History

Joost Klein, born on 10 November 1997, is a Dutch musician, rapper, singer, and former YouTuber. He is primarily known as a hip hop artist, with his songs and performances often incorporating influences from electronic music genres such as drum and bass, hardstyle, hyperpop, and gabber. Klein has released ten studio albums, two of which reached the top ten of the Dutch Album Top 100. He has achieved four chart entries on the Dutch Top 40 and is notable for songs including 'Wachtmuziek' (2022), 'Friesenjung' (2023, with Ski Aggu and Otto Waalkes), and 'Europapa' (2024). The song 'Europapa' was selected to represent the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 and became Klein's first song to top both the Dutch Top 40 and Single Top 100. Although he qualified in second place from the second semi-final and was scheduled to perform fifth in the final, he was disqualified due to allegations of misconduct. These allegations were investigated by Swedish prosecutors, who dropped the case in August 2024 after determining they could not prove any criminal conduct. Following the release of his ninth studio album, Unity, in February 2025, Klein continued to maintain a high level of international visibility.