Until recently, Dutch hip-hop was mainly a Randstad affair, concentrated around Rotterdam and Amsterdam. But Opgezwolle, coming from - very surprisingly - Zwolle changes this. Opgezwolle consists of the mc's Sticky Steez and Phreako Rico and DJ and producer Delic. With their Dutch-language hip-hop they reached the final of the Grote Prijs van Nederland in 2001. This was eventually won by Raymzter,
… but Delic did receive the prize for the best musician. The self-recorded album Spuugdingen Op De Mic received a lot of attention and they also participated in the Dutch-hop collection Homegrown. The wait was now for the real debut album, which is a fact with Liquid (2003). Opgezwolle proves with Liquid that that final place at the Grand Prix was absolutely justified, because it is a very nice and good album. Not only the lyrics are sharp and funny, but also the production of Delic convinces, for example in tracks like Far East, Tjappies and Mammies of Beestenboel. Opgezwolle establishes itself with Liquid in one fell swoop between the big names of Nederhop. (IV)more
