Netherlands in Alaska
May 8th, 2016
Episode 47:
Fresku - Nooit Meer Terug
Fresku is upset; he is mad at his critics in the music industry and media as well as everyday haters; he is mad by the state of music royalty payments in the Netherlands; at what he sees as a racist status-quo in Dutch radio and music promotion. He is mad at the lesser skills of what he deems effeminate MC’s; at the lax attitudes of men and women towards sex and self respect in the Netherlands; at global socio-economic inequality; at the Israel-Palestine conflict. Even those who cannot understand the Dutch language, can tell merely by his verbal delivery just how much more upset the MC has gotten in the 5 years since his self-titled debut album . Those who heard our feature of that album may find his move to rap almost entirely shout-rapping hard to bear during the course of his hour-plus long 3rd album “Nooit Meer Terug” (Engl: No Turning Back).
Much of the source of his ire is hard to understand unless you are well versed in multiple quixotic subjects (such as the aforementioned debates on race and profit sharing in the Dutch music industry). In one video for “Zo Doe Je Dat”, he slowly applies white face makeup and a blonde, straight haired wig, before getting an acoustic guitar and playing pop-rock, following the song’s formula on how one ostensibly achieves radio-play and success in Holland.
All this having been said, one should never pigeonhole Fresku as a wholly angry rapper spouting from the id. Much like the track ‘Lamballen’ (his musing on lethargy and the post-modern condition off of his self-titled debut) “Nooit Meer Terug” contains the track Ik Eet Kreeft (Engl: I Eat Lobster).
As the first song, the album’s title track “Nooit Meer Terug” about his life’s struggles concludes, we hear an interviewer asking him what changes he’s noticed in his life since gaining fame in the Netherlands, to which he replies:
“I eat lobster and prawns every day....
no....really....some rappers buy clothes, I just buy food.”
Thus he launches into a song that not only aims to poke fun at the habits of the newly rich, but also juxtaposes with his introductory song of financial and social woes. It is perhaps on these moments of Fresku’s albums that his strengths as a rapper truly come to the forefront; not when he is screaming himself horse, belting out political grievances the audience can hardly decipher, nor when he is pedantic with his mores on love, sexuality, and the genders, but when he is following the advice of Mel Brooks who famously said,
“...the only way to deal with the world is to laugh - because if you don't laugh you're going to cry and never stop crying.”
We hope you enjoyed our feature of this third album from outspoken mc Fresku.
Tracklist:
Nooit Meer Terug
Kreeft (ft. MocroManiac)
Gooi Jezelf Weg
Trots
Nooit Goed
Zo Doe Je Dat
Bitchboy
Ik Wil
Gevangen
Alzheimer
Altijd Alleen
Rustig Aan
Meisjes / Jongens
Is Het Ver Weg
Waarom Ik Schrijf
Angst