Tag: Featured

Monday Mixtape #5: Dutch HipHop

When Mezrab started the storytelling nights almost eight years ago it was a conscious decision to hold the first ones in Dutch. Though people speak good English here producing art in your native tongue is something else. But imagine us having to convince the Dutch about the beauty of their language! Today half the singles in the charts are in Dutch when we grew up many people were convinced their own language was not beautiful enough to write with, tell stories in or use to sing. In those days a pop song or a rap track in Dutch was an act of rebellion, swimming upstream and remolding the clay of “Nederlands” into new forms and shapes. To celebrate how far “Nederhop” has come and for your Monday afternoon amusement we bring you the dopest tracks in the genre:
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Extince / Kaal of Kammen
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCq-ZvlMcDU]
Extince was one of the first to rap in the Netherlands, though not in Dutch initially. When he did start his producing Dutch tracks the Amsterdam group Osdorp Posse dissed him for trying to cash in on what they had started. This track is his response to them, showing with lyrical virtuosity and mastery of the funk that while not the first he is indeed greatly fun to listen to.
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Opgezwolle Eigen Wereld: 
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpaFm6ipT9Y]
Zwolle is a tiny town in the Netherlands, but it’s been a breeding ground for crazy rappers. Opgezwolle (literally “Swollen Up”, but an obvious reference to their home town) create their own world, not only the title of this track, but showing how far removed they are from the rest of the world by the style of their music and a brilliant trippy videoclip.
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De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig / Watskeburt?!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjER3EX948w]
In 2005 the hit of the summer was this nonsensical number filled with made-up words. Ironically the song that parodies many HipHop conventions launched the careers of three rappers who never managed to replicate their first success. The producer of this Amsterdam group is none other than Bastian, a musician who deserves a whole Monday Mixtape list to himself.
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Duvel Duvel / Wie is ut?
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQLlJJuwjGI]
It’s no coincidence the rappers of the group Duvel Duvel don’t appear in the clip. When the advertising agency Habbekrats decided to make the clip for the single they didn’t have permission to make one. Since their clip was cooler than what most other labels were producing, it not only became the official clip for the group, but it also gave Habbekrats the chance to collaborate with other Hiphop artists.
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Dio ft. Sef / Aye
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmVDr93UJQQ]
The clip of this Dutch track, also produced by Habbekrats, is an homage to the roots of Hiphop. Created to look like it was shot in the 80ies with the technology then available (and by accident taped over a German porn film). Honestly, with tracks like this Dutch Hiphop firmly places itself among the best of the world. Enjoy!

What is Storytelling?

Last weekend I was invited for a meeting day by the Dutch Storytelling Foundation. About fifty people met at a neighbourhood activity center in Utrecht to listen to stories, discuss their meaning, call out the storyteller of the year and inspire the people on the scene to grow and develop this crazy art form we feel passionate about.I had not attended any of the previous meetings, but I was informed by mail I was one of the five nominated to be storyteller of the year, and it would be appreciated if I was present for the ceremony.

Though I feel honoured to be invited and nominated, I am also worried about how storytelling is seen and experienced in the Netherlands, especially after visiting the meeting day. Almost all of the participants were over fifty years old and almost all were white native Dutch. It did not help that the international storytelling theme of the year is “the Brothers Grimm” to commemorate the 200th year of the first printing of their stories. What I experienced is the type of storytelling that I’m developing an allergy to: audience members sitting on chairs in a row, and a storyteller sitting in a chair in front of them telling a children’s story in a slow… well pronounced… way. It is no wonder young people are not drawn to these type of stories, they think it’s childish (and that’s exactly the reason why this particular over fifty crowd is drawn to it, it reminds them of their childhood in a simpler more romantic time).

I’m not opposed to this type of storytelling, if it’s considered one of the many types of stories and ways that we can share our stories, but if it’s considered the main type of storytelling I have to protest. 250 visitors a month visiting the our storytelling nights alone shows there is an interest in different types of stories: Personal stories and confessions improvised on the spot, stories that are depicted on stage by a team of improvisers, stories that switch language mid-sentence, leap from teller to listener, inform us about political and social struggles. The list of possibilities is endless. In 8 years of experimenting with the format visitors have time and again surprised me with their contributions and I’m yet to reach the stage where I can say I’ve seen it all.

When we started our storytelling nights I was sad there wasn’t much of a storytelling scene in the Netherlands. However, it also felt exciting to be a pioneer, with a small band of dedicated die-hards, creating intuitively what we felt would inspire a storytelling audience. Now that there is a scene, represented by the Storytelling Foundation, I feel I can’t relate to it.

So the question is, dear storytellers and storylisteners, do we join the Dutch scene and try to teach them a thing or two, or do we stay away from them and create our own scene? I would be very curious about what you think.