Kraantje Pappie

Alex van der Zouwen, AKA Kraantje Pappie, is an offbeat Dutch rapper and TV presenter. He began making a name for himself on the Dutch hip-hop scene around the mid to late 2000s with live performances and mixtapes, going on to with the 2007 Groningen hip-hop competition Before the Fame Awards and kick-starting his career in earnest.

It wasn't until 2012, however, that he put out his first full-length album, 'Crane' (or 'Noah's Ark'). It featured contributions from Groningen-based producers Noisia, who brought in grime influences to complement Van der Zouwen's rhyming technique. In 2014 he released the follow-up with 'Crane II'.

In 2015 Van der Zouwen suddenly more than doubled his album catalogue when he released a triptych of albums, titled 'Guardian van de Real S**t' I, II and III, that included collaborations with the likes of Jan Smit, Dope DOD, Jiggy Djé and Gelogeerde Aap. 'Crane III' followed a year-and-a-half later, and in 2018 he released the album 'DADDY'.