Het land van (song)

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"Het Land Van..."

Single by Lange Frans & Baas B
Released	2005
Format	CD
Genre	Dutch hip hop
Length	4:00
Label	Walboomers Music
Producer(s)	?
Chart positions
#1 (Netherlands)
Lange Frans & Baas B singles chronology
Supervisie (2004)	Het Land Van...	Mee naar Diemen-Zuid (2005)

Het land van... ("The country of...") is a Dutch song by Lange Frans & Baas B. The lyrics of this song deals with the current (2005) overall social and political situation in the Netherlands. It rose to the top of the Dutch charts soon after its release in 2005 with a live performance during the Uitmarkt on August 26 at the Museumplein, Amsterdam.

[edit] Criticism and success

Het land van... can be seen as the prime example of a genre sometimes pejoratively referred to as 'Subsidierap' ('Subsidized rap'). In a time when the 'street' culture of second- and third-generation immigrants was painted by the media as increasingly hostile to the rest of Dutch society, and Moroccan performers like Raymzter used rap music to voice their discontent,

Although it can be argued that rappers Lange Frans and Baas B, both native-born Dutchmen who grew up in a quiet village near Amsterdam, do not represent immigrant youth culture at all, it's hard to argue with the financial success of Het land van..., which undoubtedly prompted Moroccan-born rapper Ali Bouali to turn to the same lucrative musical direction. The song's influence on popular culture seems undeniable, but there are as least as many people who believe it to be dishonest and artificial as there are those who appreciate it as a modern expression of patriotism.