Listening session & jam w/ dj Lynnee Denise

Join DJ, writer, and interdisciplinary artist Lynnée Denise in Groove Theories: Origin Stories and Musical Myths, an exploration of the golden age of hip-hop. She’ll go into conversation with actor and theatre maker Addison dos Reis, sharing insights, stories, and inspiration through a curated listening session. Afterwards, enjoy a break with drinks and snacks, followed by a jam where Lynnée Denise will spin music from that era to open up the dance floor.

14.00 – 16.00: Listening Session
16.00 – 17.00: Snacks & Drinks
17.00 – 18.00: Jam

Dimitri Madimin — By All Means Necessary

Visual artist, musician, and curator Dimitri Madimin unveils By All Means Necessary, a series of tracksuits printed with violent scenes from the Italian Renaissance, reimagined as contemporary streetwear. In this performative Vinyl Confessions edition, Madimin activates his installation with live movement, sound, and spoken word. Performers embody the garments and revealing stories within the designs.

DJ Git Hyper – Crate Digging & Cultural Memory

Veteran DJ Erwin Zimmerman (DJ Git Hyper), founder of Demonfuzz Records joins the conversation. As he scratches and mixes, he shares stories and reflections, blending soul, funk, jazz, Afrobeat, and underground classics—highlighting vinyl as a living archive and the DJ as cultural translator.

Afterparty: Vinyl Takeover

The evening ends with a vinyl-only afterparty in Melly Cantina w/ Dim Browski, Git Hyper and more to be confirmed.

in Conversation w/ The Last Poets

Black Soil Film Festival, Hiphophuis, and House of Knowledge facilitated a conversation with The Last Poets. Guided by moderator Tasha Slagtand, we created space for open dialogue, exchange, and shared reflection.

The Last Poets are recognized worldwide as the spiritual forefathers of hip-hop and spoken word. Since the 1960s, they have used poetry as a political tool and cultural compass. Their work gave voice to Black communities during the Civil Rights Movement in the United States and has influenced generations of artists, activists, and thinkers. Their impact is also felt in the Netherlands in the work of spoken word performers, community organizers, and all who live hip-hop as more than music but as a way of life.

This public gathering in Rotterdam focused on themes such as social justice, diaspora, language as resistance, and the role of art in times of oppression. In a world where global inequality and political repression persists from Congo to Gaza to the Dutch constitution. The Last Poets reminded us why it remains essential to create space for voices from below.

These conversations are not a luxury, but a necessity. They offer space for healing, awareness and connection and values that lie at the heart of hip-hop. Hip-hop was born out of necessity, shaped by anger, but also by hope. The presence of The Last Poets was not only a moment of recognition but also one of urgency. Their words echoed not only the past, but pointed toward the future.

Vinyl Confessions: Tasha Slagtand In Conversation w/ Shauntell Baumgard

Hiphophuis x Kunstinstituut Melly

Vinyl Confessions is an original program by Hiphophuis, this edition is presented in collaboration with Kunstinstituut Melly, as part of the Something Else vinyl installation. An open conversation series where artists reflect on music as a social, cultural, and historical force ,inspired by the Something Else vinyl installation.

In this edition, Dutch violinist Shauntell Baumgard joins moderator Tasha Slagtand for an intimate conversation about identity, community, and artistic growth. Through her favorite vinyl records, Shauntell explores the rich sonic heritage of the African diaspora, with a special focus on Suriname’s kaseko tradition. And how she’s working to give the violin a new voice within it. 

Concept by Philip Powel & Dimitri Madimin

Vinyl Confessions: Derrick Carter a.k.a. Fatlip

Hiphophuis x Black Soil Film Festival

At Hiphophuis, we believe in the power of storytelling, especially the kind pressed into vinyl grooves. Music is more than sound. It’s memory, identity, protest, and healing. And through Vinyl Confessions, we open space for artists to reflect on music as a cultural, social, and personal force, using the records that shaped them to speak truth, explore selfhood, and (re)connect with community.

In this special edition, Hiphophuis teams up with Black Soil Film Festival for a raw, reflective evening with legendary rapper Fatlip (Derrick Carter), former member of the iconic West Coast group The Pharcyde.

Before the talk begins, we screen “What’s Up, Fatlip?”, a documentary by Spike Jonze that follows Fatlip through a period of transition and vulnerability. Then, Arjun Chadha sits down with Fatlip for an open conversation that goes far beyond the hits. Together, they’ll spin vinyl, share stories, and reflect on the past, present, and future of hip hop as both movement and mirror.

The Pharcyde
In the early ’90s, The Pharcyde flipped the script. While West Coast hip hop leaned hard into G-funk and gangsta imagery, The Pharcyde brought surreal humor, vulnerability, and left-field lyricism, anchored by soul-drenched beats and jazz-inflected grooves. Fatlip’s off-kilter flow and introspective lines helped define their sound and inspired a generation of artists. From Passin’ Me By to his solo work, Fatlip’s voice has always carried something deeper, an unfiltered honesty that challenges hip hop’s norms and exposes its humanity.

Hiphophuis & North Sea Round Town presents: IKIGAI x XGen

Hip hop is more than just a genre—it’s a living language spoken through rhythm, movement, and improvisation. her. As part of North Sea Round Town, we bring this philosophy to life with a night of live music and dance featuring IKIGAI, an international jazz-funk collective based in Amsterdam, and XGen’s Wennah Wilkers and Kelly Bigirindavyi, who are both rooted in house and freestyle.

IKIGAI—led by D!ma Loginov on trumpet, Kasparas Petkus on drums, and Justin Mass on bass—blends groove-rich melodies with intricate arrangements, pushing the boundaries of modern funk and jazz.

The night opens with a raw, improvisational performance by Wennah and Kelly. Then the floor opens up for a jam session, where dancers, musicians, and lovers of rhythm are invited to join in. No stage. No barriers. Just groove, spontaneity, and shared energy.

In collaboration with North Sea Round Town, House of Knowledge, BIRD, OSHI, Kunstinstituut Melly, this summer, Hiphophuis becomes the stage for a musical homecoming.

Trumpeter and composer Peter Somuah leads a heavy crew in Songbook of Ebo Taylor, a tribute to one of Ghana’s most influential musical minds. Ebo Taylor wasn’t just a composer or guitarist. He was a griot, a sonic storyteller who captured joy, struggle, resistance, and spirit in every note. His sound travelled far beyond Ghana’s borders and left a mark on artists like Somuah, long before the trumpet became his instrument of choice.

Now, Somuah brings it full circle with a deeply personal tribute: ““I grew up listening to Ebo Taylor on the radio without knowing who he really was. Later, I got to understand the music and the genius behind it. And even later, I got to play with him in Paris. That moment really meant something to me.”” 

Hiphophuis, with its roots deep in movement, identity, and expression, hosts the live performance and jam of this one-of-a-kind event, where highlife meets hip hop, jazz meets the street, and tradition meets the future.

PROGRAMME

2:30 PM – 3:30 PM (Kunstinstituut Melly) :Talk & Listening Session.  An in-depth conversation moderated by Andrew Makkinga. Somuah invites the audience to explore Ebo Taylor’s legacy, while reflecting on the cultural and historical contexts of his music colonial history, identity, spirituality, and storytelling through sound.
The session features a carefully selected listening program that shaped Somuah’s development as an artist. “Highlife is more than just a genre to me, it’s how we celebrate, how we protest, how we live.”

3:30 PM – 4:00 PM (Kunstinstituut Melly) : Break + drinks and bites. Enjoy refreshments before moving to HipHopHuis for the live concert.

4:00 PM – 5:00 PM (Hiphophuis) : Live performance: Songbook of Ebo Taylor. A dynamic live concert where Somuah leads:

Bnnyhunna (keys/guitar)
Junya (drums)
Aaron Bouwman (bass)
Lezaam Beets (trombone)

Together, they breathe new life into Ebo Taylor’s work, blending highlife, afrobeat, soul, jazz, and improvisation.

5:00 PM – 6:00 PM (Hiphophuis) :  DJ set + Jam. MO.ĠYAH closes the event with a DJ set and open dance jam, inviting everyone to celebrate with high-energy music and movement.