Sjaak’s massive Dutch hit “Trompetisto” achieved gold status in The Netherlands within a few months, and quickly moved up the local Spotify Charts, peaking at #7. The hilarious music video for “Trompetisto”, featuring Sjaak in the mountains of Austria, scored over 1.5 million views on YouTube in the short time.
Triggered by this huge Dutch success, Sony Music licensed “Trompetisto” and started a huge promotional campaign starting the last week of September 2021, focused on key territories as diverse as Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Italy, Scandinavia and Russia. Now, it’s time for Sjaak to go global!
Sjaak (real name: Mehdi Chafi) spent his youth on the streets of Amsterdam. He started making music in a local youth centre and in 2007, this led him to record one of the most notorious Dutch gangster rap classics of all time; “Schijt” with rapper Appa. “Schijt” and the accompanying video caused an enormous stir in Dutch media, when politicians started to complain about the hardcore lyrics and the portrayal of street life in the video.
Sjaak quickly developed into much more than a gangster rapper. He released albums on Dutch labels like SPEC and Top Notch, was a founding member of live sensation “Strijder Systeem” and had a string of party hits over the years collaborating with artists like PartySquad, JeBroer, La$$a, Sidney Samson, Tony Junior and Bizzey.
In 2018, Sjaak scored the massive hit “Stap voor Stap” with Kav Verhouzer. This house music infused party anthem scored over 21 million Spotify streams and over 6 Million views on YouTube alone.
Over the last few years, Sjaak became a household name in Dutch media. He acted in major movies, and his unique comedy skills made him a true TV, radio and on-line phenomenon. His hilarious videos often go viral on Instagram and Tik Tok and he is a much sought-after guest in many on-line and TV/radio shows.
Sjaak manages to combine street credibility with a huge dose of humor as he effortlessly flows between different styles of music, from hard-hitting hip hop to commercial party anthems and between media like Instagram, Tik Tok, TV and Radio alike.
Sjaak’s success in media and music led him to touring the Benelux virtually non-stop. His crazy live shows, for which he teams up with a DJ and a supporting MC, turn any crowd into a sweaty heap of party freaks!
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