You certainly don’t find me writing about Dutch hip-hop a lot – I think the last time must’ve been during the Randomised Record-series of 2025 – but this movement created by two Dutch artists definitely deserves my attention. Abel van Gijlswijk (or: Abel, known for his work with Hang Youth and The Don’t Touch My Croque-Monsieurs) and acclaimed rapper Yousef Gnaoui (or: Sef, known for his participation in Flinke Namen and plenty of his brilliant solo-albums) first released their combined efforts to create 2024-album ‘IJSLAND‘, the debut of a project sharing that same name, stirring up the scene with its experimental and politically loaded sound. Basically being a hip-hop punk protest album, Sef and Abel gained a big cult following with IJSLAND as an act that perfectly aligned with both artist’s ideologies and work. The album itself was a great success too, reaching a top 10 spot in the Dutch album charts and its song ‘2 SCHORPIOENEN’ ending in the top 20 of 3voor12‘s Song of the Year contest. No wonder the hype surrounding the somewhat sudden drop of ‘IJSLAND 2’ was so big. Last week, I decided to give it a spin and it certainly lived up to the expectations. First off, a big shout-out to Belgian producer Faisal Chatar, who also produced IJSLAND’s debut album and leaving one hell of a mark on this one too, by ways of some of the hottest productions I’ve heard on a hip-hop album in a long while. Secondly, the flow on this album is immaculate. Both artist’s talents work so satisfyingly well together. And, of course, as to be expected: the lyrics. Confronting yet funny, clever, cryptic. Of course, Sef and Abel have proven themselves to be lyrically gifted in the past, but ‘IJSLAND 2’ seems to be the amalgamation of all we’ve seen before. ‘TIJDSGEEST’ (meaning ‘zeitgeist’), the album’s second song, should be a hit. If it won’t be, I’ll forever be disappointed in the Dutch music charts.