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After meeting through a mutual friend, vocalist/songwriter Pete Philly (born on Aruba, 1980) and composer/producer Perquisite (born in Amsterdam, 1982) decided to join forces to form the hip-hop duo Pete Philly & Perquisite in 2003. The first fruit of this soulful collaboration was the Mindstate EP, released by Unexpected Records in January 2004, of which songs were featured on BBC1 Radio. Pete & Perq continued their collaboration, and in March 2005 they released their 17-track debut concept album Mindstate, which was physically released by Epitaph Europe in all of Europe, by ANTI in the United States and by P-Vine Records in Japan. Notion Magazine (UK) proclaimed the music on Mindstate to be “as much 21st-century soul as hip-hop genius”.
Pete & Perq started playing with their five-piece live formation and received several awards - including the Silver Harp - and were nominated for the 3FM Awards and the MTV European Music Awards. After extensive tours in Europe and shows in South Africa and the United States, Pete & Perq finished their Mindstate tour in September 2006 in a sold-out Melkweg in their hometown of Amsterdam. The duo went back to the studio to work on their second album. During this non-touring period, Remindstate was released, the completely remixed version of the Mindstate album.
In September 2007, Pete Philly & Perquisite’s sophomore album Mystery Repeats was released in the Netherlands through Unexpected Records / ANTI. A Belgian, European and Japanese release followed shortly after. The album topped the Dutch charts in the week of its release and its first single ‘Time Flies’ received a lot of airplay. Major Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad wrote that ‘Mystery Repeats sometimes almost explodes with creative energy’ alongside de Volkskrant, which described the album as being ‘even richer in sound and more diverse than their debut album.’
Pete & Perq kicked off their Mystery Repeats tour in a sold-out Melkweg, followed by shows in Europe, Japan, and Germany. In the summer of 2008, they played at well-known festivals such as Sziget (HU), Nuke (AT), Exit (RS), Lowlands (NL), HipHop Open (DE), North Sea Jazz (NL), Gurten (CH) and Summerjam (DE). Upon their return to Amsterdam they received the prestigious Amsterdam Award of Art, and their single ‘Mystery Repeats’ entered the Dutch Top 40, after which shows followed in the Carribean, the USA and South Africa.
After this extensive touring period Pete and Perq decided to focus on other projects. With the Final Celebration Tour, they toured various Dutch theaters, with their final show being a sold-out performance at the Melkweg Rabozaal in Amsterdam on October 29th, 2009. Over the next fourteen years, both Pete and Perq focused on their solo careers. Pete Philly released two solo albums, an EP and several singles and produced music for commercials. Perquisite also released a solo album, composed around a dozen film scores including Carmen of the North and Niemand in de Stad, and collaborated with Kris Berry, Jeangu Macrooy, Swan and several other artists on new songs and albums.
In the beginning of 2023, Perq received a call from Pete, who had been reflecting on the past and realized how much he cherished their collaboration. Perquisite got excited as well and together with their booking agent Friendly Fire, they planned to return to the stage. This resulted in a grand reunion concert at AFAS Live in Amsterdam on November 17th 2023, of which OOR Magazine said they were ‘back at the top’. They also returned to the studio to work on new music. Their official third studio album 'Eon' was released on May 3rd 2024 and received lots of critical acclaim in both The Netherlands and abroad. Their first single ‘Hot Sauce’ became TopSong on Radio 2, and their third single ‘My Stereo’ was accompanied by a groundbreaking AI music video featuring their musical heroes.
After a successful European Album Release Tour in 2024, where Pete & Perq performed in cities like London, Berlin, and Paris, they continued in 2025 with eleven Dutch theater shows as part of the Time Flies Theater Tour. In addition, Pete Philly & Perquisite returned to London for another show and also performed at the Tonart Festival in Switzerland. On June 2nd, 2025 they concluded the Time Flies Theater Tour at the Kleine Komedie in their hometown of Amsterdam. At the moment their next steps are still unknown, but it is clear that the renewed energy between Pete Philly and Perquisite leaves everyone waiting for more.
