“What kind of TikTok row is this?” An unsuspecting man often walks this route during lunch time, but never had to walk a short distance on the road near the Concerto record store, because the sidewalk is packed.
Dozens of fans of the American rap formation Wu-Tang Clan are waiting here. They are mostly middle-aged men, they will probably only know TikTok by name. They were teenagers at the time that Wu-Tang Clan emerged and now, about 30 years later, the formation is probably on its last tour: The Final Chamber.
Not all Wu-Tang members came to the record store, but rappers Ghostface Killah and Street Life (who is not officially a member of the group) did take the time to sign records. “A maximum of two records per person,” says Ghostface as he sits down behind the signing table: “Otherwise they have to pay.” No one in the record store knows whether he’s joking or not.
Weed and Red Light District
For many artists, tour life consists of little more than tour buses and concert halls, but Ghostface and Street Life have still been able to see a lot of the city during previous concerts, they say in a short interview (“Maximum three questions,” says the tour manager).
“Now we haven’t seen much,” says Ghostface. “We arrived last night and we haven’t been out until this signing session. But I’ve seen Amsterdam before,” said the rapper, who released no fewer than 17 albums solo. “I’ve also walked through the Red Light District before,” then laughing, “but I didn’t go inside.”
“It really feels like a cultural one melting pot here, that’s cool,” says Ghostface, who then also brings up the other well-known things about Amsterdam. “There are a lot of bikes here, a lot of walkers. You don’t see that much in America. It does make you more likely to walk in somewhere.”
Atmosphere
That last sentence immediately makes Ghostface think of the various coffee shops in the city. “What was that one called again?”, Ghostface asks fellow Street Life, who then answers: “De Dampkring, the one from Oceans Eleven.”
They don’t have time for another visit to that coffee shop today, because the concert is on the program tonight.
“We’ll see. The crowd here is usually great. And we’ll do what we get paid to do.”
