t Hof van Commerce is a

Belgian hip hop Belgian hip hop music has a few rappers stemming from Africa and Italy. Belgium, like France, controlled African countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), Rwanda, and Burundi until the early 1960s. Like in France, immig ...

crew from

Izegem Izegem (; vls, Yzegem) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Izegem proper and the towns of Emelgem and Kachtem. Emelgem was added to Izegem in 1965, Kachtem in 1977. Iz ...

in the province

West Flanders ) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg , shield_size = , image_map ...

in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. Their name means 'commercial court' in their local dialect. Almost all their raps/lyrics are in

West Flemish West Flemish (''West-Vlams'' or ''West-Vloams'' or ''Vlaemsch'' (in French-Flanders), nl, West-Vlaams, french: link=no, flamand occidental) is a collection of Dutch dialects spoken in western Belgium and the neighbouring areas of France and ...

, the Dutch dialect of the province of West Flanders, with the exception of some lines sung in

Limburgish Limburgish ( li, Limburgs or ; nl, Limburgs ; german: Limburgisch ; french: Limbourgeois ), also called Limburgan, Limburgian, or Limburgic, is a West Germanic language spoken in the Dutch and Belgian provinces of Limburg (Netherlands), L ...

by DJ 4T4 or a mix between those two dialects. Band members are Filip Cauwelier (a.k.a. Levrancier, a.k.a.

Flip Kowlier Flip Kowlier (pseudonym of Filip Willy Mariette Cauwelier, born 15 March 1976 in Izegem, West Flanders) is a Belgian singer-songwriter. He sings in a distinct West Flemish West Flemish (''West-Vlams'' or ''West-Vloams'' or ''Vlaemsch'' (in ...

), Serge Buyse (a.k.a. Dommestik, a.k.a. BZA, pronounce: ''buzze'') and Kristof Michiels (DJ 4T4). Ex-members include Johnny de Pony (a.k.a. Georges De Keesmaecker) and Floerke den Aap (a.k.a. Wilhelm De Tura).

History

It started with the crossover band ''The Prophets of Finance'' which stopped around 1993–1994. In 1997, t Hof van Commerce'' was founded, and in 1998, they release their first album ''

En in Izzegem En or EN may refer to: Businesses * Bouygues (stock symbol EN) * Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway (reporting mark EN, but now known as Southern Railway of Vancouver Island) * Euronews, a news television and internet channel Language and writing * ...

'', referring to the little city

where the band was founded. About 8000 albums were sold. That was quite a high number for a debut because the entire CD was sung in West Flemish, only understood by about one million people. The next year, they already had a second CD with the title ''Herman''. That album was sold 5000 times. In 2000

started a successful solo career as a singer-songwriter, while staying a member of '' 't Hof van Commerce''. Two years later, in 2002, they got their third album, titled ''Rocky 7''. That album was their biggest success this far, with 10 000 sells. So in 2003, t Hof'' (how they call themselves) was asked a lot in festivals in

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. In 2005, t Hof'' released another album with the title ''Ezoa en niet anders'' ''(This way and not differently)''. For the first time under their own record label ''Plasticine''. For that record, a lot of guest rappers were invited such as TLP and

Gabriel Rios In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብር� ...

. In 2011, Flip Kowlier temporarily stopped his (still successful) solo career, to continue with t Hof van Commerce'' after a long silence. This resulted in a new album in 2012 with the title ''Stuntman''. t Hof van Commerce'' has been on hiatus between October 2013 and January 2018.

Discography

Albums

* "

" (Kinky Star, 1998) * "

Herman Herman may refer to: People * Herman (name), list of people with this name * Saint Herman (disambiguation) * Peter Noone (born 1947), known by the mononym Herman Places in the United States * Herman, Arkansas * Herman, Michigan * Herman, Min ...

" (Kinky Star, 1999) * " Rocky 7" (Kinky Star, 2002) * "

Ezoa en niet anders ''Ezoa en Niet Anders'' is the fourth album by 't Hof van Commerce. Track listing # "Oed Under Grjid" # "Niemand Grodder" # "Zonder Fans Gin Bands" # "Jaloes" # "Skit Omoage (En Kopt Drip)" # "Lop Mo Deure" # "Achter 8 Jaer" # "20 Frang Da Aufge ...

" (Petrol/EMI, 2005) * " Stuntman" (Petrol, 2012)

Hits

Singles

* ''Zonder niet'' (translation: without nothing) 1998 * ''Dommestik en levrancier'' (1998) * ''Spek'n'Bwon'n'' (1998) * ''Kom mor ip'' (translation: bring it on) (2002) * ''Zonder totetrekkerie'' (translation: without insincerity) (2003) * ''Punk of yo!'' (2003) * ''Niemand grodder'' (translation: nobody bigger) (2005) * ''Jaloes'' (translation: jealous) (2005) * ''Wupperbol'' (translation: bouncing ball) (2011)

External links

Official site

Kinky Star Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hof van Commerce Belgian hip hop groups