Meet "De Lichting"! Het Moment launches its own album
Image: Rob Worst
In July, Het Moment festival will return to Tilburg: the Netherlands’ largest hip-hop festival. In the run-up to July 25, the festival is releasing its own album, featuring 44 artists from across the country: “We want to do our part to support Tilburg as hip-hop capital of the Netherlands.”
“Of course, we’ve been organizing the Het Moment festival in July for a number of years now, and we actually work toward that one day all year long,” says Dirk Stolk, festival director of Het Moment. “As an organization, we want to be more than just that. We’re not just that festival, we’re a community. That’s why we’re also looking for ways to highlight people from that community and give them a platform throughout the year.”
That search gave rise to “De Lichting”: a Dutch-language hip-hop album featuring contributions from 44 artists from across the country. Tilburg, the “hometown,” is represented musically by artists including Timmietex, Meneer C, Gilly, and Homey. The album was produced in collaboration with Parlemour Records and Muziekhub Zuid, and the recording sessions took place over the course of a week at Volver Studio in Tilburg. Dirk: “During that week, we invited artists from all over the country. We specifically looked beyond Brabant. We also considered a mix of emerging artists and established names. We find the collaboration between these different experiences interesting."
Unique Collaborations
Everything then came together in the studio. “Producers went into different rooms to produce and make beats. Artists could then walk into any of the rooms and do something with them. On most of the album’s tracks, you can also see that different artists are collaborating.” The result is what the organizers describe as “a showcase of what hip-hop has to offer in 2026.” Dirk: “More than 50 songs were created in just one week. I think it’s so cool to see how productive and open-minded everyone is; collaborations sprang up between artists who didn’t know each other at all.”
The album “de Lichting” is now available on Spotify! During Het Moment festival, the main stage will also be opened, fittingly, with a unique collaborative show featuring three artists who appear on the album: Amèl, Jean Jacques, and Zeno. Want to stay up to date on Het Moment? Follow them on social media. Want to experience Het Moment for yourself? Then check out www.hetmomenttilburg.nl
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