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Swedish hip hop originated in the cities ofStockholm andMalmö in the first half of the 1980s.[1] Early on, most rappers inSwedenperformed inEnglish.Funkalics andThe Latin Kings, two very different acts united by their innovative use of theSwedish language, debuted a decade later and paved the way for a second, and bigger, breakthrough for Swedishhip hop. Today, some of the most popular rappers use Swedish, often in different accents.
PercussionistPer Cussion (of reggae-punk bandDag Vag) andGrandmaster Funk are generally credited with bringing hip hop to Sweden.[1] In 1984 they released the songs "Don't Stop", "Snow Blind" and "Payin´ The Price".Breakdancing had arrived a year earlier and spread quickly, its forerunners known asRobot Lasse,Mark,Spirio andPerkeles.
In 1984,Jan Fex, from Lund, released an album, "Utanför mitt liv",[2] on Mercury Records[3] with the first contemporary R&B, rap and EDM songs in Swedish, 5 years before Just D's debut. The album came about after Fex had lived in New York in 1982 and 1983. Fex moved to Copenhagen, Denmark in 1985 and started aFairlight CMI rental service, thereby becoming one of the first Swedes to work with digital samplers and sequencers.[4] The vinyl release never made it to CD and a re-master haddigital release in 2025.
In the summer of 1984, following a major dance competition,Double M Crew,Abdula & The Rockers,Rock Ski,Almighty T andMC II Fresh joined together to form the hip hop collectiveIce Cold Rockers, a crew consisting ofrappers,scratchers,dancers andgraffiti artists.Broadcaster D andOne Eye Que (later recording under the name Ayo) started their collaboration.
Sweden, outside of Stockholm, soon became familiar with hip hop when the popular movieStockholmsnatt, which featured theIC Rockers, came out.Pop-C andSnoopy were on the soundtrack and had a hit in 1986 with their single "Next Time".[5]
New artists followed in their tracks.Rob'n'Raz produced the albumCompetition Is None and introducedPapa Dee'sdub anddancehall influenced rap to the Swedes.See-Que, from Stockholm, collaborated with the American labelPriority Records on their compilation albumBasement Flavor.
The first real rap song in Swedish "Jag Är Def" came fromMC Tim in 1989.[1] The year after,Just D was formed and their decision to rap in Swedish would earn them a huge fan base, and introduce rap to the general populace.
By the end of the 1980s, hip hop became increasingly more popular in Sweden. The international success of rapper/singerNeneh Cherry's crossover album,Raw Like Sushi, made the Swedish media take a closer look at thegenre in the context of Sweden's native artists. The inaugural Swedish Championship in Rap was held in 1989 and the winner was ADL's groupSons Of Soul. The runner-up was Ms Melodie, who went on to have a career asLeila K. Briefly picking up the torch of Neneh Cherry, Leila K had an international crossover hit with the rap track "Got To Get". The third place was taken by the legendary Vasteras rapper Mc Magic Dee and his Thirteen cent Killer. There was now a solid market for rap music and record companies were taking notice.
Just D's ironically titled albumRock N Roll became popular with many people who had yet to embrace hip hop. Snoopy (akaQuincy Jones III) had moved to theUSA to produce acts likeYoung MC,LL Cool J andIce Cube.[5] TheSure Shot Groove (MC Stranger andComplicated C) debuted with the 12-inchRhymes R Flowin'. The collectiveInfinite Mass won the Swedish qualification finals for theWorld Rap Competition and released their EPDa Blackmass. One of their songs, "Shoot The Racist", was on the soundtrack for the 1993 movieSökarna and became hugely popular. It was later renamed "Area Turns Red" due to some media controversy over the lyrics.
The Latin Kings ushered in a new wave of Swedish hip hop artists. They used "Rinkeby Swedish", sometimes described as a kind of apidgin language, to describe life in the 'Million Programme' suburbs of Stockholm. Their 1994 debut albumVälkommen till Förorten (Welcome to the suburb), produced by Gordon Cyrus and founder of first the Swedish Hip Hop label Breakin Bread, was a success in the charts and favorite with the critics.[6] The coming generation of Swedish hip hop artists would be distinguished from the first by their inclusion of Swedish language rhymes, as opposed to the exclusive use of English rhymes by Sweden's first generation of rappers.
In 1998Petter debuted with the albumMitt sjätte sinne, which became an enormous success and started the Swedish hip hop boom of the late 1990s.[7] With him came an array of artists, such asThomas Rusiak,DJ Sleepy andEye-n'-I. Other artists that achieved mainstream popularity following Petter's break includeKen Ring andAyo.Feven released her acclaimed albumHela Vägen Ut.Looptroop developed a middle class revolutionary style.Timbuktu, a native ofLund, emerged and went on to gain a reputation as one of Sweden's most popularMCs.
Swedish rappers who have achieved nationwide recognition include:Promoe,Snook,Ayesha,Fjärde Världen,Fattaru,Ison & Fille,Advance Patrol,Lazee,Toftgard, andAdam Tensta.
Many of these artists have been exposed to a domestic hip hop culture since they were born, or very young. In a sense the Swedish scene has become less volatile, and also less vulnerable to becoming extinct. Influence from theU.S. culture is no longer as significant;American hip hop is still important but outside influences also come fromFrench,British,Danish, andJapanese hip hop, and other regions around the world with vibrant and innovative music scenes. Due tofile sharing via the Internet and changing consumer markets, the number of records an artist has sold is not necessarily indicative of how popular or important that artist is.[8] There are Swedish hip hop acts who release records for what they know is going to be an economic loss, in hope of earning their money through concerts and other ventures.
The hip hop genres represented in Swedish hip hop are plentiful.Alternative hip hop is, most likely, bigger thanGangsta andHardcore combined. There are also many fusion genres such asNeo soul,Grime, andReggaeton.
Swedish rap often deals with themes ofmulticulturalism and positive suburban identity. Many rappers affirm their ethnic and racial background, but tend to identify more with their community and with Swedish minorities in general rather than with specific ethnic cultures, or with mainstream Swedish culture. RapperAdam Tensta, for instance, takes his name from the suburb ofTensta and rhymes in his "Banging on the System": "Every burb the same man / and we got every color / we all the same man / at least to them we are / we all immigrants".[9]
2008 is aEuropean Year of Intercultural Dialogue and part of this effort was a hip hop summit inStockholm calledMake it blast!, which took place on 27 May. Chaired byTimbuktu, the festival featured rappers from Sweden and elsewhere in Europe and aimed to create dialogue between artists as well as audiences of the European urban music scene.[10]
The list of people who have made a name for themselves in Swedish hip hop can be made very long. With a few exceptions (Feven,Melinda Wrede,Remedeeh)[11] Acts that have had some international success includeLE SINNER,[12][13]Rebstar,[14][15][16]Looptroop[17]Yung Lean,Bladee,Thaiboy Digital,Ecco2K,Max Peezay,[18] andMillion Stylez.[19]
There have always been elements within the Swedish hip hop scene that has reacted against the commercial aspects of themusic industry and have tried to find alternative distribution and marketing channels for the music.[8] TheInternet has had a significant impact in how media is communicated, and through variousonline communities people without record deals have also been able to find audiences for their music. Examples of such communities that are centered around Swedish hip hop areFrizon andWhoa.nu.
Graffiti is, to a large extent, seen as an art form belonging to hip hop.[1][20] In the early 1980s, the American filmsStyle Wars,Wild Style andBeat Street would have a great impact and influence many would-be artists, as would the Swedish cult classicStockholmsnatt a few years later. The first graffiti artists in the Stockholm area had names such as Disey, Ziggy, Razor, Merley (akaLiam Norberg[20]), Puppet and Zappo.[21]
In 2004, the rapperPromoe had a hit with the track "These Walls Don't Lie", recorded and mixed bySoundism, which dealt with the Swedish graffiti culture, and the dangers of creating illegal art at difficult locations.[17]
