MC Miker G & DJ Sven were a hip hop duo from 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 ...

. The duo consisted of Lucien Witteveen and Sven van Veen (DJ Sven). The 1980s saw the two launch "

Holiday Rap "Holiday Rap" is a song by Dutch musical duo MC Miker G & DJ Sven. The debut single of the duo, it was released in most European countries in 1986 and achieved success, topping the charts of the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, Switzerland, an ...

" to international success. The song is a remixed version of

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

's hit "

Holiday A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tra ...

" with additional rapping and an

interpolation In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points. In engineering and science, one often has a n ...

of the chorus of

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

's " Summer Holiday", produced and mixed by Ben Liebrand.

Biography

Early years

Witteveen and van Veen became acquainted in 1986 in a

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

Hilversum Hilversum () is a city and municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is the largest urban centre in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller towns. Hilvers ...

. The disco, Club Baccara, and the resident DJ Martin van der Schagt had a home studio where he recorded the demo version of the Holiday Rap using the original tape loops of Madonna's

. This version was not usable for commercial release. Witteveen was discovered by Hotsound Records' Erik van Vliet, but Frits van Swoll, A & R manager of

Dureco Dureco is a Dutch independent record label based in the Netherlands. Over the years many artists and groups such as the Amboina Serenaders, Judy Cheeks, Jules de Corte, De Dijk, Jef Elbers, Gotcha!, Samantha Jones, Ming Luhulima, the Mena Moeri ...

, took the song away from Erik, as Frits heard the demo on a local radio station, and approached Ben Liebrand to produce it from scratch. Their single "

" became an international success, occupying number one on the single charts in 34 countries and reaching the Top 10 in twelve other countries. It was named by

MuchMusic Much (an abbreviation for its full name MuchMusic) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. MuchMusic launched on August 31 ...

as the worst video of 1987. It is considered a

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...

Rise to fame and later years

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, the song stayed at the top of the charts for five weeks in August and September. The follow-up single "Celebration Rap" (based on the Kool & the Gang hit "

Celebration Celebration or Celebrations may refer to: Film, television and theatre * ''Celebration'' (musical), by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones, 1969 * ''Celebration'' (play), by Harold Pinter, 2000 * ''Celebration'' (TV series), a Canadian music TV serie ...

" and including " We Are Family" by

Sister Sledge Sister Sledge is an American musical vocal group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formed in 1971, the group consisted of sisters Debbie, Joni, Kim, and Kathy Sledge. The siblings achieved international success at the height of the disco era. ...

) did not repeat this success, but still made it into the top 10 in approximately 30 countries. The two began a large-scale European tour in 1987. After disbanding, DJ Sven continued to work on music-related productions while MC Miker G suffered from drug addiction and was homeless for several years.De wereld draait doo
"Beeld en Geluid"
''VARA'', 29-01-2008 In 1988, Hotsound's Erik van Vliet took them back and they released the song "And the Bite Goes On"; however this proved to be the duo's final release. In February 2006, DJ Sven appeared on Channel Five's '' Now That's Embarrassing: The 80s''. His record was nominated just behind "Men in Makeup" and the

Sinclair C5 The Sinclair C5 is a small one-person battery electric recumbent tricycle, technically an "electrically assisted pedal cycle". It was the culmination of Sir Clive Sinclair's long-running interest in electric vehicles. Although widely described ...

. He is currently working as a DJ in the Netherlands, and co-hosts the daily ''Somertijd'' show presented by Rob van Someren, from 2003 until 2014 on

Radio Veronica Radio Veronica was an offshore radio station that began broadcasting in 1960, and broadcast offshore for over fourteen years. It was set up by independent radio, TV and household electrical retailers in the Netherlands to stimulate the sales ...

, and since 2015 on Radio 10. In 2009, MC Miker G performed mature and personal rap songs as 'Lions Den'.

''Little Superstar'' viral video

On July 30, 2006, a short clip from a South Indian film from the 1990s was uploaded onto

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

with the title "''

Little Superstar ''Little Superstar'' is a video uploaded on YouTube, which is a clip from the 1990 Tamil film '' Adhisaya Piravi'', starring Rajinikanth. The clip features the Tamil actor King Kong (not to be confused with Thavakalai), and another Indian dwar ...

''". By October, the video had gone viral and accumulated 18,763,819 views (as of December 2015). The clip featured a South Indian comic actor King Kong dancing to "Holiday Rap".

References

Citations