Rapper Kevin, the most streamed Dutch artist on Spotify in 2021, is known for his very relaxed presentation. On the big stage of the RTM stage in Rotterdam Ahoy, which opened in 2020, he lived up to his nickname ‘slow flow animal’. He never seemed impressed by the eight thousand visitors in front of him during his biggest show to date. He flirted with R&B, chilly trap rhythms and played new house beats.
Behind Kevin de Gier (1994) was a high vertical screen, which with a little imagination could represent a skyscraper plucked from the Rotterdam skyline. It featured custom visuals, surrounded by band The Animals. One time they gave a bare hip-hop sample a rock edge, the next the keyboardist took the performance in a jazzy direction with a solo.
With a cool nonchalance, Kevin even managed to reach the people on the third balcony with ease. His lyrics are about his passion for the night shop, his first musical steps in the community center and the “dating with authorities” such as debt collection agencies.
These are topics that his fans audibly recognized themselves in. The lyrics were sung by entire groups of friends and families.
They saw how rapper Lijpe and singer Yade Lauren appeared on stage after an intermezzo; artists who only perform sporadically, let alone make guest appearances. With Lijpe Kevin embodied the reality of the street, with Lauren he sang passionate duets. And then there was that screen, which split open and housed a podium at a height. The greatest hits sounded from there.
That final was grand and impressive. Not many rappers have a better performance with live musicians, but Kevin looks fantastic. He single-handedly hit a milestone for Dutch hip-hop in his home soil.