Melissa Andrada and Lacy Cooper 

Dutch Hip Hop: Bridging the Gaps between Different Ethnic Youth Communities?

Abstract

We are interested in investigating how hip-hop has established itself within the youth culture of Amsterdam. Hip-hop allows an arena for self expression as well as provides an outlet for awareness for youth needs. It is a life style, a way of being—a culture that incorporates language, dress, and art. Within hip-hop you have the different aspects such as emceeing, deejaying, graffiti, and breaking. It is these varied outlets that provide the arena for expression. In the earlier days of Dutch hip-hop English was used but in 1988 Def P became the first person to rap in Dutch and later in 1993 he coined the term nederhop for hip-hop performed in Dutch. Each young person is essentially bringing into the culture of hip-hop a youth culture and their ethnic identity and it is here where our investigation begins. Our goal is to gain understanding of the role of hip-hop in Amsterdam youth culture, its social influence, and the extent to which it enables its participants to transcend other cultural boundaries.  We will obtain our information by participating in Dutch hip hop culture, attending shows, interviewing experts, interviewing artists, interviewing youth, exploring the citiy's graffiti,  and listening to the music.

Background

Hip-hop has become a global phenomenon, attracting followers from all corners of the world. With it owns unique brand of hip-hop, often referred to, as Nederhop, the Netherlands is no exception to this phenomenon. We are interested in looking at how hip-hop has established itself within the youth culture of Amsterdam. Hip-hop allows for an arena for creative self-expression, as well as an outlet of awareness for youth needs. Hip-hop is a life style incorporating language, fashion, music, art, and philosophy. Hip-hop is composed of different elements, which include, but are not limited to graffiti, emceeing, djing, break dancing, fashion, and spoken word. It is these varied outlets that provide the arena for expression. Our goal is to understand the role of hip-hop in Amsterdam youth culture, its socio-political influence, and the extent to which it enables its participants to transcend racial and ethnic differences and other cultural boundaries.

We are interested in conducting a study of nederhop in the context of immigration, racism, and xenophobia. The Netherlands is a country composed of dozens of immigrant communities. However, unlike the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, the Netherlands has only experienced huge waves of immigration since World War II. Despite its reputation as a country open to diversity and tolerant of all races and ethnicities, many of Netherlands's cultural policies and practices would suggest otherwise. There are many native Dutch who believe that immigration and ethnic heterogeneity prevents them from maintaining the authenticity of their local culture, and as a result, there has been a backlash against immigration and a trend of assimilation instead of mutual accommodation. In addition to this outward form of xenophobia, there is a more covert form of racism, underpinning the labor market, educational system, and other institutions, that has led to a socio-economic achievement gap between the native Dutch and the ethnic minorities (Vasta, 16-35). The question that then arises is how may one combat racism and xenophobia, and promote a true environment of cultural tolerance and mutual accommodation.

This question will frame our study of nederhop. We are interested in looking at whether hip-hop may be used as a tool to transcend cultural differences, and develop a community among racially and ethnically different youth. Can hip-hop be used as a model for how to promote an environment of cultural tolerance and mutual accommodation within the greater society? We will trace the history of nederhop, looking at the racial and socio-economic background of its founders and current participants, as well as the socio-political forces that shaped its development. We will look at how youth of different racial and ethnic backgrounds are engaging with one another in this lifestyle, and building a community of cultural tolerance and integration, as well mutual respect and accommodation. 

The Origins of Hip-Hop

The following overview was based on the "Yes, Yes, Y'all" exhibit at the Experience Music Project and my Music 162: American Pop Song lectures notes from fall 2005.

Hip-hop had its humble beginnings in the Bronx. It was started by a group of black and Latino street kids who were looking for a creative outlet to express themselves. They had a limited number of options since the city government was undergoing a financial crisis, and was forced to cut funding for many community programs. As a result, many young people suffered from an overwhelming sense of abandonment and harbored a great deal of anger towards society. However, they channeled this anger in a positive way and decided to take things into their own hands. They did not need a community center, venue, or gallery to express themselves creatively; the street was their practice room, show room, and studio. 

The first hip hoppers were graffiti artists who used subway cars and city walls as their canvas. Using spray paint, they tagged their names and group affiliations on these public spaces. As marginalized youth, this form of anarchic art was a way for them to empower themselves and seize ownership of the city. Similar to punk rock, hip-hop started out as a d.i.y. cultural revolution that was intended to overturn the norms and challenge the status quo. For the pioneers of hip hop, it was not just an art form, but a philosophy and a way of life. 

This way of life was something that appealed to many disillusioned urban youth who wanted to be a part of something raw and revolutionary. Hip-hop started as underground, non-commercial movement. In the beginning, hip hop was about self-empowerment, truth, and politics. The pioneers of hip hop constantly criticized the government, brought attention to the social ills of the time, and challenged people to take action. This activist spirit manifested itself not only in art, but also, music, dance, and fashion. According to many hip-hop historians, graffiti, emceeing, djing, and break dancing compose the four cornerstones of hip hop. Over time, hip hop expanded to include spoken word, beat boxing, and personal style. Hip hop has expanded and changed considerably since its inception. Hip hop began as localized cultural revolution centered in the boroughs of New York, but eventually, evolved into an international music movement located in all parts of the world, including Amsterdam.  

Challenges 

Thus far, the biggest challenges our group has faced have been distance, time, and language. Since I spent spring quarter abroad, Lacy and I did not have the benefit of face-to-face collaboration. I thought we would be able to overcome this challenge through email, the blog, and other on-line media, but unfortunately, I had limited internet access in Prague, therefore, I was not on-line enough to maintain consistent contact with Lacy. Time has also been one of my biggest challenges. It is difficult to set aside time for pre-departure work when you are already in a foreign country, and trying to soak up as much of the local culture as possible. However, now that I am done with the Prague program, I can fully concentrate on Amsterdam. Finally, the language barrier has also been a problem since neither Lacy nor I speak Dutch, and many of the websites and books we have found are in Dutch. Due to the paucity of English materials on the history and culture of nederhop, we have had difficulty in fully submerging ourselves in this research topic. However, I think that we will be able to overcome that challenge once we have more contacts in the nederhop scene, and of course, once we are in Amsterdam.

Human Subjects

The focus of this study will obviously be youth since they are the primary consumers and participants of this music culture. Nederhop is music culture that involves youth of all different ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds, and our study will aim to reflect the level of diversity that exists in this culture. We also intend to interview adults who are involved in this culture, specifically visual and recording artists, managers, critics, and other industry professionals who have been involved since the very beginning. We will use these interviews to provide a historical background for our study.

We plan to recruit research subjects through a myriad of different ways. We plan to contact recording and visual artists, industry professionals, and general youth consumers through email. We also plan to recruit research subjects by visiting record stores and venues, and attending concerts and other hip hop events.

We plan to guarantee the confidentiality and anonymity of the research participants by assigning each participant an alias, and also, by recording their responses in a notebook separate from their names. Also, no personal information will be shared outside of our research group. Photos and video of research participants will not be taken. 

Research Questions

Researcher 1: Melissa Andrada

I am particularly interested in focusing on graffiti, the visual element of hip hop, as well as the overall philosophy and cultural experience of Dutch hip hop. Graffiti is a unique form of art because it is for the most part, anonymous and illegal. Graffiti provides an outlet of expression for people who may feel like they have no real voice in society. For many writers, graffiti is a way through which they may empower themselves and validate their existence. The questions I am interested in addressing: Who are the writers of the city? Where are these works being created? What issues are Amsterdam writers addressing in their art? Who are these artists trying to reach out to?

I also would like to look at the overall philosophy and cultural experience of nederhop, since hip hop is not just music and art, but also, a way of life. I would like to draw cross-cultural comparisons between American and Dutch hip hop, and look at how they intersect and differ each other. I am interested in exploring the philosophy and cultural experience of nederhop in the context of racism and xenophobia. Below are the questions I am specifically interested in addressing: 

Is nederhop just a reflection of the status quo? Is it also underpinned by the covert racism that underpins the labor market, educational system, and other institutions? Or, is nederhop working to reform the status quo by creating an environment of ethnic integration and mutual accommodation? Can nederhop be used as a tool to bridge Amsterdam's diverse communities of youth?

Researcher 2: Lacy L. Cooper

The focus of my research will be on lyricism and beats.  Most importantly, these two aspects of Dutch hip-hop and more specifically nederhop will be placed in historical context in order to facilitate an understanding of the culture and its ability to transcend social barriers such as race and religion.  I will look at poetry (written), spoken word, rap music (both Dutch and American), beat production, and sampling.  How are these lyrical elements impacted by the larger Dutch society?  How have Dutch youth been able to access these elements as forms of expression and understanding?  Or more exactly how do Dutch youth produce and consume the culture?

In addition to examining the lyrical aspects of Dutch hip-hop I would also like to gain an understanding of the visual aspects of the culture as portrayed through fashion.  How does Dutch hip-hop fashion convey the philosophy of the culture?  Is it a reflection of the larger society or does it provide a unique definition of the culture?  How is this fashion then influenced by the lyrical aspects of the culture?

Research Methods

Interdisciplinary Research

Interdisciplinary research is useful in our study of Dutch hip-hop and more specifically nederhop precisely because it does not confine our thinking to one field.  Given the nature of our project it could not easily be fit into the methods associated with just one field such as fashion, music, race relations, politics, youth development, resistance, or psychology.  With this in mind it is important that we use methods from the humanities, the social sciences, e-research, urban studies, and observation to name a few.  The incorporation of methods from each of these areas of study and the broader research methods covered in class will better enable us in our quest to understand the role Dutch hip-hop plays in the lives of Amsterdam youth.   Studying a culture requires immense depth and interdisciplinary research allows us a greater chance of avoiding generalizing one cultural aspect to the entire culture.

Urban Studies

Urban studies methods will play heavily into our final analysis of Dutch hip-hop culture.  By being conscious observers of Amsterdam we will better be able to interpret what the city is telling us.  A couple of aspects that are most appealing for the moment are the major centers of the culture (if any), understanding the city as a canvas for graffiti, how the people interact with those locations to reproduce them and the culture, and how the music interacts with the form.  It will be most beneficial for us to observe Amsterdam as a whole so as to gain insight into the general atmosphere and interactions between the city and its residence.  This can then be used in reference to the interactions and atmosphere present in the hip hop culture and its institutions within the city. In the end we can begin to understand how hip-hop heads have adopted to the structure of Amsterdam to build their community and how the physical structure of the city has adopted to the hip-hop culture.  A city does not reveal the whole picture.  We need to look at it in relation to the human aspects.  Further, as we gain a deeper understanding of the nederhop culture our interpretations of the images we view will change.  It is like we know not what we are looking at or for to begin with.

Interview and Observation

Interview and observation is another method that will play heavily in our data collection.  Observation will allow us the time and space to enter into our first level of understanding the Dutch hip-hop culture.  By performing an initial domain analysis we will be able to uncover some of the cover terms used and we can then work questions regarding them into our interviews.  Interviews are our primary source of inside data about the culture within Amsterdam.  Most of our questions for the moment are general and focus on the history of nederhop and Dutch hip-hop as recognize the importance of contextuality in combination with individual experience.  We will obtain our potential interview subjects from email solicitation, contacts and referrals, and asking people we meet while participating in the Dutch hip-hop scene.

1. How did you get involved with hip-hop?  What attracted you to it?
2. What role do you play on the nederhop scene?  Do you have anything you would like to share?
3. What is your definition of hip-hop?  Is it music, art, fashion, or a way of being?
4. Is hip-hop in the Netherlands considered a black establishment as it is in the US?
5. How does nederhop differ from American hip-hop?
6. Why do you think nederhop took off with white Dutch youth?
7. What role do immigrant and youth of color play on the nederhop scene?
8. What role does the “street” mentality play in nederhop?
9. What role does slang play in nederhop?  Is it a vital form of coded communication?
10. Does nederhop have the same historical roots as American hip-hop?  If so how? And why?
11. How important are the different aspects of nederhop culture?
12. What drew you to the nederhop scene?
13. How has your participation in the culture helped you overcome other barriers of communication?
14. How helpful has nederhop been in bringing different ethnic groups together within the larger society?
15. How would you characterize Dutch hip-hop lyrical style?
16. What is typical of Dutch hip-hop fashion?  How important is the image to the total package?

Our interview questions are deeply founded in our own desires and our own understandings of hip-hop primarily from an American perspective.  This has lead us to make some assumptions that might not be fair.  Inevitably in our observations we will be looking for aspects within the setting that we can relate back to American hip-hop.

Humanities

Humanities is valuable to our project for we need to remember to defamiliarize ourselves not only from the topics and questions we are researching but also from the assumptions and questions we bring with us from our understanding of American hip-hop culture.  In addition we are placing much value non verifiable questions.  We are doing in an attempt to avoid the question on whether or not hip-hop can be justified.  It is a question that has floated around academic and non academic circles and it is not a question we feel our research should be drawn to.  The justifiable questions we use will be drawn in context and will be used as guides to understanding the culture.  The non-verifiable questions will be more difficult to derive patterns from without implementing some sort of coding and thus making the observations quantitative. 

E-Research and Internet Research

E-research and internet research will be used more as background mechanisms for our study.  We will access some of our survey participants through online hip-hop forums and through related web pages.  We have also used the internet to collect background materials on hip-hop, Amsterdam hip-hop locations, and other possible sources.  It is not our strength and it doesn’t seem to work very well for our topic overall.  Information on nederhop and Dutch hip-hop in general is extremely difficult to find.  Further hip-hop is a relatively new topic of study for most academics and that limits the material that can be accessed online.  A lot of what we are looking for will be found in printed versions of magazines and from oral histories.

Reflexivity

We bring with us a wealth of assumptions that have been heavily formed through are participation in American hip-hop culture.  We are both major hip-hop heads and although this plays into our favor it is also problematic in the number of assumptions we will bring.  We have already in our head a demographic profile that we expect to see in nederhop participations, we have already begun to speculate on its origins, and we have already assumed a strong connection to American hip-hop.  It is not to say that we won’t find any of these aspects but just that we expect to see them so we have our research guided in their pursuit.

Analysis

We plan on collecting video, audio, written, and artistic materials that can be combined to illustrate Dutch hip-hop culture as we understand it.  Interviews and magazine articles will allow us provide a historical framework.  Video and audio clips will provide life to interviews, capture the sounds of Dutch hip-hop, and allow the reader to feel the culture.  Written and artistic materials collected will allow us to incorporate the different skills of our subjects and truly makes our project the interactive experience we would like it to be.  Our questions are based on understanding and on feeling.  Most simply we wish to understand the different ways in which Dutch youth interact with the hip-hop culture.  The format we are currently presenting allows us to ask questions as well as provides a forum for dialogue.

Research Schedule

Week 1: Get acquainted with the hip-hop scene in Amsterdam by attending a couple of events and going to a couple of clubs.  Make initial contacts and begin to solicit interview participants.

Week 2: Collect our data: perform interviews of youth, experts, and industry insiders.  Continue to study the environment and context of Dutch hip-hop by observing clubs.  Collect audio and video footage as well as art and poetry to be used in presentations.

Week 3: Analyze our data and code our observations and interviews.  Create a multi-media presentation to be used in Lausanne.  Continue to making contacts and immersing ourselves in the culture. 

Week 4: Present at the EASST conference and try to find some hip-hop to enjoy.

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