Held annually in Amsterdam, Appelsap festival has built its great reputation off the back of its eclectic selection emerging and established talent across hip-hop, soul, R&B and bass music, and this year was no exception to the rule. The artists, the sounds, the energy and people of all ages came together to have fun in the sun earlier this month.
Road rap star Nines held it all the way down on the Patta stage. Starting the day off with a fairly small crowd, as “Trapper Of The Year” belted out from the speakers, a crowd of people swarmed round with some spitting along to every single word. As the clouds opened up, the sun started shining through as the Crop Circle hitmaker dropped “I See You Shining” before changing the mood with his sombre hood tale, “Aye”.
Rising British punk act Bakaar and his band introduced his sound with a raw yet subtle showcase, which the crowd ate up. The Dutch revellers seemed genuinely thrilled to hear new ranges of what the UK—and the rest of Europe—had to offer musically. Grime’s godfather, Wiley, hooked up Noisey’s main stage with a set that followed his historical catalogue, from “Wot Do U Call It?” and “Wearing My Rolex” to “On A Level”.
Slowthai’s set was also a major highlight—someone who’s becoming one of the best performers we have here in the UK. Alongside producer and hype man Kwes Darko, the Northampton rapper amped up the hype with his fusion of punk, grime and rap. Sweat, blood and even some (happy) tears sent signals to the rest of the festival, as other music lovers flocked to witness his electric stage presence.
Some of the best DJ sets came from Amy Becker, up on the Noisey stage, and Tiffany Calver and DJ Maximum, both on Boiler Room’s stage. Tiffany turned up the energy from a chilled, relaxed day at the park to high-pitched anarchy in the mix, spinning anthems from Headie One (“Know Better” went off!) through to Tekashi 69.
Some people got so hype that they were losing their Nike TNs and Adidas sliders—even I lost my camera—but it was nothing but fun in the chaos. Here’s what went down in pictures...
