NEW WAVE

New Wave is the Dutch hip-hop collective behind the album of the same name from 2015. Among others, Ronnie Flex, Lil’ Kleine, Jonna Fraser, Bokoesam, Lijpe, and members of SFB contributed to the project. The project was born during a writing camp on Schiermonnikoog. There was no fixed band lineup: for each track, different rappers, singers, and producers came together.

Are you looking for the music movement from the seventies and eighties? Then read what new wave is as a genre.

Also discover the Artist Page of New Wave and listen further to Ronnie Flex and Lil Kleine. The New Wave album on vinyl brings their contributions together on one record.

TEN DAYS ON AN ISLAND.

In February 2015, record label Top Notch brought a large group of young rappers, singers, and producers together on Schiermonnikoog. The idea came from label founder Kees de Koning and was made possible in part by the Buma Music Academy. Far away from daily pressure and existing scenes, new combinations constantly emerged in apartments and improvised studios.

Ronnie Flex, Jonna Fraser, Lil’ Kleine, Bokoesam, Idaly, Lijpe, D-Double, and Ares worked there alongside members of SFB — Frenna, Jandro, KM, and Priceless — and creators such as Afriki, Cartiez, and Def Major. Producers including Jack $hirak, Spanker, Monsif, Ramiks, Krankjoram, and Garrincha helped place the diverse voices into one world.

That was precisely the power of the project. New Wave had no fixed frontman and no classic band dynamic. The lineup changed per track. Someone could put down a chorus, another would take over a verse, and a producer would then steer the song in an unexpected direction. As a result, the collective did not sound uniform, but it was connected: young, direct, and unusually free.

A DIGITAL-FIRST BREAKTHROUGH.

The self-titled album was released on April 10, 2015. The digital edition featured seventeen tracks and showed how many styles had come together in that one writing week. Melodic vocals, street rap, pop sensibilities, and electronic productions did not sit neatly alongside each other; they bled into one another.

“Drank & Drugs” by Lil’ Kleine and Ronnie Flex became the unavoidable hit. The song reached the number one spot and grew into one of the defining Dutch singles of that year. Yet the album was bigger than that one track. “Zeg Dat Niet”, “No Go Zone”, “Hoog/Laag”, and “Investeren in de Liefde” each showcased a different combination and vibe.

New Wave appeared at a moment when streaming was changing listening behavior at breakneck speed. The audience didn't have to wait for radio, stores, or traditional media. Songs could instantly become part of schoolyards, bedrooms, festivals, and nights out via Spotify and YouTube. The album didn't just understand that new reality; it helped make it visible.

New Wave was not a band that spent years searching for a sound. It was a sound that found a generation in ten days.

THE SOUND OF A GENERATION.

The impact was measurable. In the first week after the release, ten of the seventeen tracks were in the Dutch Top 50. With more than sixty million streams, New Wave became the most-streamed album of 2015 on Spotify in the Netherlands. Such numbers were not just impressive at the time; they changed the conversation about what Dutch hip-hop could mean commercially.

The success turned various participants into independent main acts in a short time. Ronnie Flex, Lil’ Kleine, Frenna, Jonna Fraser, Bokoesam, and Lijpe each went on to build their own careers. Producers like Jack $hirak and Spanker became recognizable architects of the sound behind new Dutch hits.

In doing so, New Wave acted as an accelerator. The collective proved that collaboration did not have to be a guest appearance, but could form the foundation of a complete project. Artists from different cities and sub-scenes did not have to sacrifice their own identities to reach a larger audience together.

FROM RESISTANCE TO RECOGNITION.

The music did not only elicit enthusiasm. The language, themes, and young bravado were also criticized. “Drank & Drugs” in particular grew into a topic of societal debate. It was precisely that combination of massive popularity and resistance that made it clear something new was happening. New Wave didn't sound like it was asking for permission to belong to the mainstream.

At the start of 2016, the collective received the 2015 Popprijs. The jury emphasized that New Wave had reached an exceptionally large audience outside of the known routes, thereby making a shift in the music industry visible. Shortly thereafter, two Edisons followed: one for Album and one for Hip-hop.

The recognition thus came not just for sales or streams. It came for impact. Dutch hip-hop had been artistically relevant long before New Wave, but this album showed the industry that a young, streaming-focused listener was not on the sidelines. That listener had become the center.

ONE ALBUM, MANY FUTURES.

New Wave remained an exceptional moment as a collective and did not become a band that released a new studio album every few years. That makes the legacy clear. The project consists essentially of one record, while the careers that emerged from it developed in dozens of directions.

Ten years after the original release, the strength of the memory was evident. The collective returned for five anniversary concerts at the Ziggo Dome in February 2026. A project that once emerged in ten days on a quiet island could, a decade later, fill the largest concert hall in the Netherlands for multiple nights.

That scale says a lot, but the real legacy lies in the sense of possibility that New Wave left behind. For young Dutch creators, it became visible that language, accent, origin, or a lack of traditional radio formats did not have to be a barrier. A good combination, a strong beat, and a direct connection with the audience could be enough.

MADE FOR STREAMING. PRESERVED ON VINYL.

It is almost fittingly contradictory that New Wave later also appeared on vinyl. The album became famous as proof that digital distribution was rewriting the rules. On record, that fast, online breakthrough suddenly gains a tangible form — a document of the moment when streaming culture and Dutch hip-hop definitively found each other.

Listen again now, and the familiar hits still stand out. But behind them, you primarily hear the experiment: voices that hadn't fully matured, producers opening up new spaces, and combinations that could only happen once. Not everything is perfectly polished or calculated. That is precisely why the album remains alive.

Discover the musical context in HIP-HOP..