Originally formed as a jazz fusion ensemble, Bad Brains developed a very fast and intense punk rock sound, which was both musically complex and more extreme than most of their punk contemporaries. They were also an adept reggae band, in a sort of Jekyll-and-Hyde arrangement, while later recordings also featured elements of funk and heavy metal. Bad Brains were also notable as religious Rastafarians.

Bad Brains have broken up and reformed several times over the years (most recently as the Soul Brains), sometimes with different singers and/or drummers. Their existence has been in three periods: 1977?1984, 1986?1995, and 1997?present. The group's classic line-up was singer H.R., guitarist Dr. Know, bass guitarist Darryl Jennifer, and drummer Earl Hudson.

This might have been the end of the Bad Brains?if it were not for Ric Ocasek. Ocasek, frontman of new wave band The Cars, had seen the group play in Boston, and asked them to record an album. Having arrived back from tour with no place to live and no equipment, the Bad Brains took him up on his offer. The result was Rock For Light, released on the large independent label PVC/Jem (who also released The Cure's first album).

In the early '90s, H.R. embarked upon a solo reggae career. During his initial departure, he was replaced along with drummer Hudson by new singer Israel Joseph I and their sound became more in the vein of alternative rock.

Marking a return to their trademark hardcore punk/reggae sound, the original lineup of the Bad Brains released Build A Nation in June 2007, a new, critically acclaimed album with longtime fan Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys handling the production. The Beastie Boys, were huge Bad Brains fans, and they intentionally selected a name with the initials B.B. because of this.

Official Site: http://www.badbrains.com

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Bad Brains is an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1977. They are widely regarded as among the pioneers of the genre, though the band's members objected to the term "hardcore" to describe their music.

Originally formed as a jazz fusion ensemble under the name Mind Power, Bad Brains developed a very fast and intense punk rock sound known as hardcore punk and was often played faster and more emphatically than the music of many of their peers. The unique factor of the band's music was the fact that they played more complex rhythms than that of other hardcore punk bands, also adapting non-punk style riffs/solos into their songs.

They were also an adept reggae band, in a sort of Jekyll-and-Hyde arrangement, while later recordings featured elements of other genres. Bad Brains are also notable as religious followers of the Rastafari movement.

Bad Brains broke up and reformed several times over the years, sometimes with different singers and/or drummers. The band's classic and current lineup is singer H.R., guitarist Dr. Know, bassist Darryl Jenifer, and drummer Earl Hudson, H.R.'s younger brother.