"No support, not even a mention"

The pandemic has not slowed down the artist’s passion for music and they are looking forward to their first live performances in front of an audience. Despite lockdowns and concert bans, other ways were found to introduce new songs and to stay in touch with the community. Being creative and adapting was a necessity for Nicool, Bazooka Brooze and Turnup Tun. It is impossible to imagine the rap and hip-hop scene in Luxembourg without these three young musicians, who know how to inspire their fans – whether on stage, by means of streams or on social media. The lack of support from another party, however, did not go unnoticed.

The discussion on the (under-)representation of music made in Luxembourg in national media has been flaring up again and again for years. Especially rap and hip-hop music still seems to be the stepchild of the music scene in the media landscape. However, this should not be the case. At the end of 2017, a consumer study by the market research institute Nielsen came to the conclusion that hip-hop/R&B became the dominant genre in the USA for the first time. Seven out of ten albums listened to were from this genre. If one takes a look at the social media, streaming services and video platforms, a similar picture emerges.

Rap and hip-hop songs are regularly represented in Spotify's "Top 50 Luxembourg". Rap songs are popular, also in Luxembourgish. On Spotify, songs like "Chu an da Hood" by Bazooka Brooze or "Schëdden" by Turnup Tun and Nosi count over 200,000 streams. "130 Säiten" and "Stolz" by Nicool have been viewed a few thousand times on YouTube. So what’s the issue? This and other important aspects of the Luxembourgish music industry were the topic of the Lëtzebuerger Journal discussion. The three musicians reviewed the last months. How did they adapt during the crisis? What influence do social platforms like Instagram have on their work and the exchange with the community after years in business? Is the video portal TikTok just "cringe" or does it have potential to shake up the music industry in the long term? And how present is the competitive thinking among rappers?