ANPRonnie Flex at Pinkpop 2022
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 15:01
Energy, Drink & Drugs, Adrenaline, Sister in Do not say that. Ronnie Flex’s music was almost inescapable over the past decade. He has achieved a nice milestone since Friday: In the Dutch Top 40 he is the most successful rapper ever. The organization behind the hit list reports that it has knocked American rapper Eminem from the top spot.
The Dutchman reached 5973 so-called Top 40 points this week, thanks to the current ranking of his number Everything by Feeling with musical colleagues Flemming and Zoë Tauran. These points are earned by the number of times an artist’s song appears on the list. A place at number one earns 40 points, decreasing to 1 point for number forty in the list.
“Great,” Ronnie Flex calls the news in a response to the NOS. “I have worked long and hard for this, so I am very happy with it. And especially proud of it.” The rapper sees the milestone as “a lifetime award”. “Sometimes you get awards for albums or singles, but this is about a longer period of work.”
He is honored that he has surpassed Eminem in the Top 40. “I always looked up to him. I used to listen to him on the square with my MP3 player. I think it’s great to be mentioned in the same list.”
Long list of collaborations
Ronnie Flex, whose real name is Ronell Plasschaert, has been in the Top 40 for 292 weeks so far, with 31 different songs. The first arrived on October 27, 2012: Never sleep againtogether with Yellow Claw, Mocromaniac and Jebroer.
He scored his biggest hit in 2015 with Drank & Drugs, which he released together with Lil Kleine and topped the charts for three weeks. In any case, Flex collaborated with a huge number of artists, including Frenna, Mr. Polska, Flemming, Snelle and Kris Kross Amsterdam.
The music video for Drank & Drugs made actress Olivia Lonsdale nationally famous:
According to hip-hop expert and producer of radio station FunX, Silvinio Osanto, Flex’s musicality is his great strength: “He produces himself and can make music in multiple genres. He is versatile and creative, I would call him a musical nerd.”
Data from the Top 40 shows that his most successful collaboration was with singer Maan, with the song Stay with me. That hit never reached number one, but did score 535 Top 40 points.
According to Osanto, there is criticism of all collaborations within the hip-hop world. “Some think he should stick more to hip-hop. I disagree. This is what he does and what he is good at.”
Hip hop more accessible
Flex is so successful because it “appeals to a broad audience,” says Qmusic DJ Domien Verschuuren. He has presented the Top 40 since 2019. “Ronnie Flex makes catchy songs, but is still taken seriously in the hip-hop scene. He is at home in all markets.”
Verschuuren sees that hip-hop has increasingly returned to the charts in recent years. “Nowadays there is more melody in hip-hop and you can sing along more often. That makes it more accessible. Ronnie Flex may be leading the way in this.”
Verschuuren expects more Ronnie Flex hits to be added in the future: “His hunger is insatiable.” The rapper himself agrees: “I’ll just keep going. I can also be overtaken again, so it’s not over yet.”
Eminem has not yet been surpassed in everything
The organization behind the Top 40 emphasizes that Eminem has not yet been trumped by Ronnie Flex on all fronts. The American rapper has two number one hits to his name: Without Me in Lose Yourself. Eminem has also had more hits in the top ten than the Dutchman and was in the top ten for more weeks.
2024-04-07 13:01:12
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