SMIB RELEASES 'EENDRAGHT MAECKT MAGHT'

A decade without SMIB is a decade too long, but that era has finally come to an end. Amsterdam’s favourite hiphop collective returns with EENDRAGHT MAECKT MAGHT – an album that perfectly embodies each member’s personality and, in the chaos, somehow feels cohesive. For SMIB (now consisting of Ray Fuego, Nnelg, Loopey, and GRGY), it’s a pact to stay dedicated to each other – and a reminder to the rest of the world that together, they’re unstoppable.

Like Japanese Kintsugi porcelain, they’ve managed to turn their fractures into gold lines. After years of naivety turning into conflict, letting mistakes define their bonds, and branching off into solo projects, they’ve reunited. After all, some things only come back stronger after being cracked open, humbled, and pieced back together with purpose – and that’s exactly what SMIB did.

Unlike their earlier work, this isn’t a compilation tape – it’s a full group effort, with each member contributing to every track. The opening song is hard, but the lyrics are quietly sentimental, with Ray Fuego expressing how much he missed GRGY. Then Gino Pietermaai enters with a hilarious skit, like someone banging on the front door of your consciousness: “WAKE UP,” SMIB is back.

The album is joyful like their older work, but there’s more structure behind the chaos now. Maybe that’s what a decade of growth does – kids, relationships, adult responsibilities. Sure, there’s still plenty of sex, drugs, and showing out, but there are clear signs they’ve also matured into family men with taste, serving lobster for breakfast, sourdough for lunch, wearing their babies in a Gucci sling. But don’t get it twisted: they’re growing up, not growing old.

There are lyrical nods to some great hiphop moments: “Rich as Fok” carries the rhythm, and bounce of Cardi B’s Bartier Cardi. “De Lucht Valt” feels like a lost Kanye sample. “Bananen” channels the dark whispers of Kleine Crack. The SMIB x TNO Fest track is whimsical and sunny, a community anthem that reminds you SMIB built more than music. Moodswing Cowboyz taps into the wild ambition of early SMIB, now layered with reflection that only comes with age.

The features are exciting: some feel like extended family, others like a fresh breeze. Artists further from SMIB’s core sound – like Idaly and Ronnie Flex – actually work surprisingly well. And notably, there’s a long-awaited Reanny feature, bringing a powerful and welcome female voice to the project.

The title (roughly translating to “Unity makes strength”) nods to Brooklyn’s borough seal, but SMIB makes it their own. Hip-hop may have been born there, but this album speaks fluent Smibanese – their invented dialect, their mother tongue, their mythology.

Ten years in, they’ve cleaned house, aired out the rooms, and lit incense for the future. Though they made this album as a pact to keep moving forward, it also stands as a record of everything they’ve already built.

EENDRAGHT MAECKT MAGHT is available now on all platforms.