Ladies & Gentlemen, are you ready for startime?

An inside look at crowd participation, by Ryan Claus

Growing up in Amsterdam in the 90’s and the new millenium and being a big fan of hiphop is a good thing. I don’t know if it’s our green stuff, the Red Light District or a combination of both, but every year our city welcomes the greatest and biggest names in hiphop history for historical shows. It goes without saying that I have therefore been a frequent visitor of hiphop gigs, from 1998, up until today and counting. And I’m not lying when I say that it never ceases to amaze me how stupid the crowds get at shows, and I mean stupid in a good way right here.

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In the mood for Wax Tailor

French hiphop producer Wax Tailor has recently dropped his third installment, In The Mood for Life. Check out these interesting video’s, showing how the highly anticipated album came to be.

Music journalism: All fun & games?

An old, dusty chair
I’m sitting in a old, dusty office chair, in a small room that belongs to a garage on the outskirts of Haarlem. Old flyers and documents are spread around the two tables and the top of the fridge in an unordely manner. The computer on the main desk seems to be made in the 70’s, and makes a rattling noise that confirms this theory. The vibe of the room feels like it hasn’t been cleaned for six years and needs a makeover worse than Rihanna after Chris Brown. If you try really hard, you can actually smell the dust here. Across from me sits a tall, thin guy of 24 years young. His blonde goatee reaches all the way to the center of his chest, matching the long, sleazy hears on the back of his head. Dressed in an extremely baggy hoody and equally baggy pants and with a continuously thumping bass thumping out the 70’s desktop, it’s clear that this man and his ‘office’ represent one thing and one thing only: Hiphop.

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Last chance!

source: myspace.com

The Netherlands’ finest duo in hiphop, Pete Philly and Perquisite, are nearing their very last show. After six years of crafstmanship, the MC and the ‘dude with the chello’ are putting and end to their musical relationship. Bummer, but ofcourse this does mean we have some promising solo-work to look forward too, and I’m not only talking about Pete here.

Be sure to get a hold of your tickets for one of their two last shows in Eindhoven and Amsterdam.  Last chance to see the jazzy couple live in action!

Tickets for the Eindhoven gig here and Amsterdam here.

Only Built For Cuban Linx Part II radio special

Last week I got the chance to slip my way backstage during Raekwon’s gig in The Melkweg venue, Amsterdam. I exchanged some thoughts about Rae’s latest album with Dutch emcee Sluwe Voszz, who was opening for The Chef that night.

What you waiting for? Peep it!

Swollen Members arming up

New album from the Canadian emcees, called Armed to the Teeth drops 27th October. Check out the latest video, Warrior, with collabo’s from Tre Nyce and Young Kahz.

Australia is still standing

source: musicfeeds.com.au

We are getting closer and closer to the upcoming Hilltop Hoods tour, called Still Standing, which is only 11 days away from it’s kick-off in Broome, Cairns. The Australian hiphop collective will be travelling the continent ’till early December, promoting their latest installment, State of the Art. Be sure to cop them tickets  ‘fore it’s too late!

Raekwon @ Melkweg, Amsterdam

Here’s some pics from The Chef’s gig in Amsterdam on 04/10. Rae is currently touring Europe to summon followers for the oracle that is Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2. Stay tuned for a radio special about this, too!

Hiphop Heroes: Fab 5 Freddy

Fred Brathwaite, better known as Fab 5 Freddy, is the embodiment of hiphop. So the next time somone says ‘hiphop is dead’, check if Freddy is still alive ‘n kicking. If he is, you can slap that person in his face. Fab 5 Freddy gained his fame in the early 80’s as one of the most prominent graffiti artist in the buroughs of New York. His unbelievable skills with the spray paint cans shortly opened up many doors for him. Soon after blessing the walls and trains of The Bronx with his drawings, the hiphop legend started working on what would become the most influental hiphop movie of all time. Teaming up with talented director Charlie Ahearn and a handfull of the biggest MC’s in that time, the epic Wildstyle quikly became a fact.

Graffiti was the very first thing I did, and then I went into making canvas. I started to show off my work in galleries. After that came film. It was me that got the idea to make Wildstyle. Then I met Charlie Ahearn, the writer and producer of the movie, and we turned it into what it is. I had the whole idea of the movie in my head. I told Charlie, if we could make a movie to show this whole thing as one culture, it would make people understand what we were about.

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Memories of a Grand Master

source: www.pleasedontstare.com

It must have been four or five years ago. It was a dark, rainy night in Amsterdam and the hiphop supergroup Diggin’ In The Crates were about to perform in a Milkyway venue, that was so packed up you couldn’t fit in another Mary Kate or Ashely Olsen. This will always go down as one of my most precious hiphop memories, and it all went down right smack-dab in the middle of my hometown, the Dutch weedcapitol. I recall reading the flyer a couple of weeks in advance very well: “Pioneers of hiphop Lord Finesse, Diamond D, O.C and A.G. @ The Melkweg, supported by master of the 1’s and 2’s, Grand Master DJ Roc Raida.”

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