Lange Frans

Dutch rapper Lange Frans made his debut with the group D-Men, before breaking through as a duo with Baas B, then embarking on a solo career. Real name Frans Christiaan Frederiks, born in Amsterdam on November 12, 1980, he formed the group D-Men in 1997 with his brother Brutus (Thijs Frederiks) and their childhood friend Baas B (Bart Zeilstra). After winning a rap contest in 2001, the trio recorded three mixtapes in a series entitled De Straatremixes, and expanded with the arrival of new members. From this period comes the hit "Mijn Freestyle" (2004), ranked No. 27 in the Dutch charts. Lange Frans and Baas B continued as a duo and enjoyed greater success with the No. 3 "Moppi " and No. 1 "Zinloos " in 2004, followed by another No. 1 hit, "Het land van..." in 2005 and its follow-up "Dit was het land van..." (no. 2 in 2009). A controversial rapper for having assaulted a student during a school concert and for having written the track "Kamervragen" (2008), judged as carrying conspiracy theories, Frange Lans assumes his convictions by delivering a sequel to the polemical track in 2015, criticizing the media or information on climate change, such as the management of the Covid-19 pandemic. His solo career, which began in 2008 with the album Praktijkervaring, reached a peak with the duet "Zing voor me", performed with Thé Lau and ranked #1 in 2010. He collaborates twice with Marco Borsato, on "Kom maar op (Vrij)", ranked No. 6 in 2011, and then the collective "Samen voor altijd", No. 1 in the Netherlands and Belgium in 2014. Meanwhile, the album Levenslied was released, reaching No. 7 in 2012. Active on the radio and online in podcasts, the rapper has collaborated with a wide range of artists since his debut. After the Zwart album released in 2017 and the Lente Equinox EP in 2020, he made his comeback in 2024 with In Kleur.