If there is one thing I have grown to like very much in Holland it is the Dutch rap. Why I like it is basically because of how most of these rappers use their words. With my cultural background their use of words makes me feel at home away from home.

The words they use can usually all be traced back to this literally translated word: street-language, in Dutch “straattaal”. This straattaal is a mesh of different languages. Dutch itself usually makes up about only 70% of a song while other languages used are: English, Surinamese, Papiamento, Moroccan, Turkish, African, sometimes even a mesh of these languages within one word or just a whole new amended word.

The use of this straattaal and the words also differ from city, within city or even group or street. The main words have at some point of time been created by such a group and were usually made popular through a song. Just like the word “swag”, which most of us know.

Some examples of word which are usually used:

Fakka: What’s up, how are you
Lobbi: Love
Panja: Wasted, drunk, laugh abundantly
Parra: Really annoyed, at the point of going crazy
Djoeken: Stabbing
Fatoe: A joke, something not to be taking too seriously
Nakken: To take someone for a fool, to steal from someone, or to have sex with a person
Flashen: To lie to someone and take them for a fool.
Scotten: To leave someone or a situation without any notice.
Kantelen: To take someone for a fool, to have sex, to make someone tired (usually used in Amsterdam)
Ptjing: Little
Biggi: Big
Scotoe: Police

While most of these words have a Surinamese origin there are some groups who change the use and context. Context is the most important, often singlehandedly using these words can make them incorrect or can insult someone.

Some groups also add a twist to it and change the word. ‘Djoeken’ would for example turn into ‘djoekings’ and ‘Nakken’ into ‘Nakkings’. In Rotterdam they often go as far as adding a simple “a” behind a word in order to make it street language. But to know when and where to do this is very crucial. Using a word within a certain group could cause confusion.

Although the more the rappers use these words, the less they tend make it into the mainstream (purely because the majority does not know what they are saying). There are still some rappers who do make it to the mainstream such as Kempi (www.tiskempi.nl) who uses a lot of these words.

Two songs I like and which are being played in clubs a lot these past months are Hydroboyz- Hindabuilding and Gers Pardoels- Ik neem je mee. Enjoy!

Hydroboyz:

Gers Pardoel: