The famous local rapper Winne is a busy guy. He recently opened VondelGym and he now helps international football star Virgil van Dijk create a mixtape.
JBL took the initiative to bring the two together for a collaboration. Unknown hip-hop talent – who is not affiliated with a music label – can submit his or her beats, raps and vocals via the JBL website. Virgil van Dijk, one of JBL’s brand ambassadors, will judge the submissions together with Winne. The best unknown artists will record a studio album together with Winne, which JBL will release as Virgil’s Mixtape.
Besides being a world-class defender for Liverpool FC and the Dutch national squad Virgil is a fan of hip-hop, especially Winne! It makes the pairing all the more logical.
Winne has been a stronghold of the Dutch rap scene since 2008. He was born as Winston Bergwijn in Paramaribo in Surinam. At the age of one and a half, he moved to the Wild West of Rotterdam. Under the name Static he has been rapping in English, making his mark on the port city’s hip-hop circuit since the 1990s. Under the guidance of childhood friend Alee Rock and his legendary crew DCO.
But then in 2008, he dropped a verse in Dutch by friends just for the fun of it. He liked it and Top 3 MC. It was an overwhelming success and his career took off. As a renowned artist, he supports new talent with his own label Couture33, representing upcoming artists like Melissa Lopes, Raw Roets and Rass King.
