Jerreley Zanian John Slijger (born June 18, 1986), known by his stage name Kempi, is a Dutch

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...

an descent. From 2006 to 2012, Kempi was signed at Dutch label

TopNotch TopNotch is a Dutch record label specializing in hip-hop. The label was founded in 1995, and is run by Vincent Patty. After some commercial success (with rap acts such as De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig, The Opposites, Def Rhymz, Postmen, and Extince) ...

. He released two studio albums, four EP's and seven mixtapes to date. In 2008, Kempi was named "Best Hip-Hop Artist" in the Netherlands at the prestigious State Awards. Beside his artistic activities, Kempi is also notorious for his extensive criminal record.

Early life

Kempi was born in

Helmond Helmond (; called ''Héllemond'' in the local dialect) is a city and municipality in the Metropoolregio Eindhoven of the province of North Brabant in the Southern Netherlands. Helmond is home to several textile and metal companies. The Vlisco fa ...

and grew up in Woensel-West, a deprived neighborhood in

Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the Li ...

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman (rapper), ...

, and Dutch rapper Duvel, Kempi began to write down his street-life experiences, but wasn't seriously into hip-hop yet. However, after performing in a hip-hop group named Drama, Kempi got encouraged to make his own music, and subsequently recorded his own mixtape ''Tsss Kempi'' in 2006 which was downloaded at least forty thousand times from the internet. Kempi began to gain national prominence and was noticed by record label owner Kees de Koning, who offered him a contract on his label

which Kempi signed in jail. When Kempi signed the contract (September 2006) he was under suspicion of complicity in a stabbing; he was later found guilty. Kempi came out of custody after his second mixtape ''Rap 'N Borie'' (English: ''Rap 'N Crack'') and third mixtape ''Mixtape 3.1'' were released. On July 17, 2007 Kempi met his father for the first time and his girlfriend gave birth to a son, motivating him to try to be a businessman and a father. On September 19, 2008, Kempi's second son was born. Shortly thereafter he was arrested for pointing a gun at Hungarian rapper who provoked him at one of Kempi's concerts; he was arrested and sentenced to a year of imprisonment. While in prison, his debut album ''Du Zoon'' (English: ''Tha Son'') was released by TopNotch. ''Du Zoon'' was produced by the Amsterdam production trio SoundG8 (Roel Donk, Dennis Letnom and Jihad Rahmouni). The album entered the Album Top 100 in the seventh place, though Kempi later stated that prison guards would not let Kempi listen to his own album and that he should borrow it with his own money in the prison library. Kempi's fourth mixtape was released in 2009, ''Mixtape 3.2: Du Evolutie van 'n Nigga'' (English: ''Tha Evolution of a Nigga''). He said it would be his last mixtape and that he would only release albums from that moment onwards. For the track "Revolution emix, Kempi worked with

E.D.I. Mean Malcolm Greenidge (born July 7, 1974), known as E.D.I. Mean and EDIDON, is an American hip hop artist and a member of the Outlawz. The name is a play on the name Idi Amin, former president of Uganda. While in the third grade, Malcolm became fri ...

and

Young Noble Rufus Cooper III (born March 21, 1978), also known by his stage name Young Noble, is an American rapper who was part of Tupac Shakur's rap group Outlawz. Noble joined the Outlawz in early 1996, and was the last member to be added to the group by ...

of the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

rap group

Outlawz Outlawz (formerly known as Outlaw Immortalz) are an American hip hop group founded by rapper Tupac Shakur in late 1995 after Shakur's release from prison. Collectively, they were best known for their association with Shakur. Most of the group m ...

, which was co-founded by hip-hop legend

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the Li ...

in 1995. On October 6, 2009 Kempi was a support act for American hip-hop star

during his show at the

Heineken Music Hall AFAS Live (formerly known as the Heineken Music Hall) is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands, near the Johan Cruyff Arena. The big hall, named "Black Box" has a capacity of 6,000 and is 3000 m2; a smaller hall for after parties (Beat Box) ha ...

. In 2010 Kempi produced yet another mixtape titled ''Du Gangsta Tape: It's Official''. For the track "The Light", Kempi worked with

Layzie Bone Steven Howse (born September 23, 1974), known professionally as Layzie Bone, is a rapper known primarily for being a member of the group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. He has also gone by the names L-Burna and The #1 Assassin. He is the younger brother ...

of the rap formation Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. On May 15, 2010, Kempi was supposed to open for American rapper

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...

's show at

Rotterdam Ahoy Rotterdam Ahoy (formerly known as Ahoy Rotterdam or simply as Ahoy) is a convention centre and multi-purpose indoor arena located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Opened originally in 1950, the current complex consists of three main venues: a fairs an ...

. This show was cancelled however, due to disappointing ticket sales. In June 2011 Kempi released his second studio album titled ''Het Testament van Zanian Adamus'' (English: ''The Testament of Zanian Adamus'') which entered the Album Top 100 in fifteenth place. On September 7, 2012, Kempi announced that he was going to quit his musical career and wants to live a normal life with his family and also stated he would like to follow an education. Kempi said: "When I see people with a nine-to-five job and a happy family, I get jealous sometimes. Because of the fortune and fame I lost everything. It feels as if I'm stuck in my own dreams now, so I want to live a normal life and get a good education. I made it from being a drugsdealer in the streets of Eindhoven to a famous person in Holland, so I'm pretty sure I can accomplish this goal too. The music and my fans are great, but everything around it isn't. He cancelled the recording for his third album but will release his last work: ''Mixtape 4: Rap & Glorie (De Trugkomst van PapaRasta)'' (English: ''Rap & Glory (The Return of PapaRasta)''). Shortly after this statement, Kempi was sentenced to eight months imprisonment for an ongoing lawsuit of domestic violence. He came out of prison in June 2013. In September 2013, he made his musical comeback announcing his single "Trug Ben" (English: "I'm Back"). The same month however, he was sentenced to jail for prostituting a 16-year-old girl. He was released from prison on December 18, 2014.

Criminal history

In February 2007, Kempi was found guilty of assault. During the appeal he was sentenced to one month imprisonment. After spending six months in custody, he left prison a free man. However, in March 2007, Kempi committed another crime, he was involved in an altercation at a nightclub in Veendam, where he threatened another man with a gun. According to a newspaper someone from his rap formation pulled a gun, according to eyewitnesses it was Kempi himself. Kempi attempted to escape when he was arrested near

Zwolle Zwolle () is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Overijssel and the province's second-largest municipality after Enschede with a population of 130,592 as of 1 December 2021. Zwolle is o ...

. In June 2008, Kempi was sentenced to twelve months imprisonment for a series of serious crimes, including threats with a firearm.

Discography

Studio albums

*''Du Zoon'' (''Tha Son'') (2008, TopNotch) *''Het Testament van Zanian Adamus'' (''The Testament of Zanian Adamus'') (2011, TopNotch) * ''Oompie Keke'' (2019, TopNotch)

Collaborations

*''Rap & Glorie'' (''Rap & Glory'') (2016, TopNotch) (with

The Alchemist An alchemist is a person who practices alchemy. Alchemist or Alchemyst may also refer to: Books and stories * ''The Alchemist'' (novel), the translated title of a 1988 allegorical novel by Paulo Coelho * ''The Alchemist'' (play), a play by Ben ...

)

Mixtapes

*''Tsss Kempi'' (2006, self-published) *''Mixtape 2: Rap 'N Borie'' (''Rap 'N Crack'') (2007, TopNotch) *''Mixtape 3.1'' (2007, TopNotch) *''Mixtape 3.2: Du Evolutie van 'n Nigga'' (''Tha Evolution of a Nigga'') (2009, TopNotch) *''Du Gangsta Tape: It's Official'' (2010, TopNotch) *''Du Movement'' (2011, self-published) (with Rasskulz, Crazyshee, Lens and CocoRas, as Gotti Gang) *''DU4'' (2017)

EP

*''RockNRolla'' (2011, self-published) *''TegenK4nker EP'' (''AgainstC4ncer EP'') (2011) (Financial gainings made through this EP went to a

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

support foundation.) *''PeterPanBoy EP'' (2012, self-published) *''PPB2'' (2012, self-published)

Filmography

References

External links

*
Official website
* {{Authority control 1986 births Dutch rappers Dutch people of Curaçao descent Dutch drug traffickers 21st-century Dutch criminals Living people People convicted of assault People from Eindhoven Converts to Islam Dutch Muslims