FIREWOODZ, European Rap duo, Trippple B and 10 Karatz, had to flee their country because of civil war, Trippple B. fled his home country Angola and ‘10 Karatz’ Sierra Leone, two completely different countries with different conflicts but also common grounds: civil war over power and money, As many of you people are familiar with Sierra Leone from news bulletins concerning the so called blood diamonds, well known American artists like Kanye West, Nas and Talib Kweli all wrote songs about the conflict. In 2006 there was also a movie under the same title: Blood Diamonds.

Trippple and 10 Karatz met in 2001 in the ‘International Shekel Klas’, a school for newly arrived young immigrants who need to learn Dutch and have to adapt to the new educational system and Dutch society, soon they were seeking refuge in music and hip-hop became their method of expression. Likeness in flow and lyrics but also their similar past grew a strong friendship. Together they founded one of the most well-know rap groups in Nijmegen: FIREWOODZ.

FIREWOODZ, A rap group from Europe, they rap in English from the perspective of young refugees and to really understand Firewoodz you have to know where they’re coming from, not only originally, Africa that is, but also what roads they travelled and why they came to Europe. Manucho Gaca (Trippple B) and Abdul R. Barry (10 Karatz) had to flee their country because of civil war, Trippple B. fled his home country Angola and ‘10 Karatz’ Sierra Leone, two completely different countries with different conflicts but also common grounds: civil war over power and money, As many of you people are familiar with Sierra Leone from news bulletins concerning the so called blood diamonds, well known American artists like Kanye West, Nas and Talib Kweli all wrote songs about the conflict. In 2006 there was also a movie under the same title: Blood Diamonds.

Trippple and 10 Karatz met in 2001 in the ‘International Shekel Klas’, a school for newly arrived young immigrants who need to learn Dutch and have to adapt to the new educational system and Dutch society, soon they were seeking refuge in music and hip-hop became their method of expression. Likeness in flow and lyrics but also their similar past grew a strong friendship. Together they founded one of the most well-know rap groups in Nijmegen: FIREWOODZ.