7Fest is for the community.
Founded by Ghanaian-Dutch afrobeats musician, Frenna and Moroccan-Dutch creative entrepreneur, Zakaria Ekhanza, the music festival attracts over 25,000 visitors annually and has become a pivotal platform for showcasing emerging African, Caribbean and techno talent in the Netherlands. Notably, 7Fest hosted one of Burna Boy’s first performances in the country, just before his global breakthrough in 2019.
Since its launch, 7Fest has established itself as a melting pot for cultural diversity, with thousands of visitors from various ethnic backgrounds attending to two-step through the weekend. The event merges the worlds of music and fashion, encapsulated by its partnership with Daily Paper which has hosted the festival’s vibrant Afropiano stage for the past three years.
Daily Paper became involved in 7Fest shortly after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the Amsterdam-based streetwear brand began to spotlight a slew of afrobeats, amapiano, afro house and afro tech musicians, from the likes of Uncle Waffles and Musa Keys to Tyla, 2bunnies, and DbnGogo.
“Ever since we started the brand, music, sport, and fashion have been big pillars for us as part of our cultural identity,” Jefferson Osei, co-founder of Daily Paper said. “Creating IRL moments is something that we are very passionate about, we see them as good ways to connect with our community, and being able to collaborate with one of the biggest artists in the country – who comes from a similar community to us – is something that we loved.”
"Our stage at 7Fest is a curation of our taste in music within the office and spotlights our natural and authentic relationships with artists."
As co-founder of Daily Paper, Jefferson Osei has contributed to curating a brand that merges streetwear with his African heritage, pushing it to achieve global success and creating a dedicated, grassroots community. “For us, our community was built organically,” Osei continued. “Community is now a buzzword, but we have been building ours since we launched Daily Paper; hosting events and exhibitions.
“I wouldn’t say having a community is what makes a brand successful, but it shows [you] your demographic, audience. Having our organic community is something that has been a part of us from when we first started, it’s been a building block for us – it’s part of our DNA and our ethos, globally.”
For 7Fest’s founder, Frenna, the launch of his festival has been a culture-shifting moment in the Netherlands, as the artist admits to Hypebeast that before the inception of 7Fest, “nobody [like me] in the Netherlands had their own festival.”
“When I launched the festival, the first year we had around 7,000 people in attendance,” Frenna says. “The latest one, we had 25,000, and luckily, my latest album, ‘Pink Summer’, dropped the day before the opening.”
"Whenever you attend a Daily Paper-curated event, you can expect different types of genres, from hip-hop and dancehall to afroswing and amapiano. All of these sounds represent our identity.”
In 2018, Frenna broke the Dutch Spotify record for the most streams in 24 hours with his hit single ‘Verleden Tijd.’ The song ranked number one in the Dutch charts for six weeks straight and, at the end of 2019, Frenna set a new record: he became the most streamed artist in the Netherlands, overtaking the likes of Justin Bieber and The Weeknd.
This global appeal for Frenna’s music, along with his cult-like following in his home nation of has been a key foundation in 7Fest’s success. While the exponential growth of the event is there for all to see, Frenna continues to tell Hypebeast that the world is yet to scratch the surface when it comes to discovering the rich pot of creative talent in the Netherlands.
“Holland is a place where the music is very versatile,” Frenna says. “Everyone is versatile – we do a lot of stuff. I feel like we have a lot of styles and a lot of big records that people would like. If you close your eyes and imagine that it’s an English song you would feel it a lot more. We have a lot out here that people don’t know about, even including myself.”
7Fest’s community-driven energy and interest in spotlighting emerging talent has been supercharged by the introduction of Daily Paper. “Daily Paper is so big. It’s almost like a cult, it’s not just a clothing brand, it’s a whole movement,” Frenna continues. “That’s why they hosted the Afropiano stage at my festival. They have a whole movement that is bigger than clothes alone. They have a big influence on everything here, the same way in which Corteiz does in the UK. They have the same energy.”
"If you close your eyes and imagine that it’s an English song you would feel it a lot more. We have a lot out here that people don’t know about, even including myself.”
Daily Paper’s inclusion in 7Fest is what the festival stands for; it’s the coming-together of like-minded creatives, all with the same goal: to create a memorable experience where attendees can leave with a new musical discovery.
“Our stage at 7Fest is a curation of our taste in music within the office and spotlights our natural and authentic relationships with artists,” Osei adds. “Whenever you attend a Daily Paper-curated event, you can expect different types of genres, from hip-hop and dancehall to afroswing and amapiano, to afro house and afro tech. All of these sounds represent our identity.”
After the conclusion of the latest edition of 7Fest last month, Frenna and the Daily Paper team have their sights set on next year. With big plans in the pipeline – including bigger stages and a more expansive line-up – the upcoming edition of 7Fest will continue to stand testament to Frenna and Daily Paper’s cultural roots while playing a significant role in shaping the festival landscape in the Netherlands. Their artistic efforts will continue to foster a unique exchange between continents, creating a vibrant community while opening new pathways for artists in Europe.
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