One of the group’s trademarks was the experimentation with Dutch lyrics, which resulted the (back then) four piece in being the first ever crew in The Netherlands to release a complete demo in their native language. This turned out to be the start of a new genre they still call ‘Nederhop’ to this day, a term consisting of the words “Nederlandse” (Dutch) and “Hip-Hop”.
The start of Osdorp Posse can be tracked back as far as 1986, when Def P (real name Pascal Griffioen) made his debut on the Dutch hip-hop scene with the group Funky Fresh Force, consisting of him and DJ Dov, who would later become a famous House DJ under the pseudonym DJ The Prophet.
In 1988 Griffioen started experimenting with Dutch lyrics as a joke (translating American rap lyrics from groups such as N.W.A.), and a creative exercise (writing a couple of ‘real’ songs). His nephew Marco (later on taking on the nickname IJsblock – a literal translation of N.W.A.’s infamous Ice Cube) joined in the musical tomfoolery, as they recorded raps on instrumental tracks from their record collection, using nothing but a tape deck and a microphone.
It wasn’t until Marco and Pascal met Robin (now known as Seda) and Arthur (King) that they got down to writing real material that they found suitable for recording. Even though their musical playground that they had by then labelled Osdorp Posse (named after the Amsterdam neighbourhood Osdorp, where they all lived) consisted of a large group of friends with a continuously changing line-up, the core of the Posse was the four guys, and would remain so until twelve years later. With a lot of the co-rappers leaving the group with no interest in taking Osdorp Posse to a next level, the group recorded an infamous demo as a fourpiece. The nameless cassette – which quickly became known as ‘De Rode Demo’ (The Red Demo) – was handed out to friends, and travelled the country, taking the underground alternative music scene by storm through the tape trading circuit.
One of the many people who got hands on De Rode Demo was Saskia Sleger, the owner of the underground dancelabel DJAX. Recognizing the originality as well as the obvious talent, Sleger decided to contact the group and offer them a contract. Hardly believing what just happened to them, the young rappers immediately signed with DJAX, without reading the fine print. Def P later described this move in the band’s biography ‘Tien Jaar OP’ as impulsive and a bit naïve, but it turned out to be a good thing: the start of legendary career.
Now having to actually release cds instead of fooling around with a tapedeck, Pascal, Marco, Robin and Arthur franticly started writing out the material that they had come with before heading to a local studio in 1992, recording the first ever ‘Nederhop’ cd: the poorly produced yet explosive, hardcore and edgy twenty three song classic ‘Osdorp Stijl’ (Osdorp Style).
With an official release in stores, the group started on a journey that moved their live-shows away from the squat- and fret houses, onto the ‘ real’ alternative music scene. The album was an instant underground classic, which not only spawned an entire generation of Dutch Hip-hop acts at the time, but also quickly finding a following within a diverse group of alternative music fans such as punkers, metalheads, rockers and many alike.
The following two releases were plagued by the same production problems as their infamous debut, but through their sheer determination, explosive live shows and hardcore, relentless lyrical attitude became underground hits nevertheless. It wasn’t until they were asked to play the warm-up show at the biggest festival in the Netherlands, Pinkpop, that they got recognition from a larger audience. Their fourth cd entitled ‘Afslag Osdorp’ (Osdorp Exit), was released soon after the legendary festival appearance, and was the groups largest commercial success to that date. Riding the wave of word-to-mouth advertising following Pinkpop and their years on end of touring and self promoting (being ignored by mainstream media and critics), Afslag Osdorp sold thousands of copies; an achievement that was until then unthinkable for a Dutch rap act.
Later that year, with their popularity growing to a new height, Osdorp Posse played one of the most legendary and afterwards most talked about performances on the Dutch alternative music scene at the Lowlands Festival. Something that was euphemistically called a programming mistake, the group was set to play the smallest tent (Charlie) in the afternoon. Even though the Amsterdam crew warned the festival organisation about the possible consequences, the foursome’s advice to move their show to a bigger tent fell was ignored, resulting in half the festival attendees trying to fit in the small, claustrophobic space in anticipation of what was then one of the biggest things in Dutch music: Osdorp Posse. After the first couple of notes were played, the frantic crowd started to mosh, pogo and crowdsurf with such an enthusiasm that they nearly destroyed the entire tent. Def P later explained he had no idea how dangerous the situation was, that eventually led to an early ending of the gig when the crowd rushed to the stage, crushing the structure. No one got seriously hurt, yet everyone had witnessed and taken part in a legendary festival moment, talked about to this day.
In 1996 the group received the prestigious ‘ Pop Prijs’ (Pop Prize), as a recognition of their pioneering role in the Dutch hip-hop scene. That year also marked another legendary festival performance; the Dynamo Open Air festival – at that time the most important Heavy Metal event in the world – playing as the first and only hip-hop crew ever in front of more then a 100.000 longhaired metalheads, a large portion of whom were stoned Germans (enjoying the music all the same). The following year, ‘ Osdorp’ returned to Pinkpop, this time playing not once but twice: first on the small stage, returning on the final day at the main stage in front of 60.000 people.
After the commercial and artistic successes of albums such as ‘Briljant, Hard en Geslepen’ (Brilliant, Hard and Polished) – recorded with death metal band Nembrionic, and the chart success ‘Geendagsvlieg’ (literally: No day fly, as a play on words to the term ‘one day fly’, emphasizing their timelessness) the Posse left their long time label Djax to start up their own label called RAMP Records (consisting of the first letters in their names: Robin, Arthur, Marco, Pascal). In 2000, the group’s first release on their own turf called ‘ Kernramp’ (Nuclear Disaster) became their biggest commercial success, and remains so to this day. For the first time in their 12 year long career, Osdorp Posse even landed on the Dutch TOP 40 charts with their single ‘ Origineel Amsterdams’, which eventually ploughed into the top 10.
The release of their eighth album also marked the first change in line-up the group had seen since the early demo days: DJ ‘Deegmeester’ Daan – who already joined the band on stage for quite a while – became the fifth member of Osdorp Posse. That year they returned to Lowlands Festival as a five-piece, this time on a bigger stage. Once again controversy was part of the group’s performance, with Def P openly protesting against the nationwide crowd surf ban (as a result to the Roskilde tragedy earlier that year).
Around that time the music industry started crashing down. With programmes such as Napster and Kazaa providing fans with free – yet illegal – music, Osdorp Posse’s new label had a hard time lifting off. Every release after ‘ Kernramp’, such as ‘ Tegenstrijd” (meaning both Counter Battle, and Contradiction in Dutch) and Hollandse Hardcore Hip-Hop Helden all saw decreasing sales figures. At the same time, the genre the group created – Nederhop – had become a mainstream phenomena with acts such as Extince, Def Rhymz, and new school artists and groups like Raymster and Opgezwolle taking over the Dutch hiphop scene. Osdorp Posse, never being a favourite of the mainstream media – could only witness their own decline.
Around 2004, the group had plummeted back into the underground scene, once again playing the smaller venues. The groups hardcore following had eye for their later releases with bands such as Laberinto and Blind Justice, but stayed true to their heroes all the same.
Near the end of 2008, the group has announced to call it quits. After a release party of their final effort entitled ‘2 Decennia’ (Two Decades), Osdorp Posse embarked on a farewell tour, taking them to all the places they played, rocked the mike at, and witnessed their fanatic following go crazy to their hardcore style of performing.
The group’s swansong took place on their own turf, in the Amsterdam club De Melkweg in September of 2009, leaving a legacy that can not be ignored or forgotten: the invention and perfection of Nederhop.
Censuur
Osdorp Posse Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Platenbazen die verbieden hebben mij niets te bieden.
Als er wordt gezeken dan heb ik het snel bekeken.
Onze teksten zijn voor kenners en niet voor domme leken.
Ze geven aan muziek de schuld van haat en zelfmoord,
agressie en depressie heb je zo iets doms gehoord?
Sukkels die zelfmoord plegen zijn ziek,
de reden kan van alles zijn, maar 't komt niet door muziek.
om er zogenaamd een kwade boodschap in te horen.
Maar waar ik op duid zeg ik wel vooruit,
je luistert naar de duivel, duidelijk en luid.
Wie bepaalt er wat ik niet mag horen of zien,
een rechter en een achterlijke keurgroep misschien?
Oud geworden zeikers die bang zijn voor morgen,
willen alles houden door voor de jeugd te zorgen.
Maar zorgen doe je niet door te censureren,
zo ontneem je ons de kans een eigen mening te creeren.
Als de inspiratiebronnen haat en geweld zijn,
hoe denk je dan dat de teksten zullen zijn?
Een gemaakt produkt van z'n eigen omgeving,
die de waarheid zegt over z'n eigen beleving.
Zal merken dat conservatieven hem bestrijden
en daarbij worden gesteund door de autoriteiten
De harde waarheid, die wordt gecensuureerd.
Terwijl van de waarheid het meeste wordt geleerd.
De harde waarheid, die wordt gecensuureerd.
Dus eigenlijk zeg je, de waarheid is verkeerd.
Loop's in een platenzaak en kijk eens allemaal,
hoe muziek wordt beheerst door de Engelse taal.
Aan orginaliteit schiet het zwaar te kort,
er wordt zonder jou beslist wat je aangeboden wordt.
Politici zijn bang voor muzikanten,
en de grote invloed op hun verwanten.
Realistische platen over sex en dood,
geweld en drugs en geld en nood
en discriminatie, haat en onrecht
beschrijf dat liever niet want dat is slecht.
Woorden die je niet mag horen, draaien zij achterstevoren
want kennis wordt geboren zodra jouw oren dit horen
en dat is niet wat zij wensen
Zo verliezen zij de macht over onwetende mensen
ze spreken over .... en normen
maar hoe kan de jeugd zijn eigen mening vormen,
als er voor hun wordt beslist wat goed is en wat slecht
door een stel ouwe lullen
Wat geeft hun dat recht?
Hoever moet deze shit nog komen,
tot niemand meer voor z'n mening uit mag komen?
Mijn mening is m'n kracht en die ligt niet in hun macht,
en dat is wat ze wakker houdt, nacht na nacht.
Want we kunnen hun niet stoppen, maar ook niet andersom,
want de underground stoppen is het barsten van de bom.
De harde waarheid, die wordt gecensuureerd.
Terwijl van de waarheid het meeste wordt geleerd.
De harde waarheid, die wordt gecensuureerd.
Dus eigenlijk zeg je, de waarheid is verkeerd.
Platenhoezen hebben stickers, heb je nu je zin?
denk je echt dat iemand luistert naar zo'n waarschuwing?
Je piept woorden weg, maar geloof je nou echt
dat de mensen niet weten wat er wordt gezegd?
Belachelijke zielige imbecielen,
debielen met overgevoelige zielen,
Ga je gang, piep me weg als ik ga schelden,
en probeer meteen te raden wat ik vertelde.
Lekkere lekkere lekkere lekkere lekkere lekkere chick,
kom es effe hier en zuig es lekker aan m'n %*$(&%%.
Is het niet belachelijk, ik weet dat je het weet,
censurerende fatsoensrakkers, lik m'n ^(#$#^.
Dit is zo nutteloos dom en niet leuk,
want of je nou een piep hoort of het woordje *%&$(&.
Het maakt niet eens uit en dit is het bewijs,
ja, het is wel wat kinderachtig maar voor geen prijs
zal ik m'n teksten aanpassen om jullie te verrassen,
jullie die je eigen handen in onschuld willen wassen.
Wat is nou erger, mij te laten schelden?
of iemand te beletten om de waarheid te melden.
Ouwe lullen kom, denk es door joh,
het resultaat hiervan heb je gezien in de oorlog.
Zolang we hier wonen in het vrije Nederland,
staan sukkels met plannen zoals jullie aan de kant.
De harde waarheid, die wordt gecensuureerd.
Terwijl van de waarheid het meeste wordt geleerd.
De harde waarheid, die wordt gecensuureerd.
Dus eigenlijk zeg je, de waarheid is verkeerd.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The lyrics of Osdorp Posse's song "Censuur" (Censorship) criticize the idea of censorship in music and the people who try to control what others can listen to or say. The opening line, "Verbieden is verboden dus verboden te verbieden" translates to "To forbid is forbidden, therefore forbidding is forbidden." This line suggests that censorship is inherently wrong and goes against freedom of expression. The song goes on to argue that music cannot be blamed for negative emotions such as hate and suicide, and that artists should be allowed to express their own experiences and perspectives without fear of being censored. The lyrics also challenge the idea that older generations have the right to dictate what young people can and cannot listen to.
The song also touches on the issue of censorship in the Dutch music industry, suggesting that too much emphasis is placed on music in the English language and that originality is often overlooked. The lyrics criticize politicians who are afraid of musicians' influence on society, and the stickers on albums warning of explicit content are also mocked as being ineffective. The song ends with a call to stand up against censorship and defend freedom of expression.
Overall, "Censuur" is a protest against censorship and the idea that certain types of music should be controlled or banned. The song is a powerful statement in defense of artistic freedom and the right to express oneself freely.
Line by Line Meaning
Verbieden is verboden dus verboden te verbieden.
Prohibiting is forbidden so prohibited to prohibit.
Platenbazen die verbieden hebben mij niets te bieden.
Music bosses that prohibit have nothing to offer me.
Als er wordt gezeken dan heb ik het snel bekeken.
If there's any whining, then I'm done listening.
Onze teksten zijn voor kenners en niet voor domme leken.
Our lyrics are for connoisseurs, not for stupid novices.
Ze geven aan muziek de schuld van haat en zelfmoord, agressie en depressie heb je zo iets doms gehoord?
They blame music for hatred, suicide, aggression, and depression. Have you ever heard of something so foolish?
Sukkels die zelfmoord plegen zijn ziek, de reden kan van alles zijn, maar 't komt niet door muziek.
People who commit suicide are sick, and the reason can be anything but it's not because of music.
Christelijke sukkels draaien dit achterstevoren, om er zogenaamd een kwade boodschap in te horen.
Christian idiots play records backwards to supposedly hear an evil message.
Maar waar ik op duid zeg ik wel vooruit, je luistert naar de duivel, duidelijk en luid.
But what I make clear is, you're listening to the devil, loud and clear.
Wie bepaalt er wat ik niet mag horen of zien, een rechter en een achterlijke keurgroep misschien?
Who decides what I'm not allowed to hear or see? A judge and a backward censorship group, perhaps?
Oud geworden zeikers die bang zijn voor morgen, willen alles houden door voor de jeugd te zorgen.
Old whiners who are afraid of tomorrow, want to hold onto everything by taking care of the youth.
Maar zorgen doe je niet door te censureren, zo ontneem je ons de kans een eigen mening te creëren.
But taking care doesn't involve censorship, you're depriving us of the chance to form our own opinions.
Als de inspiratiebronnen haat en geweld zijn, hoe denk je dan dat de teksten zullen zijn?
If sources of inspiration are hate and violence, what do you think the lyrics will be like?
Een gemaakt product van z'n eigen omgeving, die de waarheid zegt over z'n eigen beleving.
A product of its own environment, telling the truth about its own experiences.
Zal merken dat conservatieven hem bestrijden en daarbij worden gesteund door de autoriteiten.
Will find that conservatives will fight against it and are supported by authorities.
Loop's in een platenzaak en kijk eens allemaal, hoe muziek wordt beheerst door de Engelse taal.
Walk into a record store and look at how music is dominated by the English language.
Aan originaliteit schiet het zwaar te kort, er wordt zonder jou beslist wat je aangeboden wordt.
Lacks originality severely, as choices are made for you without your input.
Politici zijn bang voor muzikanten, en de grote invloed op hun verwanten.
Politicians are afraid of musicians and their big influence on their relatives.
Realistische platen over sex en dood, geweld en drugs en geld en nood en discriminatie, haat en onrecht, beschrijf dat liever niet want dat is slecht.
Realistic albums about sex and death, violence and drugs, money and crisis, discrimination, hatred and injustice, let's not describe that because it's bad.
Woorden die je niet mag horen, draaien zij achterstevoren omdat kennis wordt geboren zodra jouw oren dit horen en dat is niet wat zij wensen.
Words you're not allowed to hear, they play backwards because knowledge is gained when your ears hear it and that's not what they want.
Zo verliezen zij de macht over onwetende mensen, ze spreken over normen en waarden maar hoe kan de jeugd zijn eigen mening vormen.
They lose power over ignorant people, speaking about values and morals, but how can youth form their own opinions?
Als er voor hun wordt beslist wat goed is en wat slecht door een stel ouwe lullen, wat geeft hun dat recht?
If a group of old guys decides what's good and bad for them, what gives them the right?
Hoever moet deze shit nog komen, tot niemand meer voor z'n mening uit mag komen?
How far does this shit have to go, until nobody can express their opinions anymore?
Mijn mening is m'n kracht en die ligt niet in hun macht, en dat is wat ze wakker houdt, nacht na nacht.
My opinion is my strength and it's not in their power. And that's what keeps them up at night.
Want we kunnen hun niet stoppen, maar ook niet andersom, want de underground stoppen is het barsten van de bom.
Because we can't stop them, but they can't stop us either, because stopping the underground is the eruption of the bomb.
Platenhoezen hebben stickers, heb je nu je zin? Denk je echt dat iemand luistert naar zo'n waarschuwing?
Album covers have stickers, are you happy now? Do you really think anyone listens to such warnings?
Je piept woorden weg, maar geloof je nou echt dat de mensen niet weten wat er wordt gezegd?
You bleep out words, but do you really believe people don't know what's being said?
Lekkere lekkere lekkere lekkere lekkere lekkere chick, kom es effe hier en zuig es lekker aan m'n %*$(&%%. Is het niet belachelijk, ik weet dat je het weet, censurerende fatsoensrakkers, lik m'n ^(#$#^.
Delicious, delicious, delicious, delicious, delicious, delicious chick, come on over and suck on my *%&$(&. Isn't it ridiculous? I know you know it, censoring moralists, lick my ^(#$#^.
Dit is zo nutteloos dom en niet leuk, want of je nou een piep hoort of het woordje *%&$(&, het maakt niet eens uit en dit is het bewijs, ja, het is wel wat kinderachtig maar voor geen prijs zal ik m'n teksten aanpassen om jullie te verrassen.
This is so useless, stupid, and not funny. Because whether you hear a beep or the word *%&$(&, it doesn't even matter. And this is the proof. Yes, it's childish, but I won't change my lyrics just to surprise you.
Wat is nou erger, mij te laten schelden? Of iemand te beletten om de waarheid te melden.
What's worse, letting me curse or stopping someone from telling the truth?
Ouwe lullen kom, denk es door joh, het resultaat hiervan heb je gezien in de oorlog.
Old guys, come on, think it through. You've seen the result of this in the war.
Zolang we hier wonen in het vrije Nederland, staan sukkels met plannen zoals jullie aan de kant.
As long as we live in the free Netherlands, idiots with plans like yours will be pushed aside.
De harde waarheid, die wordt gecensuureerd. Terwijl van de waarheid het meeste wordt geleerd.
The hard truth is being censored. But the most is learned from the truth.
Dus eigenlijk zeg je, de waarheid is verkeerd.
So actually you're saying, the truth is wrong.
Contributed by Jeremiah S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.