Boef

Boef (Dutch for ‘thug’) is the alias of Sofiane Youssef Samir Boussaadia (born on February 28, 1993), a French-born rapper who took the Dutch charts by storm in 2016 with his unique mix of 90s gangsta rap, Arabic music, and Eurodance. Born in Aubervilliers, Île-de-France, Boussaadia spent his formative years between Eindhoven and Houston, before settling down in Alkmaar. After serving two sentences at juvenile detention centers, he decided to fully devote himself to his music career at the age of 18. In 2015, Boussaadia got his first taste of recognition after a live session he did for Zonamo Underground accumulated more than a million views on the label’s YouTube channel. Preceded by the hit single “Lauw,” Gewoon Boef (2016), Boussaadia’s debut EP, peaked at Number 4 on the Dutch Charts and quickly obtained platinum certification. He followed up with the blockbuster Slaaptekort (2017), a more polished endeavor that topped the Dutch Charts and became the most streamed album on the day of its release in the Netherlands. Towards the end of the decade, the rapper released the menacing 93 (2019), another chart-topping EP that featured guest appearances by Lijpe, JoeyAK, and Sevn Alias, and the “Nooit Thuis” (2020), a hip house collaboration with fellow MC Ashafar.