Daring talents bring Swedish hip hop forward

There’s a lot happening in Swedish hip hop. Developing young talents are daring and have a sense of playfulness. Adam Tensta, for instance, became widely successful with his mix of hip hop, Euro disco, house and pop. Within the course of a few months, he was mentioned by the celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, opened for the French collective Saïan Supa Crew and wound up on MTV’s annual top 100 list.

The Malmö artist Lazee, the hip hop kids Lorentz & M. Sakarias and Kocky all play with genres in the same way — grime, violins, 1980s music, reggaeton and house in one happy mix. Meanwhile, Mapei raps on worldwide tours with both hip hop and electronic artists backing her.

The more traditional faction has never really made it abroad, with a few exceptions like Looptroop Rockers and the father of Swedish hip hop, Petter, who raps in Swedish and had a couple of good years all around Scandinavia. Maybe it’s the language that makes it hard for Swedish rappers to cut it internationally; many of them rap in Swedish.

Otherwise, Swedish hip hop is often closely associated with the reggae and dancehall scene. The genres often come into contact with one another, both in terms of band constellations and influences. The rapper Timbuktu, a popular favorite from Skåne in southern Sweden, raps at the top of the charts with colorful reggae tones and organic drumming. He also runs the record label Juju Records, which has released more than 50 records with Swedish hip hop and reggae artists, of which more than one has ended up under media fire for their controversial statements. For many years, Swedish hip hop was essentially The Latin Kings — legends from Stockholm’s southern suburbs.