Holland in da Hood was a Dutch reality competition, broadcasted by RTL 5 in 2011, about eight aspiring rappers trying to make it in the hood of South Central in Los Angeles.
The show, which spanned six episodes in total, revolved around G-low, Kinkelkid, MC Biggah, Jimsky, Dymanite, P2 (or Pol), Lee-yo and Otie, who left their various hometowns behind to make it big in Los Angeles. Every episode, the rappers were tested on (at least) one of the crucial skills any rapper needs to have (MC'ing, dance moves, hosting a block party), with a record deal with Def Jam Recordings on the line for the rapper who made the best impression on record executive (Max Grousse) in the final episode. With all this aspiring talent, a record deal and hosting by Willie Wartaal,note this show couldn't possibly be bad, right?
Well... This show could've been a serious reality competition, if it was ever intended to be serious in the first place. Instead, it became one of the most hilarious examples of a Point-and-Laugh Show on Dutch television in the early 10's. The eight rappers (most of whom hailed from small, rural villages) were, bar a few, straight examples of the Pretty Fly for a White Guy trope (with some of them even dressing themselves like the guy from The Offspring video). Furthermore, the network (quite intentionally) framed the show as a parody on both hiphop culture and reality competitions, despite telling the contestants they were going for a serious show about the scene. As a result, the show quickly became one of the most hilarious examples of bad press for the hiphop scene in the Netherlands, with most of its contestants becoming a bit of a laughing stock. Willie Wartaal, who saw where this show was heading rather early on, left after only two episodes over creative differences. In the end, Lee-yo won the show and the record deal (not that many viewers cared about that by then). The show, nevertheless, caused quite an uproar in the Dutch hiphop scene, who even started a petition against the show called "Respect HipHop". Due to the show's nature (and it being an Old Shame for most of the people involved), it has never been re-ran on Dutch television or posted in full online. Nevertheless, several fragments of the show (including the show's promo
) can still be found on Youtube.
This show contains examples of:
- Badasses Wear Bandanas: G-Low was trying to invoke this trope by wearing a bandana and failed spectacularly at doing so.P2: That bandana is so Sean Paul. It just doesn't fly anymore!
- Basement-Dweller: Most of the rappers on this show still lived with their parents and were rather straight examples of this trope. This should fill you in on the level of street cred they started out with.
- Battle Rapping: This was one of the challenges the rappers had to go through in episode 2. Some took better to it than others.Jimsky [to the confession cam]: MC Biggah had no game, so I ate him alive. I'll have to call him MC Bigmac from now on.
- Boastful Rap: Most of the rappers on the show used these from time to time, which makes sense, as this was (supposed to be) a rap competition.
- Buxom Beauty Standard: When it came to women, most of the rappers on the show were mainly interested in the "big-breasted" variant.Kinkelkid: You'll never make it as a woman, if you don't have big knockers.Kinkelkid: Sorry, ladies with small knockers.
- Comedic Sociopathy: The show had plenty of moments where most of the contestants (and the audience) laughed at one of their fellow contestants for doing something stupid/embarrassing. One example would be G-low's response to losing the dance challenge, which merited a good laugh from anyone around.
- Country Mouse: Most of the rappers were this, which truly made them stand out in LA (but not really in a good way).
- Cringe Comedy: The show thrived on this, as some of the contestants even felt embarrassed for their competitors. G-Low and MC Biggah were notable sources of this.
- Damned by Faint Praise:
- When the group visits Inside Out burger during the first episode, most of the rappers were ecstatic about the burgers, except for MC Biggah, who told the gang he liked Burger King's better, much to the disbelieve of most of the other rappers. The rest of the rappers even took away his burger due to this remark.
- In the final episode, some of the rappers received this from the record executive, who told them to "keep rap as a hobby".Otie: Man, I'm happy I wasn't one of those guys who was told to "keep it as a hobby"... talk about embarrassing.
- Did You Actually Believe...?: Jimsky's answer to one of the questions he had to fill in for his US Visa.Jimsky [on the question about planning a terroristic plot]: Even if I were planning a terroristic attack, would you really think I'd fill in "Yes" on this questionaire?
- Distracted by the Sexy: During a photoshoot challenge, G-low becomes so distracted by the voluptuous bottom of the photographer's assistant, that he forgets all of the poses he practiced.
- Dress-Coded for Your Convenience: G-low failed spectacularly at this trope, when he decided to wear a "Brooklyn" shirt in South Central LA. He was even reprimanded by a couple of people on the street.Otie: It's like showing of your AZ shirt in the heart of Amsterdam. You just... shouldn't.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Or in this case, "bad boys". Most of the rappers on this show had amazingly supportive mothers (and in most cases, fathers too). Hence, most of them viewed themselves as this trope.
- Everything Is Racist: G-low, of all people, accuses several shopkeepers of being racist, simply because they don't want to sell him cigarettes (due to his passport, apparently).
- Gold Digger: Jimsky claimed to have had a date with one of these, as she seemed to be more interested in the camera and the drinks than in him. He (and his driver) even call her this after the date is over.
- I Take Offense to That Last One: When Saaphiry called G-Low a Vanilla Ice clone, he didn't take offense to the clone part, but to the fact that she compared him to another rapper.G-Low: I'm just G-low. You can't compare me to another rapper. I'm my own rapper.
- I Warned You: When the contestants have to shoot video clips in two teams, one of the teams (the New School team) blew theirs by wasting their time finding the perfect location and by G-low wearing a "Brooklyn" shirt in South Central LA. When the time came to critique the videos, G-low perfectly called the result beforehand.G-Low: We're going to be the laughing stock of the day!
- Metaphorgotten: Jimsky's quote about beautiful women falls into this category:Jimsky: You don't eat of a decorative plate, but it should would be nice to...
- Nature Tinkling: MC Biggah ends up peeing on a fence in the South Central hood after drinking too much soda.One of the other rappers: Say about MC Biggah what you want, but he sure has some balls peeing on some random gangbanger's fence in the hood. I was expecting someone with a baseball bat to come out of that house at any moment.
- Nerds Are Virgins: Most of the rappers on the shows were an example of this. Some of them even boast about how they "almost got laid" with one of the pretty girls they met, when they didn't even get close.
- N-Word Privileges: Discussed on the show (even by the host, Willie Wartaal) after one of the contestants, MC Biggah, takes too many liberties with them. Made even more hilarious by the fact that MC Biggah (who has indonesian roots) was completely unaware that he wasn't allowed to use those words.P2 [after the group was warned not to use the N-word]: The gym we were at had quite a few (burly black) guys training their punches. If one of those guys takes your use of the N-word the wrong way, you'll be their punching bag for the rest of the session. Things could go from lyrical to physical real quick in here.
- Piss-Take Rap: Most of the raps performed by the contestants fell in this category, but the introductory free-style raps from the first episode take the cake.
- Point-and-Laugh Show: This show is a prime example of this trope. Not only does it make fun of its contestants, it also parodies the Dutch Hip-Hop scene to the point where only true detractors (and, for some reason, the Dutch Hip-Hop scene itself) would see it as a serious representation.
- Potty Emergency: MC Biggah gets one in episode one after drinking too much soda on the way to their residence. He ends up peeing on a fence about 100 yards away from their destination.
- Pretty Fly for a White Guy: Nearly every rapper on the show was a variation of this trope, with the best example being G-Low, who actually looked like he could be starring in The Offspring video this trope named after.
- Rap Is Crap: One of the goals of this show was to portray the worst the Dutch Hip-Hop scene had to offer, simply for the amusement of the viewer. The Dutch Hip-Hop scene wasn't pleased, to say the least.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Done by the host of the show, Willie Wartaal, after episode two, because he felt tricked into hosting a Point-and-Laugh Show sold to him as serious reality TV.
- Short-Runners: The show lasted for six episodes before ending with the final audition. Unsurprisingly, it wasn't picked up for a second season.
- Stunned Silence: Happens to G-low, when he ends up lost for words in the middle of a rap battle. His explanation for it was briliant, as he stated that he was tripping over his words in his mind at the time.
- Suburbia: Kinkelkid made a remark about the suburban area he came from, after the rappers moved into their residence in South Central.Kinkelkid [in shock about the state of the house and the neighbourbood]: I'm from a decent, well... not that decent, regular neighbourhood, with a large percentage of elderly residents.
- Sucks at Dancing: G-low embodied this trope during the dance challenge. His response to losing the challenge was to do the worm on the parking lot, much to the hilarity (and second-hand shame) of the other contestants.
- You Keep Using That Word:
- MC Biggah often used the N-word in his lyrics to describe himself, despite not even being remotely black (he has Indonesian roots). Became a serious point of discussion on the show.MC Biggah [in his introductory rap]: My name's MC Biggah, I'm a real ass n***.
- The contestant also received a master class in street language from Saaphyri, which showed that most of them had no idea whatsoever what most of the slang terms they heard in rap songs (and occasionally used) meant.
- MC Biggah often used the N-word in his lyrics to describe himself, despite not even being remotely black (he has Indonesian roots). Became a serious point of discussion on the show.
- You Need a Breath Mint: During a date challenge, Kinkelkid was rejected because of his bad breathOtie: That dude really has to start brushing his teeth...
