KERMIS IN DE HEL 2023: Adventurous hiphop festival: Zebra Katz / Prison Religion / Cities Aviv & more

• Dworfi
(live)

This Leuven resident could not not be on the line-up of Kermis In De Hel. For years, rapper and producer Dworfi blends autobiographical Dutch lyrics, catchy instrumentals and a lovely dose of positivism. His new album Gringo is packed with summery drill, trap and afrobeat.

• Youniss
(live AV)

“Being black, having an Arabic name: after the Black Lives matter movement, the world felt different to me. I started to see and experience things through a different lens." - Youniss

Antwerp musician and artist Youniss opens opent Kermis In De Hel 2023 with his AV show White Space. The project's starting point is Youniss' painful experience of being misunderstood as a black performer with an Arabic name. On the album White Space, released March 2023 on the VierNulVier label, he shares his story of panic attacks and awkward feelings. White Space evokes a grim, surreal world full of disturbing sounds: 90s punk rock meets IDM with echoes of Yves Tumor and Death Grips. Expect howling guitars, rattling drums and ferocious vocals. Live, Youniss is joined by drummer Tim Caramin, visuals and costume design.

A co-production of STUK with VierNulVier, deSingel and De Brakke Grond

• Cities Aviv
(live)

Cities Aviv is an artist based in the United States. Operating since 2010.

• Zebra Katz
(live)

Ojay Morgan aka Zebra Katz is a Jamaican-American rapper and artist. His debut single Ima Read (2013) went viral after being played in a fashion show by Rick Owens. After the breakthrough, he went on tour for years, in culture temples like MoMa en Art Basel, and as opening act for a.o.Azealia Banks and Gorillaz. He even recorded several songs with the latter, like The Apprentice. In 202 he finally released his debut album LESS IS MOOR, blending all Zebra Katz' influences: hiphop, drum’n’bass, techno, ballroom and atmospheric soundscapes. Live, it's an energy bomb like no other. Don't miss this headliner of Kermis In De Hel 2023.

• Prison Religion
(live)

American duo Prison Religion goes to the limit in their dystopian sound and raw live shows. Noise, metal, techno and hiphop clot into a sonic atomic bomb, on the border of the comfortable. Why? Because, according to Parker Black and Warren Jones, we are already living in an apocalypse. Fear and abuse are frequent themes in their music with gunshot-like beats, warped screams sounding like broken glass or massive, gritty drones. But at the same time there's hope, with playful lyrics and dancefloor fillers. They play surrounded by the audience, in order to exchange as much energy as possible.

• STEFF
(dj)

STEFF is co-founder of HE4RTBROKEN, the Brussels collective that promotes radical club music, averse to genres. In recent years they have welcomed international names such as Lolina and Laurel Halo, and collaborated with locals like ssaliva and Nevrland. Since 2015 they host a show on the British radio station NTS. As a DJ, STEFF focuses on the emotional aspect of music, leading her across the most diverse styles such as jungle, ballroom, ambient or baile funk.