David (13) has concentration problems at his practical school in Zwolle.He does not always feel understood by his teachers and prefers to dance ratherthan count. To express his feelings, he made a dance number, arranged for theZwolle rapper Rico for supporting lyrics and signed up for the talent showprogram Holland ‘s Got Talent. The performance was shown on TV on Friday.The audience gave them a standing ovation. Rico: “I think he’s a great guy, Ilove him.”
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Since Friday September 30, a large part of the Netherlands has known who13-year-old David is, when he was seen in an audition round on RTL 4 in theevening. Holland ‘s Got Talent. David came up with a song in which he dancesand Ricardo McDougal, better known as Rico of the rap formation Opgezwolle,the spoken word part did.
‘I immediately thought of Rico’
David approached the rapper from Zwolle himself at De Fakkelteit, a breedingground at Poppodium Hedon where young people between the ages of 13 and 23 canget to work with hip-hop and rap. Rico can often be found there as well. “Iimmediately thought of him, if old school rapper,” says David. “Then I wentto him, maybe he’ll come up with something cool.”
And Rico came up with something ‘cool’. He came up with the lyrics for David’sdance number, which is mainly about his misunderstood school days. As icing onthe cake, Rico David surprises just before the performance in Holland ‘s GotTalent _with a video message. “You must have thought I forgot you had anaudition today. I know you can do it, you got it _skills in your. That’sokay.” Then the rapper from Zwolle tells that he has another surprise. “Wouldyou like to turn around?” There’s Rico. “Didn’t expect it, did you?”
‘There’s more I can do’
Then the time has come: David can perform. As he begins to dance, Rico entersthe stage. The rapper from Zwolle translates David’s feelings about his schooldays into lyrics. He raps: “This is not ordinary. I am only thirteen years oldand this is already my fourth school. There’s more I can do. What you see is aboy with a learning disability. Concentration problems, too high energy. Youwon’t believe it when I earn my living like this. Look into my eyes, it’scharacter what you see. That’s why I’m in the front, David is my name.Thankful that my mother understands me. Good times, bad times, she is therefor me.”
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Standing ovation
After the performance, David gets a standing ovation from the audience. Healso receives praise from the four jury members. Dan Karaty is especiallycurious about how David met Rico. “I have a kind of meeting space in Zwolle,De Fakkelteit, where young people can work on rap music. In the same roomthere is also a dance hall, where I see David dancing every Wednesday,”explains Rico. “I think he’s a beautiful guy, I love him.”
Four yeses
The jury gives David a ‘yes’ four times. He is through to the next round. Thewhole episode of Holland ‘s Got Talent can be viewed here.