Netherlands in Alaska
September 17, 2016
Episode 48:
Adje ‘Vossig’
We’re proud to once again bring another season of Netherlands in Alaska to the Fairbanks Airwaves.
In an interview with Ballin.com about his first full-length “Vossig”, the artist we chose for our season premiere, the loquatious MC Adje explained:
“I’m just as valuable for Amsterdam as [Premier Soccer League Team] Ajax. Maybe not for Soccerfans, but maybe I’m like the Patrick Kluivert for music lovers.”
And perhaps he is not exaggerating; you wouldn’t know that this is his first full-length, as he seems to be everywhere in the Dutch music scene. His trademark vocal style can be heard all across the hiphop landscape of the Lowlands; a range which can vacillate between the same hair-on-the-back-of-your-neck-raising effect of Rick Ross’ growl, and a smooth flow that many on this side of that Atlantic would drop serious stacks to be able to emulate.
Although the MC and de facto leader of the Sloddervosgang crew put out three, serious buzz-generating, almost completely freestyled mixtapes: “Ikkebenquikkathan”, “Ikkebensickathan”, “Ikkebenfitterthan” it took longer than expected for him to come around with his full studio release. He explains the final set-back from 2012 to its eventual release in 2013, as being due to general perfectionism and other positive musical developments, namely a chance to work with producer Reverse who was fresh from releasing the track Ik Neem Je Mee with Gers Pardoel, the most commercially successful Dutch hiphop track of all time. Together they released the critically acclaimed “Hele Meneer - EP”; Adje himself put it this way:
“Who was I to say, in that moment, ‘nah, don’t take advantage of this opportunity?’ Sure, during [this time] the album sort of stood still, but it also had advantages; Reverse got better, I got better, and maybe most importantly, the EP paid off by letting me see who my audience was, and what they wanted. Through this I was able to make less concecssions on ‘Vossig.’”
Despite all the hype and pats on the back from his colleagues in the Netherlands, he said that the album release was a major turning point for him:
“I can actually call this my job now....at a certain point you reach the age where you’re seen as responsible for yourself in our society: you need your own apartment...your own car, maybe even a dog...after 4 years of [working on music] I have something tangible to show for it, like ‘Mom, look, this is is sold in the stores! It isn’t a mixtape, not something I posted for free on the internet, but a real album, released by Sony!”
Indeed the polished nature of a full album released is something worth taking note of, especially for an artist whose first 3 released were freestyled verses over borrowed beats. For those unfamiliar with Adje’s work within the Dutch music scene, his lyrical delivery and production style may seem familiar within the mainstream, gritty hiphop coming out of the U.S., but the deeper you look into his work with crew-mates, his younger brother MC Hef, and his comments in interviews about wanting to establish a sustainable and ever evolving, supportive scene you get a clear view of how important Adje is as a multifaceted pillar within Dutch hiphop. Perhaps the clearest indication of Adje’s vision for hiphop in the Netherlands was reveleaded when Ballin.com pressed what he meant by his Patrick Kluivert comment:
“The way I looked up to Patrick Kluivert, maybe now there’s a kid who wants to rap and looks up to me in the same way....I myself never looked to the Netherlands, but instead at what was going on in America.”
In regards to the scene and how it stands in comparison with the Netherlands he conceded that he did not have enough money to compete with Jay-Z, but:
“but in regards to the art and musicality I think I can reach that level. I’m sure that if a few of my best verses had been in English, I would’ve already bested Jay-Z 10 times over.”
Tracklist:
Hooligan
Beloofd
Dierenwinkel
Nikszeggings
Gangsta ft. Mocro Maniac, Hef & Crooks
Hoe Laat ft. Willem
Hele Meneer
B.A.M ft. Akwasi
Ik Ben Je Homey
In De Bus
Liever Alleen
Never Stop ft. Beenie Man
Hoor Ze Niet ft. Reverse
Houdoe ft. Faberyayo, Jayh & Reverse
Niet Meer Als Toen ft. Willie Wartaal