1.
Hip hop music
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It developed as part of hip hop culture, a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements, MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching with turntables, break dancing, and graffiti writing. Other elements include sampling beats or bass lines from records, while often used to refer solely to rapping, hip hop more properly denotes the practice of the entire subculture. Hip hops early evolution occurred as sampling technology and drum machines became available and affordable. Turntablist techniques such as scratching and beatmatching developed along with the breaks and Jamaican toasting, rapping developed as a vocal style in which the artist speaks or chants along rhythmically with an instrumental or synthesized beat. The Sugarhill Gangs 1979 song Rappers Delight is widely regarded to be the first hip hop record to gain popularity in the mainstream. The 1980s marked the diversification of hip hop as the genre developed more complex styles, prior to the 1980s, hip hop music was largely confined within the United States. However, during the 1980s, it began to spread to scenes in dozens of countries. New school hip hop was the wave of hip hop music, originating in 1983–84 with the early records of Run-D. M. C. The Golden age hip hop period was a period between the mid-1980s and the early 1990s. Notable artists from this era include the Juice Crew, Public Enemy, & Rakim, Boogie Down Productions and KRS-One, EPMD, Slick Rick, Beastie Boys, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane, Ultramagnetic MCs, De La Soul, and A Tribe Called Quest. Gangsta rap is a subgenre of hip hop that often focuses on the violent lifestyles, in the West Coast hip hop style, G-funk dominated mainstream hip hop for several years during the 1990s. I. G. In the 1990s, hip hop began to diversify with other regional styles emerging, such as Southern rap, at the same time, hip hop continued to be assimilated into other genres of popular music, examples being Neo soul and nu metal. Hip hop became a pop music genre in the mid-1990s. The popularity of hip hop music continued through the 2000s, with hip hop influences also increasingly finding their way into mainstream pop, the United States also saw the success of regional styles such as crunk, a Southern genre that emphasized the beats and music more than the lyrics. Starting in 2005, sales of hip hop music in the United States began to severely wane, during the mid-2000s, alternative hip hop secured a place in the mainstream, due in part to the crossover success of artists such as OutKast and Kanye West. Creation of the hip hop is often credited to Keith Cowboy, rapper with Grandmaster Flash. However, Lovebug Starski, Keith Cowboy, and DJ Hollywood used the term when the music was known as disco rap. Cowboy later worked the hip hop cadence into a part of his stage performance, the first use of the term in print was in The Village Voice, by Steven Hager, later author of a 1984 history of hip hop
2.
Netherlands
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The Netherlands, also informally known as Holland is the main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a densely populated country located in Western Europe with three territories in the Caribbean. The European part of the Netherlands borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, sharing borders with Belgium, the United Kingdom. The three largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, Amsterdam is the countrys capital, while The Hague holds the Dutch seat of parliament and government. The port of Rotterdam is the worlds largest port outside East-Asia, the name Holland is used informally to refer to the whole of the country of the Netherlands. Netherlands literally means lower countries, influenced by its low land and flat geography, most of the areas below sea level are artificial. Since the late 16th century, large areas have been reclaimed from the sea and lakes, with a population density of 412 people per km2 –507 if water is excluded – the Netherlands is classified as a very densely populated country. Only Bangladesh, South Korea, and Taiwan have both a population and higher population density. Nevertheless, the Netherlands is the worlds second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products and this is partly due to the fertility of the soil and the mild climate. In 2001, it became the worlds first country to legalise same-sex marriage, the Netherlands is a founding member of the EU, Eurozone, G-10, NATO, OECD and WTO, as well as being a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union. The first four are situated in The Hague, as is the EUs criminal intelligence agency Europol and this has led to the city being dubbed the worlds legal capital. The country also ranks second highest in the worlds 2016 Press Freedom Index, the Netherlands has a market-based mixed economy, ranking 17th of 177 countries according to the Index of Economic Freedom. It had the thirteenth-highest per capita income in the world in 2013 according to the International Monetary Fund, in 2013, the United Nations World Happiness Report ranked the Netherlands as the seventh-happiest country in the world, reflecting its high quality of life. The Netherlands also ranks joint second highest in the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, the region called Low Countries and the country of the Netherlands have the same toponymy. Place names with Neder, Nieder, Nether and Nedre and Bas or Inferior are in use in all over Europe. They are sometimes used in a relation to a higher ground that consecutively is indicated as Upper, Boven, Oben. In the case of the Low Countries / the Netherlands the geographical location of the region has been more or less downstream. The geographical location of the region, however, changed over time tremendously
3.
Flanders
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Flanders is the Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium, although there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, language, politics and history. It is one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, the demonym associated with Flanders is Fleming, while the corresponding adjective is Flemish. The official capital of Flanders is Brussels, although Brussels itself has an independent regional government, in historical contexts, Flanders originally refers to the County of Flanders, which around AD1000 stretched from the Strait of Dover to the Scheldt estuary. In accordance with late 20th century Belgian state reforms the area was made two political entities, the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region. These entities were merged, although geographically the Flemish Community, which has a cultural mandate, covers Brussels. Flanders has figured prominently in European history, as a consequence, a very sophisticated culture developed, with impressive achievements in the arts and architecture, rivaling those of northern Italy. Belgium was one of the centres of the 19th century industrial revolution, geographically, Flanders is generally flat, and has a small section of coast on the North Sea. Much of Flanders is agriculturally fertile and densely populated, with a density of almost 500 people per square kilometer. It touches France to the west near the coast, and borders the Netherlands to the north and east, the Brussels Capital Region is an enclave within the Flemish Region. Flanders has exclaves of its own, Voeren in the east is between Wallonia and the Netherlands and Baarle-Hertog in the consists of 22 exclaves surrounded by the Netherlands. It comprises 6.5 million Belgians who consider Dutch to be their mother tongue, the political subdivisions of Belgium, the Flemish Region and the Flemish Community. The first does not comprise Brussels, whereas the latter does comprise the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Brussels, the political institutions that govern both subdivisions, the operative body Flemish Government and the legislative organ Flemish Parliament. The two westernmost provinces of the Flemish Region, West Flanders and East Flanders, forming the central portion of the historic County of Flanders, a feudal territory that existed from the 8th century until its absorption by the French First Republic. Until the 1600s, this county also extended over parts of France, one of the regions conquered by the French in Flanders, namely French Flanders in the Nord department. French Flanders can be divided into two regions, Walloon Flanders and Maritime Flanders. The first region was predominantly French-speaking already in the 1600s, the latter became so in the 20th century, the city of Lille identifies itself as Flemish, and this is reflected, for instance, in the name of its local railway station TGV Lille Flandres. The region conquered by the Dutch Republic in Flanders, now part of the Dutch province of Zeeland, the significance of the County of Flanders and its counts eroded through time, but the designation remained in a very broad sense. In the Early modern period, the term Flanders was associated with the part of the Low Countries
4.
Extince
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Extince is one of the first Dutch language rappers to appear in the Dutch music charts. Extince was born as Peter Kops in Oosterhout, Netherlands, one of his biggest musical influences as a child was Creedence Clearwater Revival. His first successful song, The Milkshake Rap, was completely in the English language. His first song in Dutch, Spraakwater, was a hit upon its release in 1995. It contains samples from the famous Dutch childrens television series De Fabeltjeskrant, another important Dutch hip-hop group, Osdorp Posse, recorded a parody of Spraakwater called Braakwater. Extinces second hit was Kaal of Kammen, released in 1996 as a response to Braakwater and his first album, Binnenlandse Funk, came out in 1998. It was in the Dutch Top 40 for two months, and reached number 12 at its peak, one of the most popular songs on this album was Viervoeters. Extince released an album, Vitamine E, in 2001. Its most popular song was released Grootheidswaan, in January 2004, he released a third album, 2e jeugd. In 2007 he released the album Toch, after some years of relative silence, Extince is expected to release his new album halfway 2011. Binnenlandse Funk( Vitamine E 2e Jeugd De avonturen van de Exter-O-naldus Toch
5.
Urban Dance Squad
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Urban Dance Squad was a Dutch rap rock band formed after what was originally intended as a one-time jam-session at a festival in Utrecht on December 20,1986. The band consisted of a guitarist, bassist, drummer, rapper and their music is described as a blend of genres including funk, soul, heavy metal, hip hop, reggae, jazz and ska. Urban Dance Squad was one of the most successful Dutch bands of the nineties, the band recorded its first album, Mental Floss for the Globe, in Brussels in 1989, and came to instant success. It won an Edison Award, and the single Deeper Shade of Soul was a hit in Europe and even in the United States, where it charted at number 21 in the United States on Billboard Hot 100. In the middle of the career, to capitalize on the success of grunge and alternative rock. All of the tracks feature heavy use of distortion and guitar, the singles No Honestly and Candy Strip Exp. were released, the latter single being released as a radio edit that cuts most of the pre-song noise. Artantica saw release in 1999, and was a return to the bands hip-hop roots, Urban Dance Squad disbanded the following year, though they did perform together again as late as 2006. The song Good Grief appears on the soundtrack of the 1995 film Hackers, the song Demagogue appears on the soundtrack of the 2001 film Crazy/Beautiful and in 2003 on Gigli. 5 jaar wanorde is a documentary about Urban Dance Squad by director Bram van Splunteren for VPROs Onrust. Frans Steensma, OORs Eerste Nederlandse Pop-encyclopedie
6.
N.W.A
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N. W. A was an American hip hop group from Compton, California. The group was banned from many mainstream American radio stations. In spite of this, the group has sold over 10 million units in the United States alone, the group was also known for their deep hatred of the police system, which sparked much controversy over the years. The original lineup formed in 1986 consisted of Arabian Prince, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, MC Ren and Dr. Dre would later become platinum-selling solo artists in the 1990s. Rolling Stone ranked N. W. A number 83 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, in 2016, the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, following three previous nominations. The group was assembled by Compton-based Eazy-E, who co-founded Ruthless Records with Jerry Heller, Eazy-E sought an introduction to Steve Yano. Although initially rebuffed, Yano was impressed by Eazy-Es persistence and arranged a meeting with Dr. Dre, initially, N. W. A consisted of Eazy-E and Dr. Dre. Together with fellow producer Arabian Prince, Ice Cube was added to the roster after he had started out as a rapper for the group C. I. A, Dre would later bring DJ Yella on board as well. Dre and Yella were both members of the World Class Wreckin Cru as DJs and producers. Ruthless released the single Panic Zone in 1987 with Macola Records, which was included on the compilation album N. W. A. Mexican rapper Krazy-Dee co-wrote Panic Zone, which was originally called Hispanic Zone, also included was Eazy-Es solo track Boyz-n-the-Hood. N. W. A released their studio album, Straight Outta Compton. With its famous opening salvo of three tracks, the reflected the rising anger of the urban youth. The opening song Straight Outta Compton introduced the group, Fuck tha Police protested police brutality and racial profiling, while the group was later credited with pioneering the burgeoning subgenre of gangsta rap, N. W. A referred to their music as reality rap. Dr. Dre and DJ Yella, as HighPowered Productions, composed the beats for each song, with Dre making occasional rapping appearances. Ice Cube, and MC Ren wrote most of the lyrics, including Fuck tha Police, perhaps the groups most notorious song. This letter can still be seen at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, policemen refused to provide security for the groups concerts, hurting their plans to tour. Nonetheless, the FBIs letter only served to more publicity to the group
7.
Dutch language
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It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language, after English and German. Dutch is one of the closest relatives of both German and English and is said to be roughly in between them, Dutch vocabulary is mostly Germanic and incorporates more Romance loans than German but far fewer than English. In both Belgium and the Netherlands, the official name for Dutch is Nederlands, and its dialects have their own names, e. g. Hollands, West-Vlaams. The use of the word Vlaams to describe Standard Dutch for the variations prevalent in Flanders and used there, however, is common in the Netherlands, the Dutch language has been known under a variety of names. It derived from the Old Germanic word theudisk, one of the first names used for the non-Romance languages of Western Europe. It literarily means the language of the people, that is. The term was used as opposed to Latin, the language of writing. In the first text in which it is found, dating from 784, later, theudisca appeared also in the Oaths of Strasbourg to refer to the Germanic portion of the oath. This led inevitably to confusion since similar terms referred to different languages, owing to Dutch commercial and colonial rivalry in the 16th and 17th centuries, the English term came to refer exclusively to the Dutch. A notable exception is Pennsylvania Dutch, which is a West Central German variety called Deitsch by its speakers, Jersey Dutch, on the other hand, as spoken until the 1950s in New Jersey, is a Dutch-based creole. In Dutch itself, Diets went out of common use - although Platdiets is still used for the transitional Limburgish-Ripuarian Low Dietsch dialects in northeast Belgium, Nederlands, the official Dutch word for Dutch, did not become firmly established until the 19th century. This designation had been in use as far back as the end of the 15th century, one of them was it reflected a distinction with Hoogduits, High Dutch, meaning the language spoken in Germany. The Hoog was later dropped, and thus, Duits narrowed down in meaning to refer to the German language. g, in English, too, Netherlandic is regarded as a more accurate term for the Dutch language, but is hardly ever used. Old Dutch branched off more or less around the same time Old English, Old High German, Old Frisian and Old Saxon did. During that period, it forced Old Frisian back from the western coast to the north of the Low Countries, on the other hand, Dutch has been replaced in adjacent lands in nowadays France and Germany. The division in Old, Middle and Modern Dutch is mostly conventional, one of the few moments linguists can detect somewhat of a revolution is when the Dutch standard language emerged and quickly established itself. This is assumed to have taken place in approximately the mid-first millennium BCE in the pre-Roman Northern European Iron Age, the Germanic languages are traditionally divided into three groups, East, West, and North Germanic. They remained mutually intelligible throughout the Migration Period, Dutch is part of the West Germanic group, which also includes English, Scots, Frisian, Low German and High German
8.
Ghetto (Akon song)
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Ghetto is the second single from American singer/songwriter Akons debut studio album, Trouble. The single was released on December 21,2004, exclusively in Latin America, the single peaked at #92 on the Billboard Hot 100. Akon describes the lyrics as a description of the cycle of poverty experienced by those living in poor. Additionally, it describes the physical and psychological oppression with which residents must deal on a regular basis. The video for the track was filmed in New Jersey, New Mexico, four official versions of the song exist. The main album version is entirely by Akon, and features on all versions of the album. The second version is entitled the International Remix, features a rap verse from Ali B and Yes-R. The third version is entitled the US Remix, and features vocals from 2Pac. This version only features on the version of the song. The fourth version is entitled the Reggaeton Remix, and features vocals from Ali B, Yes-R, the song is not available on the iTunes version of the Trouble album. There is also a Spanish version of song, called Pueblo libre by MC Piri. Videos for the International Remix and Reggaeton Remix exist, and both appear on the single format. This song Ghetto by Akon is covered from the original Ghetto song of Alborosie
9.
Het land van...
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Het land van. is a Dutch song by Lange Frans & Baas B. The lyrics of this song discuss past and present social and political issues in the Netherlands and it rose to the top of the Dutch charts soon after its release in 2005, with a live performance during the Uitmarkt on August 26 at the Museumplein, Amsterdam. The lyrics enumerate the best and worst parts of Dutch history, often listing a good and bad part in the same line. Bush great folk musicians like Andre Hazes, who still are popular in the Netherlands In the end, nieuws. nl about the introduction of the new music style of Lange Frans & Baas B along with the release of Het land van. Press release from Jan Vis Agency, the management of Lange Frans & Baas B, on September 9,2005 regarding the release of Het land van. Press release from Jan Vis Agency, the management of Lange Frans & Baas B, review by Joost Divendal at De Journalist about the lyrics of Het land van. Review by Norbert Pek at De Subjectivisten about the lyrics of Het land van
10.
Yes-R
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Yesser Roshdy, better known by his stage name Yes-R is a Dutch rapper and television presenter. He is of mixed Moroccan and Egyptian descent, before going solo, he was part of the Dutch hip-hop formation D-Men. He has also appeared in the films n Beetje Verliefd and Gangsterboys, inspired by his cousin Ali B, he started rapping at the age of 12. A year later, he entered a talent show in which he placed second, in 2003, he was introduced to Lange Frans, the frontman of the rap formation D-Men, who was impressed by Yes-Rs flow. Lange Frans then took on the production of Yes-Rs recordings, the first song Chickiesflasher was an underground hit and became part of the compilation album De gastenlijst. He was also featured on the single Sletje by Baas B as well Maritzas debut single Laat Je Gaan, in 2004, Yes-R won the audience award of De Grote Prijs van Nederland. He also contributed to the D-Men mixtapes De Straatremixes Deel 2 and he signed instead to his cousin Ali Bs record label. He worked along with Soesi B as a backup vocalist and with Derenzo and he also toured throughout the Netherlands to promote his solo career. His concurrent first single with Mijn pad was released in March 2005 called Stel je voor featuring Baas B, but far more notorious for chart success was the Ali B famous track Leipe mocro flavour Video on YouTube with Brace and Ali B, mocro meaning person of Moroccan descent. It was released just days before the debut single, the Ali B single took him to #2 in Dutch Singles Chart and a #3 position in the Mega Top 50. Yes-R begins has been able to target an audience and appears through his DVD releases. Although Yes-R is successful on the charts, he has been suffering from stream of criticism about his commercialism by some other Dutch hip hop personalities, in June 2008, Yes-R had a chart-topping hit in Surinam entitled Uit Elkaar. It also had success in the Netherlands, reaching #14, along with rapper Akon and Ali B, he made a remix of the song GhettoVideo on YouTube with additional rap verses in Dutch. In 2009, he had a joint hit with Moroccan rapper Soesi B, in 2006, Yes-R made his debut as a TV actor in the role of Omar in the film n Beetje Verliefd directed by Martin Koolhoven. The film had its premiere on 14 December 2006, in 2009, Yes-R made a voiceover role in the animated film Sunshine Barry en de discowormen playing the part of Tito, a bassist in the band, in one of the leading role alongside those of Jim and Sita. In 2009, he took the role of a Turkish rapper in the film Gangsterboys, the film was released on 18 February 2010. Yes-R won the audition for a McDonalds advertising campaign thus getting more recognition with youngsters, Yes-R has taken part in public awareness campaign for a safer Netherlands. Alongside the Dutch television programme Baantjer character Jurriaan Jurre de Cock tries to teach youngsters that they do have a choice and he also had a hit through a joint single Vecht mee with Chantal Janzen, a sensitive song about cancer
11.
Reggae
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Reggae is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A1968 single by Toots and the Maytals Do the Reggay was the first popular song to use the word reggae, effectively naming the genre, Reggae usually relates news, social gossip, and political comment. Reggae spread into a commercialized jazz field, being known first as ‘Rudie Blues’, then ‘Ska’, later ‘Blue Beat’ and it is instantly recognizable from the counterpoint between the bass and drum downbeat, and the offbeat rhythm section. The immediate origins of reggae were in ska and rock steady, from the latter, stylistically, reggae incorporates some of the musical elements of rhythm and blues, jazz, mento, calypso, African music, as well as other genres. One of the most easily recognizable elements is offbeat rhythms, staccato chords played by a guitar or piano on the offbeats of the measure, the tempo of reggae is usually slower than ska but faster than rocksteady. The concept of call and response can be found throughout reggae music, the genre of reggae music is led by the drum and bass. The bass guitar often plays the dominant role in reggae, the bass sound in reggae is thick and heavy, and equalized so the upper frequencies are removed and the lower frequencies emphasized. The guitar in reggae usually plays on the off beat of the rhythm and it is common for reggae to be sung in Jamaican Patois, Jamaican English, and Iyaric dialects. Reggae is noted for its tradition of criticism and religion in its lyrics, although many reggae songs discuss lighter, more personal subjects, such as love. Reggae has spread to countries across the world, often incorporating local instruments. Reggae en Español spread from the mainland South America countries of Venezuela, Caribbean music in the United Kingdom, including reggae, has been popular since the late 1960s, and has evolved into several subgenres and fusions. Many reggae artists began their careers in the UK, and there have been a number of European artists and bands drawing their inspiration directly from Jamaica, Reggae in Africa was boosted by the visit of Bob Marley to Zimbabwe in 1980. In Jamaica, authentic reggae is one of the biggest sources of income, the 1967 edition of the Dictionary of Jamaican English lists reggae as a recently estab. Sp. for rege, as in rege-rege, a word that can mean either rags, ragged clothing or a quarrel, a row. Reggae as a term first appeared in print with the 1968 rocksteady hit Do the Reggay by The Maytals which named the genre of Reggae for the world. Reggae historian Steve Barrow credits Clancy Eccles with altering the Jamaican patois word streggae into reggae, however, Toots Hibbert said, Theres a word we used to use in Jamaica called streggae. If a girl is walking and the look at her and say Man, shes streggae it means she dont dress well
12.
Zwolle
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Zwolle is the capital city and municipality of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands. It has a population around 125,000, archaeological findings indicate that the area surrounding Zwolle has been inhabited for a long time. A woodhenge that was found in the Zwolle-Zuid suburb in 1993 was dated to the Bronze Age period, during the Roman era, the area was inhabited by Salian Franks. The modern city was founded around 800 CE by Frisian merchants, the name Zwolle is derived from the word Suolle, which means hill. This refers to an incline in the landscape between the four rivers surrounding the city, IJssel, Vecht, Aa and Zwarte Water, the hill was the only piece of land that would remain dry during the frequent floodings of the rivers. Zwolle was established on that incline, a document mentions the existence of a parish church dedicated to St Michael. That church, the Grote or Sint Michaëlskerk, was renovated in the first half of the 15th century, the church contains a richly carved pulpit, the work of Adam Straes van Weilborch, some good carving and an exquisite organ. On August 31,1230, the bishop of Utrecht granted Zwolle city rights, Zwolle became a member of the Hanseatic league in 1294, and in 1361 joined the war between the Hanseatic League and Valdemar IV of Denmark. In the 1370 Treaty of Stralsund that ended the war, Zwolle was awarded a vitte, zwolles golden age came in the 15th century. Between 1402 and 1450, the citys Gross Regional Product multiplied by about six, in July 1324 and October 1361, regional noblemen set fire to Zwolle. In the 1324 fire, only nine buildings escaped the flames, Zwolle was also, with Deventer, one of the centers of the Brethren of the Common Life, a monastic movement. 5 km from Zwolle, on an eminence called the Agnietenberg, once stood the Augustinian convent in which Thomas à Kempis spent the greatest part of his life. At least as early as 1911, Zwolle had a trade by river, a large fish market. The more important industries comprised cotton manufactures, iron works, boat-building, dyeing and bleaching, tanning, rope-making, in World War II, Zwolle was single-handedly liberated from the Germans by Canadian soldier Léo Major. He was made a citizen of Zwolle in 2005 and a street is named for him. Citizens of Zwolle are colloquially known as Blauwvingers and this dates back to 1682, when the St Michaels church tower collapsed. The authorities were strapped for cash and saw no option but to sell the church bells to neighbouring city Kampen, to make sure that Kampen would not make too much profit from the deal, the local authorities asked a high price for the church bells. Kampen accepted, yet after the arrival of the bells it became clear, in revenge, Kampen paid in copper coins of four duiten
13.
Eigen Wereld
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Eigen Wereld is Opgezwolles third album, released on the Dutch TopNotch label. The album cover as seen in this article is purely for digital use, the retail copy of the album uses a complete black jewel case, without any logos, text or labels. The CD itself is plain black. It represents the music on album in a very good way with its dark sound. With this album, Opgezwolle achieved a #1 status in The Netherlands, a lot of reviewers claim this album to be a classic. All tracks feature both Rico & Sticks, except for Elektrostress, Ukkie, Gerrit, Vroeger / Nu and De Jug
14.
Cilvaringz
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Tarik Azzougarh, better known as Cilvaringz, is a rapper, talent manager and hip hop producer associated with the Wu-Tang Clan. He is best known for conceptualizing and producing the worlds most expensive music album, Cilvaringz was discovered by Ol Dirty Bastard and Method Man at a Wu-Tang Clan concert in Amsterdam, Holland on May 26,1997. After impressing ODB with a freestyle on stage he was introduced to RZA who signed him to Wu-Tang Records in 1999. Between 2002 and 2010 Cilvaringz toured the world as the opening act of RZA, Method Man & Redman, Raekwon. On April 9,2007 he released his first solo album I through five different record labels around the world, in April 2008 Cilvaringz began producing Wu-Tang Clans secret album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin under the patronage of RZA. The unique release of the album as only one available copy in the world became one of the biggest. Forbes magazine broke the story exclusively on March 26,2014, on May 3,2015 the album sold for a reported 2 million USD to pharmaceutical entrepreneur Martin Shkreli, making it the most expensive musical work ever sold. Cilvaringz was born in Dordrecht, Holland and grew up in the city of Tilburg, as an avid basketball player he was introduced to Hip Hop in 1992 and recorded his first demo the same year. After hearing Wu-Tang Clans debut album Enter the Wu-Tang he made it his aim to become an NBA basketball player or get a recording contract with the ever expanding Wu-Tang Clan movement. On May 26,1997, the Wu-Tang Clan performed at the Melkweg in Amsterdam as part of the Wu-Tang Forever promo tour, as the concert came to an end Wu-Tang Clan members Ol Dirty Bastard and Method Man announced a freestyle session for local talent. Cilvaringz rushed to the stage but could not reach it due to the excitement of many fans, Ol Dirty Bastard spotted Cilvaringz struggling from the side and pulled him up on stage, giving him his microphone. Not knowing how to get backstage Cilvaringz lost contact with RZA, according to Cilvaringz, RZA had just told him that he was interested in signing him to Wu-Tang Clans extended group the Wu-Tang Killa Beez. Between 1997 and 1999 Cilvaringz traveled back and forth to New York in the hope of finding RZA, in February 1998, Cilvaringz met RZAs sister Sophia and his mother Linda at the Wu-Nails salon in Staten Island, New York, leaving behind a demo and letter for RZA. In February 1999 Cilvaringz met with RZAs sister again, this time randomly in front of the Razor Sharp Records offices in downtown Manhattan, after hearing his new demo Sophia called RZA and asked him to come by the office. Upon hearing his demo and seeing the enthusiasm of his employees, as well as Ghostface Killahs positive feedback over the phone from prison, RZA signed Cilvaringz to Wu-Tang Records. Coincidentally, Cilvaringz began recording his debut album I on May 26,1999 at the Wu-Villa in Paris, France, Cilvaringz booked RZAs world tour in 2003 using it as his graduation project. In 2006, RPEG Ltd expanded its services into management and guided the careers of Arab rappers Salah Edin, Eslam Jawaad, Ledr P from Sweden, the son of Chic bassist Bernard Edwards who at the time was the only producer signed to Dr. Dres imprint Aftermath Entertainment. In managing their careers RPEG Ltd collaborated with De La Soul, Damon Albarn, Gorillaz, IAM, Sefyu, Mala Rodriguez, later that year, Jive/Epic France and RPEG Ltd collaborated on the production of French artist La Fouines second album Aller-Retour
15.
Ali B
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Ali Bouali, stage name Ali B, is a Dutch rapper of Moroccan descent. He is one of the most well known rappers in the Netherlands and he has performed together with Akon, in 2007 he made an Arab Remix of Akons song Ghetto. In 2011, he became host of a Dutch television series Ali B op volle toeren, three seasons of the show have been broadcast on TROS television station. The show invites artists of various genres and tries to offer crossover hits of known songs through remakes and cover versions. Since 2013, Ali B has served as a coach on The Voice of Holland, replacing Roel van Velzen and served as a coach on The Voice Kids and he is seen as a prominent figure in Dutch inter-ethnic relations. He is married to Breghje Kommers, the half-sister of professional footballer Abel Tamata, official website Ali B on 3voor12. vpro. nl biography on popinstituut. nl Ali B discography at MusicBrainz
16.
Lange Frans & Baas B
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Lange Frans & Baas B was a Dutch hip hop duo. Both Lange Frans and Baas B grew up in Diemen, Netherlands, in 1997, after a freestyle session on a basketball court in Diemen-Zuid, the duo created hiphop collective D-Men alongside Brutus, Frans brother. The English pronunciation of D-Men is similar to the Dutch pronunciation of the name of their home town, as D-Men they released their first single in 1999, entitled Zoveel Mensen, and they won a talent hunt that was organised by Stichting Grap in 2001. In 2003, D-Men was joined by the artists Brace, Yes-R & Soesi B, Negativ, C-Ronic, Lange Frans & Baas B started to release singles as a duo in 2004. Their second single Moppie became a huge hit, though they performed as a duo, the chorus of this song was sung by Brace. Their third single Zinloos, a protest against so-called senseless violence, on this track they were joined by singer Ninthe, who won TMFs Kweekvijver later on. After the assassination of filmer and critic Theo van Gogh by Muslim fanatic Mohammed Bouyeri on November 2,2004, parts of the lyrics were changed in order to address Theo van Goghs assassination. On 24 March 2006, Lange Frans hit a student during a performance. Someone had thrown an ice cube at Lange Franss head protesting some of the lyrics he had used on stage, whereupon Lange Frans jumped from the stage, the victim turned out not to have thrown the ice cube. Due to this incident, Lange Frans was not allowed to perform at a Liberation Day music festival in Haarlem, after the success disappeared in 2006, the duo stepped back from the limelight to worked on new music. In 2008 they released a single Kamervragen and an album Verder, both failed to achieve commercial success and were labeled as disappointing by music journalists. On 27 March 2009 Lange Frans & Baas B told on the program of Giel Beelen that the duo would stop working as a duo. Their last performance would be on the Dutch version of X-factor, for this, they sang the song Dit was het land van. 2004, Supervisie 2005, Het land van 2008, Verder 2004, Supervisie 2004, Moppie, #3 NL2004, Zinloos, #1 NL2005, Supervisie, #35 NL2005, Het land van. #1 NL2005, Mee naar Diemen-Zuid, #16 NL2006, Ik wacht al zo lang, #18 NL2006, Dit moet een zondag zijn D-Men Baas B Lange Frans
17.
De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig
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De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig is a Dutch hip hop and R&B group based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, renowned for their musical approach of irreverent, humorous lyrics and electronic beats. Their humorous style is characterised by their frequent use of play, lyrical flirting with languages other than Dutch. The group consists of Vieze Fur, also known as Vieze Freddie, P. Fabergé, also known as P. Dronq or Faberyayo, Faberge, Faber-yayo and Peppie, when singing about his younger self WiWa also calls himself Wiwelientje. In the Netherlands they became known for their novelty hit single Watskeburt, released on 16 May 2005, it topped the Dutch Top 40 for several weeks that year. Their debut album Parels voor de Zwijnen was released on 30 September 2005, in July 2006, the group was featured on the song Poes in de Playboy of the Dutch reggae-ska band Luie Hond. In May 2007, they released the single Shenkie and their second album, titled De Machine was released on April 25,2008, preceded by the single Hollereer on April 4. In 2010, they released De Lachende Derde
18.
Grote Prijs van Nederland
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The Grote Prijs van Nederland is a series of music awards handed out yearly since 1983 to recognize talented new Dutch musicians, both solo artists and bands. It is the largest and longest-running pop music competition in the Netherlands, previous winners include producer Junkie XL, rock band Green Lizard, rapper Brainpower, pop group Volumia. and singer-songwriter Signe Tollefsen. In addition, public choice awards and best musician awards are given out in each category, the winners of these awards receive €1,000 each. With the exception of the public choice awards, winners are chosen by jury, band and musicians can enter the competition online, presenting two or three tracks along with a biography and a photo. The nominees are chosen by a jury and perform in regional finals and semifinals. The finals in each category are held at the Paradiso and Melkweg venues in Amsterdam, during this period, a single award was handed out each year. Website of the Grote Prijs van Nederland YouTube channel of the Grote Prijs van Nederland
19.
Pete Philly and Perquisite
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Their music is best described as hip hop with influences from jazz, broken beat and soul. They usually perform live together with DJ PCM, Remco Keijzer on saxophone, EWI and flute, Kasper Kalf on double-bass, Pete Philly and Perquisite both had musical careers before they met in the autumn of 2002. Pete Philly was part of funk formation Gotcha. and hip-hop group Nicotine, Perquisite released two solo EPs on his own label Unexpected Records on which he worked with jazz musicians like Benjamin Herman and David Kweksilber. Pete & Perq decided to collaborate and in January 2004 their first EP The Mindstate EP was released, the EP received a lot of critical acclaim which stimulated Pete Philly & Perquisite to create a full album out of the original EP. Each track of the album would represent a state of mind. The debut album was considered by critics as one of the best albums ever to come out of the Netherlands. In March 2005 the album was released in Japan through Unexpected Records / Handcuts Records, the duo did create a very solid fanbase with performances with their live formation across Europe and also in the USA and South Africa. Success rose because of their performances and hitsongs like Mellow and Grateful and their success led them to winning an Essent Award and a Zilveren Harp. They were also nominated for a Dutch MOBO-award, three TMF awards, the MTV European Music Award and for the prestigious Edison-award. On August 20,2006 they performed at the A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise-festival for the second time, in September of that same year they finished the Mindstate tour in a sold out Melkweg, Amsterdam. After the last show of the Mindstate tour Pete & Perq took a break to work on their second album, during this non-touring period Remindstate was released, the totally remixed version of the Mindstate album. In September 2007 the second album, Mystery Repeats, was released in The Netherlands through Unexpected Records / ANTI Records, a Belgium release followed on January 21,2008, the European release on February 18 and the Japanese release on March 5,2008. The album entered on the first position in the Dutch album charts in the week of its release, Pete & Perq started their live tour in a sold out Melkweg again and started to play all over Europe. In March 2008 they toured around Japan and in April of that year they toured together with Leeroy from Saian Supa Crew in Germany. In the summer of 2008 they played at well known festivals across Europe including Sizget, Nuke, Exit, Lowlands, HipHop Open, North Sea Jazz, Printemps de Bourges, Gurtenfestival and Summerjam. When they got back they received the prestigious Amsterdam Award of Art, at this time their third single Mystery Repeats entered the Dutch Top 40 staying in there about a month and became their most successful single to date. They were also nominated for the time for the MTV European Music Award. Currently Pete & Perq are touring across Europe, the first three shows were all sold out and they will finish their European tour in Amsterdam pop venue Paradiso on December 6 of 2008. g
20.
Negativ
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Maurits Robert Delchot better known by his stage name Negativ is a Dutch rapper, actor and radio broadcaster of Surinamese origin from Amsterdam-Oost. Negativ became part of the rap formation D-Men and he has also acted films like Bolletjes Blues and Complexx. He also has his own radio show where he DJs for Juize FM on Fridays. Maurits was interested at a young age in rap. He started rapping with a bunch of friends, including Keizer and he took part in fNallys band H. S. S. Soon he became known in the underground rap circuit taking part in several MC battles, one big battle faced him with Yukkie B, another rapper from Amsterdam-Oost. After the success of the De Straatremixes in 2003, two new mixtapes, De Straatremixes Deel 2 and De Straatremixes Deel 3 were released in 2004 again with contributions from Negativ. A few weeks later, a Negativ made a track and using an instrumental from 50 Cent. It was a time ramoant of diss recordings including many from The Opposites, Rmxcrew, another battle ensued between Negativ and THC in which Negativ recorded Dacht je nou echt. Rapper Heist Rockah also dissed Negativ back, negative answers him with the song Hou je bek. In 2005 Negativ took part also in the mixtape Urban Videoz and Straathits Volume 1, on Loyalty Records he released the hit Niets is wat het zijn moet with Ebon-E. In 2005, he also had a joint single with Brutus in Mijn Feestje In 2006 Negativ made his film debut, for this role he was nominated for Golden Calf award at the Netherlands Film Festival in 2006. In December 2006, Negativ received negative publicity after he was furious at the Tilburg festival threw a keyboard on the floor, resulting physical commotion to ensue. In May 2008, during an interview with Propz Magazine, he confirmed that he had been recording tracks for the street remix 4 Mixtape, with other rappers Yes-R, Daryll, Lange Frans & Baas B. On September 26,2008 mixtape Hinderlijk was released via Juize. FM radio station, the song also featured on a new Dutch television series called Flow. He was offered a role as a prisoner in the telefilm Skin. In 2009, he released a single Skud Skuddem with a single featuring Yes-R, Ali B. He also appeared in a TV documentary about angry people, in 2010 he founded his own record label Nindo, where he performed his mixtape Hinderlijker
21.
Kempi
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Jerrely Slijger, known by his stage name Kempi, is a Dutch rapper of Curaçaoan descent. From 2006 to 2012, Kempi was signed at Dutch label TopNotch and he released two studio albums, four EPs and seven mixtapes to date. In 2008, Kempi was named Best Hip-Hop Artist in the Netherlands at the prestigious State Awards, beside his artistic activities, Kempi is also notorious for his extensive criminal record. Kempi was born in Helmond and grew up in Woensel-West, a neighborhood in Eindhoven. As a teenager he went to a school for children with problems and started to participate in criminal activities, such as dealing cocaine. He built an extensive criminal record, including various prison sentences. Influenced by Tupac Shakur, Lil Wayne, and Dutch rapper Duvel, Kempi began to write down his street-life experiences, but wasnt seriously into hip-hop yet. Kempi began to gain prominence and was noticed by record label owner Kees de Koning. When Kempi signed the contract he was under suspicion of complicity in a stabbing, Kempi came out of custody after his second mixtape Rap N Borie and third mixtape Mixtape 3.1 were released. On July 17,2007 Kempi met his father for the first time and his girlfriend gave birth to a son, motivating him to try to be a businessman, on September 19,2008, Kempis second son was born. Shortly thereafter he was arrested for pointing a gun at Hungarian rapper who provoked him at one of Kempis concerts, while in prison, his debut album Du Zoon was released by TopNotch. Du Zoon was produced by the Amsterdam production trio SoundG8, Kempis fourth mixtape was released in 2009, Mixtape 3.2, Du Evolutie van n Nigga. He said it would be his last mixtape and that he would release albums from that moment onwards. For the track Revolution, Kempi worked with E. D. I, mean and Young Noble of the American rap group Outlawz, which was co-founded by hip-hop legend Tupac Shakur in 1995. On October 6,2009 Kempi was an act for American hip-hop star Lil Wayne during his show at the Heineken Music Hall. In 2010 Kempi produced yet another mixtape titled Du Gangsta Tape, for the track The Light, Kempi worked with Layzie Bone of the rap formation Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. On May 15,2010, Kempi was supposed to open for American rapper 50 Cents show at Ahoy Rotterdam and this show was cancelled however, due to disappointing ticket sales. In June 2011 Kempi released his studio album titled Het Testament van Zanian Adamus which entered the Album Top 100 in fifteenth place
22.
Brainpower
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Gertjan Mulder, professionally known as Brainpower, is a bi-lingual rapper, who writes, records and performs in both the English as well as the Dutch language. He was born in Belgium and grew up in the Netherlands and he started making music in the eighties, and spent his time making a name for himself in the 1990s. Since 2001, he released six studio albums, one Live album CD/DVD set, a book/DVD set, a Greatest Hits Box Set. Gertjan Mulder aka Brainpower is a multiplatinum artist/songwriter & producer from Amsterdam and he was born in Antwerp, Belgium as son of a progressive Dutch Reverend and a Dutch mother. He was raised in Alphen aan den Rijn in the Netherlands and he started rapping in the mid eighties, imitating heroes like Run DMC, and Eric B & Rakim. He wrote his first rap song in 1988 and he moved back to the place where his mother was born, Amsterdam, in the early 1990s. In the eighties stage shows were mostly talent shows and school performances and he starts to gradually perform more after a first real show at Locomotion in Zoetermeer in 1990. Throughout the 1990s he builds a rep and basically shows up at every open mic session in the Benelux, with 10 Top 100 album/EP projects Brainpower is one of the most successful Dutch MCs ever and remains a prolific bilingual lyricist to this day. Several producers and parties offer contracts, not feeling the way these offers are set up, Brainpower is determined to start out on his own. He also snatches up Best Rapper Award and his DJ, DJ TLM, Brainpower appears on many underground projects, including 12-inches, mixtapes and Albums. In 1999, he had his first Top-40 hit together with several other Dutch-language rap artists, in 2000, Brainpower was both seen and heard in the video clip of the song Als niet Als, by the renowned pop /reggae musicians of classic Dutch supergroup Doe Maar. In that same year, he had his first solo hit-song and video, february 2001, Brainpower released his first album, named after the hit single Door Merg en Brain. It contains a number of songs, some basic boombap Hip Hop, and some with an emotional touch, like the critically acclaimed and now famous Je Moest Waarschijnlijk Gaan, referring to the suicide killing of one of his best friends. Ten years later the track is considered iconic and is known to many people in times of mourning. Four singles and videos are taken from the album and Brainpower tours the year round. In 2002, Brainpower released his second album Verschil Moet Er Zijn, dansplaat was the first single to be released, and it swiftly topped the charts in both the Netherlands and Belgium. The single broke ALL records, debuting at #1 on many charts, in the same year, Brainpower won two Dutch Awards and also an MTV Award for best Dutch act. He is the only solo MC out of the Benelux ever to win such accolades, Brainpower continues to push the envelope for Dutch and Belgian Hip Hop and has even collaborated with Hip Hop Legend Nas
23.
Lyrics
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Lyrics are words that make up a song usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist, the words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a libretto and their writer, as a librettist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit, some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of expression. Rappers can also create lyrics with a variation of rhyming words or words that create, Lyric derives via Latin lyricus from the Greek λυρικός, the adjectival form of lyre. It first appeared in English in the century in reference, to the Earl of Surreys translations of Petrarch. Stainer and Barrett used the word as a substantive, Lyric, poetry or blank verse intended to be set to music. By the 1930s, the present use of the plurale tantum lyrics had begun, the singular form lyric still appears, its present use, however, is to refer to a specific phrase within a songs lyrics. The differences between poem and song may become less meaningful where verse is set to music, to the point that any distinction becomes untenable and this is perhaps recognised in the way popular songs have lyrics. However, the verse may pre-date its tune, or the tune may be lost over time but the words survive, nursery rhymes may be songs, or doggerel, the term doesnt imply a distinction. The ghazal is a form that is considered primarily poetic. See also rapping, roots of hip hop music, analogously, verse drama might normally be judged as poetry, but not consisting of poems. In Baroque music, melodies and their lyrics where prose, rather than paired lines they consist of rhetorical sentences or paragraphs consisting of an opening gesture, an amplification, and a close, in German Vordersatz-Fortspinnung-Epilog. For example, When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, But when I became a man, I put away childish things. -1 Corinthians 13,11 In the lyrics of music a shifter is a word, often a pronoun, where reference varies according to who is speaking, when. For example, who is the my of My Generation, see Royalties Currently, there are many websites featuring song lyrics. This offering, however, is controversial, since some sites include copyrighted lyrics offered without the holders permission, music Publishers Association, which represents sheet music companies, launched a legal campaign against such websites in December 2005. The MPAs president, Lauren Keiser, said the free lyrics web sites are completely illegal, Lyrics licenses could be obtained worldwide through one of the two aggregators, LyricFind and Musixmatch. The first company to provide licensed lyrics was Yahoo, quickly followed by MetroLyrics and Lyrics. com
24.
Drug
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A drug is any substance that, when inhaled, injected, smoked, consumed, absorbed via a patch on the skin, or dissolved under the tongue, causes a physiological change in the body. In pharmacology, a drug, also called a medication or medicine, is a chemical substance used to treat, cure, prevent. Traditionally drugs were obtained through extraction from plants, but more recently also by organic synthesis. Pharmaceutical drugs may be used for a duration, or on a regular basis for chronic disorders. Another major classification system is the Biopharmaceutics Classification System and this classifies drugs according to their solubility and permeability or absorption properties. Psychoactive drugs are chemical substances that affect the function of the nervous system, altering perception. They include alcohol, a depressant, and the nicotine and caffeine. These three are the most widely consumed psychoactive drugs worldwide and are also considered recreational drugs since they are used for rather than medicinal purposes. Other recreational drugs include hallucinogens, opiates and amphetamines and some of these are used in spiritual or religious settings. Some drugs can cause addiction and all drugs can have side effects, excessive use of stimulants can promote stimulant psychosis. Many recreational drugs are illicit and international such as the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs exist for the purpose of their prohibition. The transitive verb to drug arose later and invokes the psychoactive rather than properties of a substance. A medication or medicine is a drug taken to cure or ameliorate any symptoms of an illness or medical condition, the use may also be as preventive medicine that has future benefits but does not treat any existing or pre-existing diseases or symptoms. In the United Kingdom, behind-the-counter medicines are called pharmacy medicines which can only be sold in registered pharmacies and these medications are designated by the letter P on the label. The range of medicines available without a prescription varies from country to country, medications are typically produced by pharmaceutical companies and are often patented to give the developer exclusive rights to produce them. Those that are not patented are called generic drugs since they can be produced by other companies without restrictions or licenses from the patent holder, pharmaceutical drugs are usually categorised into drug classes. A group of drugs will share a chemical structure, or have the same mechanism of action. Another major classification system is the Biopharmaceutics Classification System and this groups drugs according to their solubility and permeability or absorption properties
25.
Ghetto
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A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially because of social, legal, or economic pressure. The term was used in Venice to describe the part of the city to which Jews were restricted and segregated. The term has been applied in various contexts, the word ghetto comes from the Jewish area of Venice, the Venetian Ghetto in Cannaregio. However, there is no agreement among etymologists about the origins of the Venetian language term, by 1899 the term had been extended to crowded urban quarters of other minority groups. In Northern Ireland, towns and cities have long been segregated along ethnic, religious, Northern Irelands two main communities are its Irish nationalist/republican community and its unionist/loyalist community. Ghettos emerged in Belfast during the riots that accompanied the Irish War of Independence, for safety, people fled to areas where their community was the majority. They then sealed off these neighborhoods with barricades to keep out rioters or gunmen from the other side, many more ghettos emerged after the 1969 riots and beginning of the Troubles. In August 1969 the British Army was deployed to restore order, the government built barriers called peace lines. Many of the ghettos came under the control of such as the Provisional Irish Republican Army. One of the most notable ghettos was Free Derry, the existence of ethnic enclaves in the United Kingdom is controversial. By 2001, two London boroughs – Newham and Brent – had minority majority populations, and most parts of the city tend to have a diverse population, in France, a banlieue is a suburb of a large city. Banlieues are divided into autonomous entities and do not constitute part of the city proper. For instance, 80% of the inhabitants of the Paris area live outside the city of Paris, a Jewish quarter is the area of a city traditionally inhabited by Jews in the diaspora. Jewish quarters, like the Jewish ghettos in Europe, were often the outgrowths of segregated ghettos instituted by the surrounding authorities, a Yiddish term for a Jewish quarter or neighborhood is Di yiddishe gas, or The Jewish street. Many European and Middle Eastern cities once had a historical Jewish quarter, Jewish ghettos in Europe existed because Jews were viewed as alien. As a result, Jews were placed under strict regulations throughout many European cities, the character of ghettos has varied through times. In some cases, the ghetto was a Jewish quarter with an affluent population. In other cases, ghettos were places of terrible poverty and during periods of growth, ghettos, had narrow streets and tall
26.
Amsterdam
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Amsterdam is the capital and most populous municipality of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its status as the capital is mandated by the Constitution of the Netherlands, although it is not the seat of the government, which is The Hague. Amsterdam has a population of 851,373 within the city proper,1,351,587 in the urban area, the city is located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country. The metropolitan area comprises much of the part of the Randstad, one of the larger conurbations in Europe. Amsterdams name derives from Amstelredamme, indicative of the citys origin around a dam in the river Amstel, during that time, the city was the leading centre for finance and diamonds. In the 19th and 20th centuries the city expanded, and many new neighborhoods and suburbs were planned, the 17th-century canals of Amsterdam and the 19–20th century Defence Line of Amsterdam are on the UNESCO World Heritage List. As the commercial capital of the Netherlands and one of the top financial centres in Europe, Amsterdam is considered a world city by the Globalization. The city is also the capital of the Netherlands. Many large Dutch institutions have their headquarters there, and seven of the worlds 500 largest companies, including Philips and ING, are based in the city. In 2012, Amsterdam was ranked the second best city to live in by the Economist Intelligence Unit and 12th globally on quality of living for environment, the city was ranked 3rd in innovation by Australian innovation agency 2thinknow in their Innovation Cities Index 2009. The Amsterdam seaport to this day remains the second in the country, famous Amsterdam residents include the diarist Anne Frank, artists Rembrandt van Rijn and Vincent van Gogh, and philosopher Baruch Spinoza. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange, the oldest stock exchange in the world, is located in the city center. After the floods of 1170 and 1173, locals near the river Amstel built a bridge over the river, the earliest recorded use of that name is in a document dated October 27,1275, which exempted inhabitants of the village from paying bridge tolls to Count Floris V. This allowed the inhabitants of the village of Aemstelredamme to travel freely through the County of Holland, paying no tolls at bridges, locks, the certificate describes the inhabitants as homines manentes apud Amestelledamme. By 1327, the name had developed into Aemsterdam, Amsterdam is much younger than Dutch cities such as Nijmegen, Rotterdam, and Utrecht. In October 2008, historical geographer Chris de Bont suggested that the land around Amsterdam was being reclaimed as early as the late 10th century. This does not necessarily mean there was already a settlement then, since reclamation of land may not have been for farming—it may have been for peat. Amsterdam was granted city rights in either 1300 or 1306, from the 14th century on, Amsterdam flourished, largely from trade with the Hanseatic League
27.
The Hague
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The Hague is a city on the western coast of the Netherlands, and the capital city of the province of South Holland. With a population of 520,704 inhabitants and more than one million including the suburbs, it is the third-largest city of the Netherlands. The Rotterdam The Hague Metropolitan Area, with a population of approximately 2.7 million, is the 12th-largest in the European Union and the most populous in the country. Located in the west of the Netherlands, The Hague is in the centre of the Haaglanden conurbation and lies at the southwest corner of the larger Randstad conurbation. The Hague is the seat of the Dutch government, parliament, the Supreme Court, and the Council of State, but the city is not the capital of the Netherlands, which constitutionally is Amsterdam. King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands plans to live at Huis ten Bosch and works at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague, the Hague is also home to the world headquarters of Royal Dutch Shell and numerous other major Dutch companies. The Hague originated around 1230, when Count Floris IV of Holland purchased land alongside a pond, in 1248, his son and successor William II, King of the Romans, decided to extend the residence to a palace, which would later be called the Binnenhof. He died in 1256 before this palace was completed but parts of it were finished by his son Floris V, of which the Ridderzaal and it is still used for political events, such as the annual speech from the throne by the Dutch monarch. From the 13th century onwards, the counts of Holland used The Hague as their administrative centre, the village that originated around the Binnenhof was first mentioned as Haga in a charter dating from 1242. In the 15th century, the smarter des Graven hage came into use, literally The Counts Wood, with connotations like The Counts Hedge, s-Gravenhage was officially used for the city from the 17th century onwards. Today, this name is used in some official documents like birth. The city itself uses Den Haag in all its communication and their seat was located in The Hague. At the beginning of the Eighty Years War, the absence of city walls proved disastrous, in 1575, the States of Holland even considered demolishing the city but this proposal was abandoned, after mediation by William of Orange. From 1588, The Hague also became the seat of the government of the Dutch Republic, in order for the administration to maintain control over city matters, The Hague never received official city status, although it did have many of the privileges normally granted only to cities. In modern administrative law, city rights have no place anymore, only in 1806, when the Kingdom of Holland was a puppet state of the First French Empire, was the settlement granted city rights by Louis Bonaparte. After the Napoleonic Wars, modern-day Belgium and the Netherlands were combined in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands to form a buffer against France, as a compromise, Brussels and Amsterdam alternated as capital every two years, with the government remaining in The Hague. After the separation of Belgium in 1830, Amsterdam remained the capital of the Netherlands, when the government started to play a more prominent role in Dutch society after 1850, The Hague quickly expanded. The growing city annexed the rural municipality of Loosduinen partly in 1903, the city sustained heavy damage during World War II
28.
Rotterdam
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Rotterdam is a city in the Netherlands, located in South Holland, within the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt river delta at the North Sea. Its history goes back to 1270 when a dam was constructed in the Rotte river by people settled around it for safety, in 1340 Rotterdam was granted city rights by the Count of Holland and slowly grew into a major logistic and economic centre. Nowadays it is home to Europes largest port and has a population of 633,471, ranking second in the Netherlands, just behind Amsterdam. The Greater Rijnmond area is home to approximately 1.4 million people, Rotterdam is part of the yet larger Randstad conurbation with a total population of 7,100,000. The city of Rotterdam is known for the Erasmus University, riverside setting, lively cultural life, the near-complete destruction of Rotterdams city centre during World War II has resulted in a varied architectural landscape including sky-scrapers, which are an uncommon sight in other Dutch cities. Rotterdam is home to some world-famous architecture from renowned architects like Rem Koolhaas, Piet Blom, Ben van Berkel and others. Recently Rotterdam was listed eighth in The Rough Guide Top 10 Cities to Visit, the port of Rotterdam is the largest cargo port in Europe and the 10th largest in the world. Rotterdams logistic success is based on its location on the North Sea. The rivers Rhine, Meuse, and Scheldt give waterway access into the heart of Western Europe, the extensive distribution system including rail, roads, and waterways have earned Rotterdam the nickname Gateway to Europe, and, conversely, Gateway to the World in Europe. The settlement at the end of the fen stream Rotte dates from at least 900 CE. A dam on the Rotte or Rotterdam was built in the 1260s and was located at the present-day Hoogstraat, on 7 July 1340, Count Willem IV of Holland granted city rights to Rotterdam, which then had approximately 2,000 inhabitants. The port of Rotterdam grew slowly but steadily into a port of importance, becoming the seat of one of the six chambers of the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the greatest spurt of growth, both in port activity and population, followed the completion of the Nieuwe Waterweg in 1872. The city and harbor started to expand on the bank of the river. The Witte Huis or White House skyscraper, inspired by American office buildings and built in 1898 in the French Château-style, is evidence of Rotterdams rapid growth, when completed, it was the tallest office building in Europe, with a height of 45 m. During World War I the city was the worlds largest spy centre because of Dutch neutrality, many spies who were arrested and executed in Britain were led by German secret agents operating from Rotterdam. MI6 had its main European office on de Boompjes, from there the British coordinated espionage in Germany and occupied Belgium. In WWI an average of 25,000 Belgian refugees lived in the city, as well as hundreds of German deserters, during World War II, the German army invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940. Adolf Hitler had hoped to conquer the country in just one day, the Dutch army was finally forced to capitulate on 15 May 1940, following Hitlers bombing of Rotterdam on 14 May and threatening to bomb other Dutch cities
29.
Utrecht
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Utrecht is the capital and most populous city in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the corner of the Randstad conurbation and is the fourth largest city in the Netherlands with a population of 330,772 in 2014. Utrechts ancient city centre features many buildings and structures several dating as far back as the High Middle Ages and it has been the religious centre of the Netherlands since the 8th century. It lost the status of prince-bishopric but remains the religious center in the country. Utrecht was the most important city in the Netherlands until the Dutch Golden Age, Utrecht is host to Utrecht University, the largest university in the Netherlands, as well as several other institutions of higher education. Due to its position within the country, it is an important transport hub for both rail and road transport. It has the second highest number of events in the Netherlands. In 2012, Lonely Planet included Utrecht in the top 10 of the world’s unsung places, a series of such fortresses was built after the Roman emperor Claudius decided the empire should not expand north. To consolidate the border the limes Germanicus defense line was constructed along the branch of the river Rhine. These fortresses were designed to house a cohort of about 500 Roman soldiers, near the fort settlements would grow housing artisans, traders and soldiers wives and children. In Roman times, the name of the Utrecht fortress was simply Traiectum, Traiectum became Dutch Trecht, with the U from Old Dutch uut added to distinguish U-trecht from Maas-tricht. In 11th-century official documents it was Latinized as Ultra Traiectum, around the year 200, the wooden walls of the fortification were replaced by sturdier tuff stone walls, remnants of which are still to be found below the buildings around Dom Square. From the middle of the 3rd century Germanic tribes regularly invaded the Roman territories, around 275 the Romans could no longer maintain the northern border and Utrecht was abandoned. Little is known about the next period 270–650, Utrecht is first spoken of again several centuries after the Romans left. Under the influence of the realms of the Franks, during Dagobert Is reign in the 7th century. In ongoing border conflicts with the Frisians this first church was destroyed, by the mid-7th century, English and Irish missionaries set out to convert the Frisians. The pope appointed their leader, Willibrordus, bishop of the Frisians, the tenure of Willibrordus is generally considered to be the beginning of the Bishopric of Utrecht. In 723, the Frankish leader Charles Martel bestowed the fortress in Utrecht, from then on Utrecht became one of the most influential seats of power for the Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands
30.
Eindhoven
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Eindhoven is a municipality and a city in the south of the Netherlands, originally at the confluence of the Dommel and Gender streams. The Gender was dammed short of the city centre in the 1950s, the city has a population of 223,220 in January 2015, making it the fifth-largest municipality of the Netherlands and the largest in the province of North Brabant. Neighbouring cities and towns include Asten, Son en Breugel, Nuenen, Geldrop-Mierlo, Heeze-Leende, Waalre, Veldhoven, Eersel, Oirschot, the agglomeration has a population of 337,487. The metropolitan area consists of 419,045 inhabitants, the city region has a population of 753,426. Also, Eindhoven is located in the Brabantse Stedenrij, a metropolitan area with about 2 million inhabitants. The name Eindhoven derives from the contraction of the regional words eind, toponymically, eind occurs commonly as a prefix and postfix in local place- and streetnames. A hove comprised a parcel of land which a local lord might lease to private persons, given that a string of such parcels existed around Woensel, the name Eindhoven may have originated with the meaning last hoves on the land of Woensel. The written history of Eindhoven started in 1232, when Duke Hendrik I of Brabant granted city rights to Endehoven, then a small town right on the confluence of the Dommel, at the time of granting of its charter, Eindhoven had approximately 170 houses enclosed by a rampart. Just outside the city stood a small castle. The city was granted the right to organize a weekly market. Another factor in its establishment was its location on the route from Holland to Liège. Around 1388, the fortifications were strengthened further. And between 1413 and 1420, a new castle was built within the city walls, in 1486, Eindhoven was plundered and burned by troops from Guelders. The reconstruction of Eindhoven was finished in 1502, with a stronger rampart, however, in 1543 it fell again, its defense works having been neglected due to poverty. A big fire in 1554 destroyed 75% of the houses but by 1560 these had been rebuilt with the help of William I of Orange, Eindhoven did not become part of the Netherlands until 1629. During the French occupation, Eindhoven suffered again with many of its houses destroyed by the invading forces, Eindhoven remained a minor city after that until the start of the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution of the 19th century provided a major growth impulse, canals, roads and railroads were constructed. Industrialization brought population growth to Eindhoven, at the establishment of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815, Eindhoven had 2,310 inhabitants
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Old school hip hop
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Old-School Hip Hop describes the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music, and the music in the period preceding it from which it was directly descended. Old school hip hop is said to have ended around 1984 due to changes in both rapping technique and the music and rhythms. It is characterized by the simpler rapping techniques of the time, old-school hip hop is noted for its relatively simple rapping techniques compared to later hip-hop music. Artists such as Melle Mel would use few syllables per bar of music, with simple rhythms, much of the subject matter of old school hip hop centers around partying and having a good time. In the book How to Rap, Immortal Technique explains how party content played a big part in old school hip hop, hip-hop was born in an era of social turmoil, in the same way that slaves used to sing songs on a plantation. Thats the party songs that we used to have, as mentioned earlier, a notable exception is the song The Message, which was written, produced and mainly rapped by Duke Bootee. It was offered to Grandmaster Flash and he turned it down, citing that no one wanted to hear reality, Melle Mel however contacted Duke Bootee afterward and expressed that he did want to take part. Melle Mel rapped the verse he rapped in 1979s Super Rappin on the Message, once the song was completed it was released under the banner of Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five in order to give it some credibility. The song was a hit and introduced social commentary to hip hop, Duke Bootee solely produced and rapped The Message II with Melle Mel again in 1983. Battle rap was also a part of the old school hip hop aesthetic, while discussing battle rapping, Esoteric said, a lot of my stuff stems from old school hip-hop, braggadocio ethic. A famous old school hip hop battle occurred in December 1981 when Kool Moe Dee challenged Busy Bee Starski. Busy Bee Starskis defeat by the more complex raps of Kool Moe Dee meant that no longer was an MC just a crowd-pleasing comedian with a tongue, he was a commentator. KRS-One also credits this as creating a shift in rapping in the documentary Beef, sci-Fi/Afrofuturism was another theme introduced into hip hop. The release of Planet Rock in 1982 was a game changer, the combination of electronic percussive propulsion and Afrika Bambaataas rap sounded like an orchestra being rocketed into outer space. Light Years Away, by Warp 9, produced and written by Lotti Golden and Richard Scher, a cornerstone of early 80s beatbox afrofuturism, Light Years Away, is characterized as a brilliantly spare and sparse piece of electro hip-hop traversing inner and outer space. Freestyle rap during hip-hops old school era was defined differently than it is today, Kool Moe Dee refers to this earlier definition in his book, Theres a God on the Mic, There are two types of freestyle. Theres an old-school freestyle thats basically rhymes that youve written that may not have anything to do with any subject or that all over the place. Then theres freestyle where you come off the top of the head, in old school hip hop, Kool Moe Dee says that improvisational rapping was instead called coming off the top of the head
32.
Alkmaar
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Alkmaar is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Alkmaar is well known for its cheese market. For tourists, it is a cultural destination. The earliest mention of the name Alkmaar is in a 10th-century document, as the village grew into a town, it was granted city rights in 1254. The oldest part of Alkmaar lies on an ancient sand bank that afforded protection from inundation during medieval times. Even so, it is only a couple of metres above the surrounding region, in 1573 the city underwent a siege by Spanish forces under the leadership of Don Fadrique, son of the Duke of Alva. Some of his dispatches fell into the hands of Don Fadrique, and, with the beginning to rise. It was a point in the Eighty Years War and gave rise to the expression Bij Alkmaar begint de victorie. The event is celebrated every year in Alkmaar on 8 October. In 1799, during the French revolutionary wars, an Anglo-Russian expeditionary force captured the city but was defeated in the Battle of Castricum. The French victory was commemorated on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris as Alkmaer, the North Holland Canal, opened in 1824, was dug through Alkmaar. In 1865 and 1867 the railways between Alkmaar and Den Helder and between Alkmaar and Haarlem were built respectively, in the second half of the 20th century, Alkmaar expanded quickly with development of new neighbourhoods. On 1 October 1972, the town of Oudorp and the portions of Koedijk. The municipality of Alkmaar consists of the cities, towns, villages and/or districts, Alkmaar, Koedijk, Overdie, Oudorp. These once separate villages are now all linked together by the suburban sprawl of buildings that arose between the late 1970s and early 1990s, during this time, the population of Alkmaar almost doubled. On 1 January 2015 the municipalities of Graft-De Rijp and Schermer were merged into Alkmaar, there are direct trains to Den Helder, Hoorn, Zaandam, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Ede, Arnhem, Nijmegen, s-Hertogenbosch, Eindhoven, Maastricht and Haarlem. For exact details see Alkmaar railway station, Alkmaar has two railway stations, Alkmaar Alkmaar Noord The waterway Noordhollandsch Kanaal, which opened in 1824, runs through Alkmaar. Alkmaar has many buildings that are still intact, most notably the tall tower of the Grote of Sint-Laurenskerk
33.
The Opposites
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The Opposites are a Dutch rap group, consisting of rappers Willem de Bruijn and Twan van Steenhoven. The two started rapping when de Bruijn had to write a rap for his teacher as a punishment, Willem realized his rap potential and decided to continue rapping, together with friend Twan van Steenhoven he became addicted to Hiphop, so they say. The name The Opposites is a reference to the fact that Willem is short and tan, whereas Twan is tall and pale. After participating in a demo contest on the internet The Opposites got in touch with Mastermind Records which wanted to make a follow up on the popular album Streetremixes from D-men. The group contributed to both Streetremixes 2 and 3, along with rappers like, Yes-R, Brace, Lange Frans. They made their debut with Youngsters in 2005, which included mostly English lyrics. After Youngsters the two decided to start rapping in Dutch, the duo made a mixtape Vuur which can be downloaded on internet for free and has been played on Dutch radio. In order to start working on an album, The Opposites made their label switch to TopNotch. The same year the duo made a name with their coöperation on the hit single Wat Wil Je Doen from The Partysquad. Their album De Fik Erin was released in late 2005 and the single from this album was released in early 2006. Slaap is The Opposites first big hit and reached seven on the Mega Top 50. In 2007 The Opposites released their studio album, Begin Twintig. This album contains the hit Dom, Lomp en Famous, a single with lyrics that became very popular in the Netherlands. The album contains 16 songs, Twan makes the beats for 15 of them which is unusual for rappers because the beats are usually produced by producers. In 2007 the rappers won their first set of awards, in 2006 they were nominated for some but didnt actually win one. Two of the six awards they won in 2007 where for their song Dom, in 2008 they started touring through Spain with The Partysquad and later through the Netherlands with their show Op Volle Toeren with Flinke Namen and Dio. They made a mixtape with the name as their show, Op Volle Toeren, containing their work they did with Dio. The Opposites also released the hit single Vandaag, the same year the album Rock & Roll from Dio is released, Twan produced the beats for almost all of the tracks including the hit single Tijdmachine
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Almere
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Almere is a planned city and municipality in the province of Flevoland, Netherlands, bordering Lelystad and Zeewolde. The municipality of Almere compromises 6 official districts and boroughs and these are the districts Almere Stad, Almere Buiten and Almere Pampus, and the boroughs of Almere Haven, Almere Hout and Almere Poort. 4 of them also feature official district/borough offices, Almere is the newest city in the Netherlands, the land on which Almere sits, the Southern Flevoland Polder, was reclaimed from the IJsselmeer in 1959-68. The first house was finished in 1976, and Almere became a municipality in 1984 and it has the largest population of the municipalities in Flevoland with 196,290 citizens in 2014 and the 7th largest in the Netherlands. In October 2007, the city council of Almere made agreements with the government to expand the city to 350,000 inhabitants by 2030, the original plans for the IJsselmeerpolders saw the land being used for agriculture. However, after World War II housing was needed for the growing population of Amsterdam. The town in Oostelijk Flevoland became Lelystad, the town in Zuidelijk Flevoland was still called Zuidweststad on the first sketches, but in the 1970s it became called Almere, named after the lake Almere, the early medieval name of the Zuiderzee. The first house in Almere was finished in 1976, at that time the town was still controlled by the Openbaar Lichaam Zuidelijke IJsselmeerpolders, with a Landdrost. In 1984 Almere became an official municipality, originally, Almere was envisioned as a town with multiple centres. This idea was abandoned in favor of allowing neighbourhoods like Tussen de Vaarten to be built. There is also a difference between the way houses are built in the oldest and the newest parts of the city, the housing plan in Almere in the 1970s was basic functionality and a levelling of social status. However, starting in the 1990s more exclusive homes with striking designs were built, franc Weerwind has been the mayor of Almere since 9 September 2015. On 20 May 2010 the new council was inaugurated, the populist Party for Freedom had won the most seats in the local elections, which was both national and international news due to the controversial statements of its leader Geert Wilders. Even though the largest party they didnt take part in the local administration, the council elections took place on 21 September 1983. Prior to 1984 Almere had an Adviesraad, which was chosen every 2 years and this Adviesraad was made up of different political parties similar to a local council. On 11 March 1977 the first adviescommissie was elected and it consisted of 5 people that were chosen on personal title. Since 1998, the council of Almere has comprised a total of 39 members and it is the most western municipality of the province Flevoland. It borders with Lake Marken in the west and north, Lelystad in the northeast, Zeewolde in the east, Almere consists of three boroughs and three districts, three of which are under construction
35.
D-Men
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D-Men was a Dutch rap formation established in 1997 under the name D-Men Squad. This was after a freestyle session they held on a court in Diemen-Zuid. The original members of D-Men were rapper Lange Frans, his brother rapper Brutus and they picked the name that sound like their home town Diemen. Many others joined in the formation, famous for its mixtapes De Straatremixes, D-Men also have their own record label named D-Men Entertainment. As D-Men they released their first single in 1999, entitled Zoveel Mensen, with the joining of new members, the name was changed to D-Men Entertainment with the inclusion of Negativ, DJ MBA, Brace, Yes-R, Soesi B and C-Ronic. Most are parodies of American urban sounds, a sequel was also planned to be titled Rollen met D-Men, but this did not materialize. The band started breaking up with the departure of singer Brace, a single Vraag jezelf eens af was released. Contractual disagreements intensified with rapper Yes-R who joined the label of his cousin Ali B, Soesi B, a friend from childhood to Yes-R followed suit. The last of the new members to leave was Negativ and this the formation went back to the original three members Lange Frans, Brutus and Baas B. Yes-R even made a recording to diss the original members with his recording Je krijgt het van ons D-Men decided to disband, in 2008, Lange Frans and Baas B declared on Juize. FM that a follow-up release was planned entitled De Straatremixes Deel 4. Negativ was positive and expected that at least some of the members would come back. D-Men was replaced by the duo Lange Frans & Baas B D-Men have established their own Record label called D-Men Entertainment,2003, De Straatremixes 2004, De Straatremixes Deel 22004, De Straatremixes Deel 3 D-Men at Discogs
