History
It started with the crossover band The Prophets of Finance which stopped around 1993–1994. In 1997, 't Hof van Commerce was founded, and in 1998, they release their first album En in Izzegem , referring to the little city Izegem where the band was founded. About 8000 albums were sold. That was quite a high number for a debut because the entire CD was sung in West Flemish, only understood by about one million people. The next year, they already had a second CD with the title Herman. That album was sold 5000 times.
In 2000 Flip Kowlier started a successful solo career as a singer-songwriter, while staying a member of 't Hof van Commerce. Two years later, in 2002, they got their third album, titled Rocky 7. That album was their biggest success this far, with 10 000 sells. So in 2003, 't Hof (how they call themselves) was asked a lot in festivals in Belgium and the Netherlands.
In 2005, 't Hof released another album with the title Ezoa en niet anders(This way and not differently). For the first time under their own record label Plasticine. For that record, a lot of guest rappers were invited such as TLP and Gabriel Rios.
In 2011, Flip Kowlier temporarily stopped his (still successful) solo career, to continue with 't Hof van Commerce after a long silence. This resulted in a new album in 2012 with the title Stuntman.
't Hof van Commerce has been on hiatus between October 2013 and January 2018.
Izegem is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Izegem proper and the towns of Emelgem and Kachtem. Emelgem was added to Izegem in 1965, Kachtem in 1977. Izegem itself lies on the southern banks of the Mandel, Emelgem and Kachtem on the north. Along the shores of the canal a large industrial zone has developed, which made the three municipalities one urban area. On January 1, 2006, Izegem had a total population of 26,544. The total area is 25.48 km2 (9.84 sq mi) which gives a population density of 1,042 inhabitants per km².
The music of Belgium is a cultural mix where Flemish Dutch-speaking and Walloon French-speaking traditions mix with those of German minorities and of immigrant communities from Democratic Republic of the Congo or other distant countries.
Flip Kowlier is a Belgian singer-songwriter. He sings in a distinct West Flemish dialect. He is an MC with the hip hop group, 't Hof van Commerce. And in his solo work he sings and plays guitar, with Karel De Backer and Joost Van den Broeck on drums, Peter Lesage on keyboards and Pieter Van Buyten on bass guitar.
Jan Decleir is a prolific Belgian movie and stage actor born in Niel, Antwerp.
East Flemish is a collective term for the two easternmost subdivisions of the so-called Flemish dialects, native to the southwest of the Dutch language area, which also include West Flemish. Their position between West Flemish and Brabantian has caused East Flemish dialects to be grouped with the latter as well. They are spoken mainly in the province of East Flanders and a narrow strip in the southeast of West Flanders in Belgium and eastern Zeelandic Flanders in the Netherlands. Even though the dialects of the Dender area are often discussed together with the East Flemish dialects because of their location, the latter are actually South Brabantian.
Geert Albert Bourgeois is a Belgian politician of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), which he founded in 2001, who is currently serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019. He previously served as the Minister-President of Flanders from 2014 to 2019. Prior to this, he was a member of the federal Chamber of Representatives for the People's Union from 1995 to 2001, and then for the N-VA from 2001 to 2004. He has been involved in local and regional politics in Flanders since 1976.
The Zamu Music Awards was an annual awards show in Flanders (Belgium), where the most outstanding Flemish and international musicians of the past year were honored.
Arthur Achiel Albert, Knight Blanckaert, known by his stage name Will Tura, is a Belgian artist considered as the most successful Flemish-speaking singer of the 20th century. Famous in Flanders and the Netherlands, Tura is a singer, musician, composer and songwriter. Nicknamed the Emperor of the Flemish Song, he released hundreds of singles and albums that cover a wide array of styles, and continued to tour into the 2010s.
Tim Wessel Vanhamel is a Belgian rock musician who has been a member of and performed with a number of bands including Evil Superstars, Deus and Eagles of Death Metal. He is also the frontman of his own bands Millionaire and Eat Lions.
The Kingdom of Belgium has three official languages: Dutch (Flemish), French, and German.
Stefan Hertmans is a Flemish Belgian writer. He was head of a study centre at University College Ghent and affiliated researcher of the Ghent University. He won the Ferdinand Bordewijk Prijs in 2002 for the novel Als op de eerste dag.
Rocky 7 is the 2002 third album by Belgian hip-hop group 't Hof van Commerce.
Herman is the second album of the hip hop group 't Hof van Commerce.
The West Flanders Tribes was a Belgian American football team based in the province of West-Flanders, with two home cities, Ostend and Izegem. The Tribes were members of the Flemish American Football League (FFL) conference in the Belgian Football League (BFL). Their team colours are maroon, white and black. In 2012, the team split up into the Ostend Pirates and the Izegem Tribes.
Federal elections were held in Belgium on 13 June 2010, during the midst of the 2007-11 Belgian political crisis. After the fall of the previous Leterme II Government over the withdrawal of Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats from the government the King dissolved the legislature and called new elections. The New Flemish Alliance, led by Bart De Wever, emerged as the plurality party with 27 seats, just one more than the francophone Socialist Party, led by Elio Di Rupo, which was the largest party in the Wallonia region and Brussels. It took a world record 541 days until a government was formed, resulting in a government led by Di Rupo.
Ezoa en Niet Anders is the fourth album by 't Hof van Commerce.
Stuntman is the fifth album by 't Hof van Commerce. The album was released in 2012 after a remarkable 7-year pause of the band since their last album Ezoa en niet anders in 2005. The tone of the album is seen as less aggressive and more positive, as the main mc's have entered their 30s by the release of the album. Some songs are directly putting the stress on the family life that the band members are currently having.
Flemish (Vlaams) is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch, Belgian Dutch, or Southern Dutch. Flemish is native to the region known as Flanders in northern Belgium; it is spoken by Flemings, the dominant ethnic group of the region. Outside of Belgium Flanders, it is also spoken to some extent in French Flanders and the Dutch Zeelandic Flanders.
Ertebrekers is a Belgian band from the province West Flanders in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. The band name means 'heart breakers' in their local dialect. Their lyrics are in West Flemish, the Dutch dialect of the province of West Flanders, and their style has been described as a mixture of hip hop, groove and white soul. The band is composed of Flip Kowlier, Peter Lesage and Jeffrey Bearelle.
Wouter Van Belle is a Belgian musician and producer. He is known for his work with Flip Kowlier, Gorki, Noordkaap, Arno, Axelle Red, Yevgueni, Novastar and Racoon. He scored as producer four number-one albums in Flanders and one in the Netherlands, and had top three singles in Flanders, France and the Netherlands. He is also the keyboard player for Dead Man Ray.
