations as I was getting ready to put out this record was that I’m tired of not being able to market to the younger generation. The type of hip-hop that is being sold to the younger generation is crazy. But you go to these correctional facilities and see what these kids get into—10-year-old kids getting into gangs or on cocaine? How do you market positive stuff? What picture do I take of myself? You’ve got one album cover with a picture of a guy with cars and beautiful women and iced-out chains, then you have this skinny white kid with long hair. I don’t even want to sell them my album, I’d rather volunteer to go where they are at—at a crossroads in their life—and just show them another option.

Where do you hope your music takes you?
If it was over tomorrow, I’d be like, “Rock on.” I can’t believe I’ve experienced these things. To start out as a 13-year-old kid with braces and acne and double-XL FUBU shirts, you know, and 14 years later to be able to say I’ve been to Europe six times, I’ve been to Japan twice, I’ve done shows with artists I grew up listening to like De La Soul? People email me and say I’ve made an impact in their life. You can’t ask for more than that. I didn’t plan on giving a record away for free or visiting correctional facilities, it just came together. So I don’t even try to determine what’s next anymore. It’s always something different than what I thought it would be.

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SEE IT: Braille and S1 play Berbati’s Pan with Vursatyl, Ragen Fykes, Theory Hazit and Lightheaded. A beat battle precedes the show. Friday, Feb. 27th, 9 pm. $8 advance, $10 day of show (a copy of CloudNineteen is included with cover). All ages.