Hiphop and rap music has become a blooming genre nowadays, being
performed all over the world and representing various communities, and
in a previous article,
we focused on Flemish rap and so-called "Nederhop". Two (young!)
artists recently attracted my attention. Why? Because they were using
American English and weren't even born in the US but in Flanders!
Woodie Smalls,
whose real name is Sylvestre Saluma, was born in Sint-Niklaas in 1996.
He started rapping in his early teenage and released his first song
"Champion Sound" this year (he is now 18!), coming together with an EP
called "Soft Parade", with the help of Dutch producer Thovobeats.
The
video features him in a typically Flemish village (I assume) in the
company of his cousin and friends. Flemish radios such as Studio Brussel
(mostly indie music), MNM and JimTV directly broadcasted it. It also
reached listeners in the Netherlands, France and Australia.
His
lyrics are in English and with a "Black American" accent but his rap is
about his life here in Belgium, a whole different lifestyle, far away
from the usual "gangsta, diamond rings and bitches" type. He also chose
humour for the title of his second track "About The Dutch".
But wait... Woods was not the first Flemish rapper to use English. Three years ago, Belgium discovered Coely!
Born in 1994 in Antwerp, Coely Mbueno recorded her first track "Ain't
Chasing Pavements" with independent record label Beatville (2012). She
came by as a relevant ambassador of female rap, but she also proved that
she could sing. National radios embraced her performance and Studio
Brussel even elected her as their "Hotshot".
Her
first EP "RAAH The Soulful Yeah" also includes the singles "Nothing On
Me" and "All I Do". She changed her looks for something more androgynous
and revealed a more feministic mind ("(...) the world surrounding me is mostly run by
men, but we're taking over!"). She then graduated in 2013 before
starting to tour in various festivals of the Benelux. Having attended
one of her concerts, I found her very generous with the public and full
of energy.
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Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Monday, September 21, 2015
Too many cars in Brussels? Solutions are being found
Brussels has probably one of the densest traffic in Europe, due to its central position in the country (not only geographically) and the number of European/international organisations having their headquarters there. However, actions are taken to promote a more bike- and pedestrian-friendly lifestyle.
Decent public transports
As it is pretty difficult to find a park place, many inhabitants and workers leave their car at home and favour the city's efficient public transport service.
Wherever you are, you can use GoogleMaps to calculate your journey using buses, trams and the metro. Note however that the website/app is not as efficient in other parts of the country, especially the Walloon region (rather check that website).
On the official app of STIB/MIVB, the regional public transports in Brussels, you can get to know (almost) exactly at which station each bus/tram/metro is, avoiding awkward situations where you find yourself waiting ages for nothing.
Bicycling in the capital
As explained in a former article, bicycles are widely used in the Northern part of the country and it is part of the more healthy and eco-friendly lifestyle.
In Wallonia, bike lanes are being built but there is still a long (bike) way to cross before it gets into the local culture, as riding my bike to work, It is often perceived as an activity for people who are "really" into sports and bikes, or for liberals/alter/hipsters...
In Brussels, the trend to use a bike to work is starting to grow, because it is such a small territory and the public transports are not that cheap. In addition, the city recently introduced a new public transport service called Villo! (a mixture of the French words for "city" and "bike"), taking the example of Vélib in France.
For little expenses, you can automatically rent a bike from a bike station for a certain amount of time. Once you've arrived to your destination, you have to find the closest station to park it. It can be found using this map. Any bike found abandoned somewhere are being checked and the person renting it is contacted by phone.
No car allowed for a day
Yesterday was the annual car-free day in Brussels. A deliciously strange feeling of freedom took over the city and almost no car could be seen in the streets, even the biggest boulevards. The only exceptions were taxis, buses and people who had a special authorisation. As a result, Brussels was full of bikes and looked like a giant playground.
Opening the boulevard
In a less temporary way, the city of Brussels recently opened an entire area in the centre to pedestrians. What used to be a large boulevard with dense traffic became a place of leisure as seats, ping-pong tables and other items are now at the disposal of everyone.
New Brussels Capital's logo: yellow love heart on a blue plant
Decent public transports
As it is pretty difficult to find a park place, many inhabitants and workers leave their car at home and favour the city's efficient public transport service.
Wherever you are, you can use GoogleMaps to calculate your journey using buses, trams and the metro. Note however that the website/app is not as efficient in other parts of the country, especially the Walloon region (rather check that website).
On the official app of STIB/MIVB, the regional public transports in Brussels, you can get to know (almost) exactly at which station each bus/tram/metro is, avoiding awkward situations where you find yourself waiting ages for nothing.
Bicycling in the capital
As explained in a former article, bicycles are widely used in the Northern part of the country and it is part of the more healthy and eco-friendly lifestyle.
In Wallonia, bike lanes are being built but there is still a long (bike) way to cross before it gets into the local culture, as riding my bike to work, It is often perceived as an activity for people who are "really" into sports and bikes, or for liberals/alter/hipsters...
In Brussels, the trend to use a bike to work is starting to grow, because it is such a small territory and the public transports are not that cheap. In addition, the city recently introduced a new public transport service called Villo! (a mixture of the French words for "city" and "bike"), taking the example of Vélib in France.
For little expenses, you can automatically rent a bike from a bike station for a certain amount of time. Once you've arrived to your destination, you have to find the closest station to park it. It can be found using this map. Any bike found abandoned somewhere are being checked and the person renting it is contacted by phone.
No car allowed for a day
Yesterday was the annual car-free day in Brussels. A deliciously strange feeling of freedom took over the city and almost no car could be seen in the streets, even the biggest boulevards. The only exceptions were taxis, buses and people who had a special authorisation. As a result, Brussels was full of bikes and looked like a giant playground.
Opening the boulevard
In a less temporary way, the city of Brussels recently opened an entire area in the centre to pedestrians. What used to be a large boulevard with dense traffic became a place of leisure as seats, ping-pong tables and other items are now at the disposal of everyone.
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