Teun de Kruif (born 3 September 1993), known professionally as Tantu Beats, is a Dutch record producer, DJ and lyricist. He is mainly known for his work with Joost Klein. In addition to his work with other artists, he also produces and sells individual beats himself. De Kruif also co-produced Klein's song "Europapa", which is set to represent the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024.
Tantu Beats | |
|---|---|
 Teun de Kruif during an interview in Belgium (2024) | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Teun de Kruif |
| Born | 3 September 1993 Utrecht, Netherlands |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Years active | 2008–present |
Biography edit
De Kruif was a fanatical skateboarder, but when he could no longer skate due to a knee injury at the age of fourteen, he decided to make hip-hop beats in FL Studio. In 2009, De Kruif started uploading beats to the internet, including YouTube and Myspace.[1][2] In 2010, he and a friend started a website where he sold beats under a non-exclusive license.[3]
After completing his pre-university education, De Kruif initially chose to study communication sciences in Amsterdam, but he soon realized that this was not his passion. He ultimately chose Music and Technology at the Utrecht School of the Arts (HKU). In 2014 he started making music full-time and took preparatory training at the HKU in the evening, after which he was admitted to the full course. Although his company had been successful since 2012, he still wanted to pursue relevant studies to broaden his technical knowledge.[4]
In 2017, De Kruif interned at BeatStars, an American music licensing platform based in Austin, Texas.[3] In January 2018, he received a message from Italian rapper Gemitaiz who wanted to buy a beat from him. This was for the song Questa Qua. At the end of April of that year, the album debuted at number one on the Italian album top 100.[2] He initially produced his beats from a student room in Zuilen, but moved to Berlin in 2021.[4][5]
De Kruif is a collaborator of Joost Klein and has produced several albums with him. Their collaboration contributed to the revival of gabber-pop with songs such as "Droom groot", "Friesenjung", and the Dutch entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, "Europapa". He has also produced for Higher Brothers, bbno$, Paulo Londra, Cosculluela, Tai Verdes, S10 and Merol, among others.
Discography edit
Studio albums edit
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Language of Beats |
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| Bounce House [Beat Tape] |
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| Meditate [Beat Tape] |
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Singles edit
| Title | Year | Album or EP |
|---|---|---|
| "Tantu Beats Anthem" | 2023 | Non-album single |
References edit
- ^ "Tantu Beats wordt rijk door beats te maken | Nieuw Geld". VICE (in Dutch). 6 January 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
- ^ a b ten Houte de Lange, Sterre (26 August 2018). "Utrechtse beatmaker (24) Teun de Kruif heeft hit in Italië". AD. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Tantu Beats Talks Changing His Life Through BeatStars, Global Impact, & Manifesting Success | EP4". Pay The Creators. 22 February 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Het podium na HKU – Teun de Kruif: 'Ik kan nu zeggen dat ik een professional ben'". De Utrechtse Internet Courant (in Dutch). 7 December 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
- ^ de Lange, Nils (29 February 2024). "Joost Klein krijgt ook in Berlijn de voetjes van de vloer: de hele zaal zingt 'Friesenjung' mee". Trouw. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
- ^ "Language of Beats - Album by Tantu Beats". Spotify. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
- ^ "Bounce House [Beat Tape] - Album by Tantu Beats". Spotify. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
- ^ "Meditate [Beat Tape] - Album by Tantu Beats". Spotify. Retrieved 6 April 2024.