Kempi
 | This article needs more citations. (November 2024) |
Kempi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Jerreley Zanian John Slijger June 18, 1986 Helmond, North Brabant, Netherlands |
| Origin | Eindhoven, North Brabant, Netherlands |
| Genres | |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Label | TopNotch |
| Website | www |
Jerreley Zanian John Slijger (born June 18, 1986), known by his stage name Kempi, is a Dutch rapper and criminal.
From 2006 to 2012 Kempi was signed at Dutch label TopNotch. He released two studio albums, four EP's and seven mixtapes to date. In 2008 Kempi was named "Best Hip-Hop Artist" in the Netherlands at the State Awards. Kempi is also notorious for his extensive criminal record.
Early life
[edit]Kempi was born on June 18, 1986 in Helmond to Curaçaoan parents and grew up in Woensel-West, a deprived neighborhood in Eindhoven, as the fourth of seven children. As a teenager he went to a school for children with behavioral problems and started to participate in criminal activities, such as dealing in cocaine and heroin. He built a very extensive criminal record, including various prison sentences.
In 2018 he announced that he had converted to Islam.[1]
Musical career
[edit]Influenced by Tupac Shakur, Lil Wayne, and Dutch rapper Duvel, Kempi began to write down his street-life experiences, but wasn't seriously into hip-hop yet.[2][3] However, after performing in a hip-hop group named Drama, Kempi got encouraged to make his own music,[2] and subsequently recorded his own mixtape Tsss Kempi in 2006 which was downloaded at least forty thousand times from the internet. Kempi began to gain national prominence and was noticed by record label owner Kees de Koning, who offered him a contract on his label TopNotch which Kempi signed in jail.[4] When Kempi signed the contract (September 2006) he was under suspicion of complicity in a stabbing; he was later found guilty. Kempi came out of custody after his second mixtape Rap 'N Borie (English: Rap 'N Crack) and third mixtape Mixtape 3.1 were released.
On July 17, 2007 Kempi met his father for the first time and his girlfriend gave birth to a son. On September 19, 2008, Kempi's second son was born. Shortly thereafter he was arrested for pointing a gun at Hungarian rapper; he was arrested and sentenced to a year of imprisonment. While in prison, his debut album Du Zoon (English: Tha Son) was released. Kempi's fourth mixtape was released in 2009, Mixtape 3.2: Du Evolutie van 'n Nigga (English: Tha Evolution of a Nigga). In 2010 Kempi produced another mixtape titled Du Gangsta Tape: It's Official. In June 2011 Kempi released his second studio album titled Het Testament van Zanian Adamus (English: The Testament of Zanian Adamus).
On September 7, 2012, Kempi announced that he was going to quit his musical career. Kempi was sentenced to eight months imprisonment for an ongoing lawsuit of domestic violence. He came out of prison in June 2013. In September 2013, he made his musical comeback announcing his single "Trug Ben" (English: "I'm Back"). The same month however, he was sentenced to jail for prostituting a 16-year-old girl. He was released from prison on December 18, 2014.
Controversies
[edit]In February 2007 Kempi was found guilty of assault. During the appeal he was sentenced to one month imprisonment. After spending six months in custody, he left prison. However, in March 2007, Kempi committed another crime, he was involved in an altercation at a nightclub in Veendam, where he threatened another man with a gun. According to a newspaper someone from his rap formation pulled a gun, according to eyewitnesses it was Kempi himself. Kempi attempted to escape when he was arrested near Zwolle. In June 2008, Kempi was sentenced to twelve months imprisonment for a series of serious crimes, including threats with a firearm.[5]
One month after Kempi announced that he was retiring from his music career, he was incarcerated again. He was initially sentenced to two months in prison for assaulting his then-girlfriend, who was also the mother of his second and third children. He subsequently spent an additional six months in pre-trial detention after being charged with human trafficking. The charge alleged that Kempi had forced a sixteen-year-old girl into prostitution in 2010.[6] Kempi was released in early June 2013,[7]but was sentenced to fifteen months’ imprisonment for the human-trafficking offence in September of that year. That month also brought news regarding his music career, as Kempi made his comeback with the single “Trug ben”. After five months in pre-trial detention and seven months in prison, Kempi was released on 18 December 2014.[8]
On 23 September 2015, Kempi encountered further legal difficulties. Police found a semi-automatic firearm, a CZ Scorpion, and accompanying ammunition at his home in Helmond. He was also found to be in possession of 5.4 grams of cocaine. The rapper was detained at the remand prison in Grave and appeared in court on 22 January 2016. He was sentenced to twelve months’ imprisonment. He was also required to serve an additional 97 days from a previously suspended sentence.[9]
In January 2018, Kempi was convicted by the police court in ’s-Hertogenbosch of assaulting his former girlfriend. The incident took place at her home in Helmond in September 2017. The court found that he had grabbed her by the throat and struck her in the face. He was acquitted of attempted aggravated assault because it could not be established that he had intended to strangle her.
Kempi was sentenced to two months’ imprisonment, of which fifty days were suspended. The unconditional portion of ten days was equal to the time he had already spent in pre-trial detention. He was also given a probationary period of three years.
In determining the sentence, the court took Kempi’s previous convictions into account, including convictions for domestic violence. According to behavioural experts, Kempi had diminished criminal responsibility at the time of the offence due to an antisocial personality disorder with narcissistic traits. He was receiving treatment for the condition. The court therefore imposed a largely suspended prison sentence so that his treatment would not have to be interrupted.
During the hearing, Kempi was temporarily removed from the courtroom after repeatedly interrupting the public prosecutor. He was allowed to return for the pronouncement of the judgment.[10]
In February 2018, Kempi announced that he had converted to Islam.[[1]
In October 2023, Kempi appeared before the court at Schiphol Airport on suspicion of drug possession and circulating counterfeit money. According to the indictment, he had allegedly been in possession of approximately 490 grams of cocaine, more than four kilograms of cannabis and counterfeit €50 banknotes on 12 May 2021.[11]
In 2025, Kempi repeatedly threatened to kill a woman who had become pregnant by him.[12] On 31 March 2026, he was sentenced to seven months’ unconditional imprisonment and was issued with a restraining order.[13] He appealed the judgment that same day.[14]
Further controversy arose in March 2026 after a screenshot containing sensitive personal information about his former partner’s children appeared on his social-media accounts.[15] According to the former partner, the information had been leaked by a youth-care organisation, prompting her to announce that she was considering legal action against the organisation involved. Jeugdzorg Nederland stated that an internal investigation would be launched into the possible data breach.
In June 2026, Kempi was ordered to pay €90,000 in penalty payments after he failed to remove a video of his underage son from the internet, in violation of an earlier court order.[16] That same month, he announced that he would retire.[17]
Discography
[edit]Studio albums
[edit]- Du Zoon (Tha Son) (2008, TopNotch)
- Het Testament van Zanian Adamus (The Testament of Zanian Adamus) (2011, TopNotch)
- Oompie Keke (2019, TopNotch)[citation needed]
Collaborations
[edit]- Rap & Glorie (Rap & Glory) (2016, TopNotch) (with The Alchemist)[citation needed]
Mixtapes
[edit]- Tsss Kempi (2006, self-published)
- Mixtape 2: Rap 'N Borie (Rap 'N Crack) (2007, TopNotch)
- Mixtape 3.1 (2007, TopNotch)
- Mixtape 3.2: Du Evolutie van 'n Nigga (Tha Evolution of a Nigga) (2009, TopNotch)
- Du Gangsta Tape: It's Official (2010, TopNotch)
- Du Movement (2011, self-published) (with Rasskulz, Crazyshee, Lens and CocoRas, as Gotti Gang)
- DU4 (2017)
EP
[edit]- RockNRolla (2011, self-published)
- TegenK4nker EP (AgainstC4ncer EP) (2011) (Financial gainings made through this EP went to a cancer support foundation.)
- PeterPanBoy EP (2012, self-published)
- PPB2 (2012, self-published)
Filmography
[edit]| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 2012 | Black Out |
| 2012 | Stockholm |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 "Rapper Kempi heeft zich bekeerd tot de islam". NU.nl (in Dutch). February 7, 2018. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
- 1 2 "Kempi biography". ShareMyPlaylists.com. Archived from the original on March 22, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2011.
- ↑ Van Gijssel, Robert (June 15, 2011). "Kempi: ooit hosselaar, nu furore in de hiphop" (in Dutch). De Volkskrant. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
- ↑ Makkinga, Andrew (May 10, 2006). "Draaideurrapper Kempi tekent bij Topnotch vanachter de tralies" (in Dutch). 3VOOR12. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
- ↑ De Vrieze, Atze (June 30, 2008). "Kempi veroordeeld tot 12 maanden cel" (in Dutch). VPRO 3VOOR12. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
- ↑ https://www.ad.nl/binnenland/rapper-kempi-krijgt-celstraf-voor-loverboypraktijken~aff20e58/&isLoggedIn=false. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ "Eindhovense rapper Kempi (28) weer op vrije voeten: 'Het zit er nu allemaal op'". December 26, 2014. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
- ↑ "Eindhovense rapper Kempi (28) weer op vrije voeten: 'Het zit er nu allemaal op'". Omroep Brabant: het laatste nieuws uit Brabant, sport en informatie uit jouw regio. (in Dutch). December 26, 2014. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
- ↑ "Rapper Kempi voor de rechter wegens wapenbezit". August 1, 2016. Archived from the original on January 8, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
- ↑ https://myprivacy.dpgmedia.nl/consent?siteKey=vvnqgfzkjulja5x5&callbackUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rtl.nl%2Fprivacygate-confirm%3FredirectUri%3D%252Frubrieken%252Frtl-boulevard%252Fartikel%252F3801236%252Frapper-kempi-narcistisch&isLoggedIn=false. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ "Rapper Kempi voor rechtbank wegens drugsbezit en vals geld (UPDATE)". Crimesite (in Dutch). October 6, 2023. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
- ↑ "GeenStijl: Heftig fragment. Kempi bedreigt babymoeder opnieuw met de dood, kondigt gezinsdrama aan". www.geenstijl.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved July 19, 2026.
- ↑ "OM eist zeven maanden cel en contactverbod voor rapper Kempi". nos.nl (in Dutch). March 17, 2026. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
- ↑ https://myprivacy.dpgmedia.nl/consent?siteKey=vvnqgfzkjulja5x5&callbackUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rtl.nl%2Fprivacygate-confirm%3FredirectUri%3D%252Fboulevard%252Fartikel%252F5585462%252Fkempi-gaat-hoger-beroep-tegen-celstraf&isLoggedIn=false. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ Schilder, Menno (March 26, 2026). "Ex-vriendin Kempi boos op jeugdzorg na delen gegevens kinderen: 'Ik sleep ze voor de rechter'". www.omroepwest.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved July 19, 2026.
- ↑ "Rapper Kempi moet van rechter alsnog dwangsom betalen aan ex voor TikTok-video". De Telegraaf (in Dutch). July 19, 2026. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
- ↑ "GeenStijl: Kempi gestopt met rappen". www.geenstijl.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved July 19, 2026.
External links
[edit]- Official website (in Dutch)
- Kempi at IMDb
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