The Amsterdam City Archive is actively seeking ways to capture the city's identity within its collections. Music is undoubtedly central to the city, with icons like Hazes forever representing the local culture. The curator identified a similar cultural DNA within Amsterdam’s biggest Rap label, TopNotch Records.


Founded in 1995 by Kees de Koning, the Dutch record label TopNotch was conceived to group quality rap releases. The label was instrumental in solidifying Dutch Rap and launched the careers of artists like Extince, Opgezwolle, and Frenna, all of whom reached the pinnacle of their respective eras under the TopNotch banner.

Over three decades, countless careers flourished. Kees de Koning preserved many important items as relics of that era, and collaborated with the City Archive to integrate them into the vault collection. The evening commenced with a Q&A with de Koning, followed by an exposition of the vaulted material.

“I just found it a weird idea to create a collection for a company,” De Koning openly admitted. “I couldn't understand it at first: who stands to benefit from that?” The City Archive eventually convinced him of the cultural relevance of adding TopNotch to the public vault. “I can see why it’s of importance to the city of Amsterdam now,” de Koning said smilingly.


Among the items in the vault were iconic album releases, accompanying merch designs, tour notes, and even personal letters addressed to de Koning. Notable examples included letters from Kempi and Fresku; the former's was displayed at the ADE exposition.

A large crowd of fans attended the Q&A, offering questions like “Who would you sign today?” and “Which artist got away before you could sign him?”. De Koning expertly parried these direct questions, consistently offering a broader scope of vision in his answers.

With over 100 pieces on display, including never-before-seen conceptual works and collaboration films, the exposition firmly integrated TopNotch into Amsterdam’s musical history. The atmosphere was electric, punctuated by tracks like De Jeugd Van Tegenwoordig’s ‘Watskebeurt’ and SBMG’s ‘Oeh Na Na,’ blasting through the archive halls for one night only.