Hou het echt! Authenticity in the Dutch hip-hop scene from the point of view of A&R-personnel Tim van Meurs Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication Erasmus University Rotterdam 362905
[email protected] Supervisor: Dr. Laura Braden Second reader: Prof.dr. Koen van Eijck June 8th, 2015 Foreword “You are trying to apply science to something that isn’t!” With those words, interviewee and godfather of Nederhop Kees de Koning summarized quite well what I have been doing for the last couple of months. Ambitious as I was at the start of the master thesis process, I figured I could interview some key behind-the-scenes figures of the Dutch hip-hop scene without too much trouble. At times, I wished I had listened to those who told me to pick another topic because people from the music industry are generally too busy to conduct a, for them, uninteresting interview. But this thesis now lies in front of you, finished and well, and ready to be read. But it did not become what it is now without any problems. Problems that I did not solve by myself. So for that, I would like to thank the people who guided me through my breakdowns, helped me get further in the process, and supplied me with all sorts of resources to go on; from encouragement, to food, to the opportunity for interviews. First I want to thank my interviewees, for without them I literally would not have been able to make this thesis. So thanks Farid, for being my first interviewee and referring me to others, and thanks Angelo, Jimmy, Pim, Gaétan, Tim, Amier, Jaap, Casper, Vincent and Kees for giving me some of your precious time.