The Opposites
| Company type | Duo |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Founder | Willem de Bruin (Willy), Twan van Steenhoven (Big2) |
| Products | Rap music, albums, mixtapes |
The Opposites represent a Dutch rap duo composed of Willem de Bruin (known as Willy) and Twan van Steenhoven (alias Big2). Their journey into rapping began when de Bruin composed a rap as a disciplinary task at school, which unveiled their enthusiasm and talent for Hip hop. The group's name highlights their visual contrast: Willem is a shorter individual of color, whereas Twan is tall and Caucasian.
Early years
Following participation in an online demo competition, The Opposites established a connection with Mastermind Records. They contributed to subsequent releases such as Streetremixes 2 and 3, collaborating with artists including Yes-R, Brace, Lange Frans, and Baas B. Their initial album, Youngsters, was issued in 2005 featuring English lyrics; however, they soon transitioned to rapping in Dutch. Their mixtape Vuur received airplay on radio stations and was distributed freely online. To produce a full studio album, they signed with TopNotch. That same year, they gained attention through their feature on The Partysquad's successful single Wat Wil Je Doen and released their own track Fok Jou from the then-upcoming album De Fik Erin. Released towards the end of 2005, De Fik Erin included the single Slaap, which became their inaugural major hit by reaching number seven on the Mega Top 50 chart.
Later years
In 2007, The Opposites launched their sophomore studio album titled Begin Twintig, which included the well-received single Dom, Lomp en Famous. Twan (Big2) notably produced beats for 15 out of the 16 tracks, emphasizing their self-sufficient production approach. That year, they earned six awards, two of which honored the track Dom, Lomp en Famous. The following year saw them touring Spain alongside The Partysquad and later performing across the Netherlands in the show Op Volle Toeren, collaborating with Flinke Namen and Dio. A mixtape sharing the same name was also released along with the popular single Vandaag. Twan took on production duties for most songs on Dio's album Rock & Roll, including the successful track Tijdmachine. While Twan was on holiday, Willem teamed up with production collective SoundG8. This collaboration led both artists to pursue solo endeavors compiled into a double CD project featuring Big2’s Ik Ben Twan and Willem’s Succes, which contained the hit single Broodje Bakpau from the Dutch comedy series New Kids as well as the track Licht Uit.
Albums
| Title | Album information | Highest chart positions | Sales | Certifications | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NED |
BEL (VLA) | ||||
| Youngsters |
|
— | — | ||
| Vuur - Mixtape |
|
— | — | ||
| De fik er in |
|
81 | — | ||
| Rauwdauw |
|
— | — | ||
| Begin twintig |
|
23 | — | ||
| Op volle toeren - Mixtape (with Dio and Flinke Namen) |
|
— | — | ||
| Zin in! - Mixtape |
|
— | — | ||
| Succes / Ik ben Twan |
|
9 | 57 | ||
| Slapeloze Nachten |
|
15 | — | ||
| "—" indicates albums that did not chart or were not commercially released | |||||
Singles
| Title | Year | Highest chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NED |
BEL (VLA) | |||||||||||||
| "Fok jou" | 2005 | 80 | — | De fik er in | ||||||||||
| "Slaap / Oew oew" | 2006 | 4 | — | |||||||||||
| "Je weet zelluf" (collaboration with Ali B) |
2007 | 59 | — | |||||||||||
| "Dom, lomp en famous" (featuring Dio and Willie Wartaal) |
23 | — | Begin twintig | |||||||||||
| "Vandaag / Me nikes" (featuring Sef) |
2008 | 76 | — | |||||||||||
| "Broodje Bakpao" (featuring Gers Pardoel and Sef) |
2009 | 1 | 3 | Ik ben Twan | ||||||||||
| "Licht uit" | 2010 | 19 | 3 | Succes (Willem De Bruin album) | ||||||||||
| "Brief aan jou" (featuring Trijntje Oosterhuis) |
10 | — | Ik ben Twan | |||||||||||
| "Crazy zin in" (featuring Sef) |
— | 79 | ||||||||||||
| "Slapeloze nachten" | 2012 | 1 | 20 | Slapeloze Nachten | ||||||||||
| "Hey DJ" | 18 | 67 | ||||||||||||
| "Sukkel voor de liefde" (featuring Mr. Probz) |
2013 | 10 | 52 | |||||||||||
| A dash ("—") indicates singles that either did not enter the charts or were not released in the specified region. | ||||||||||||||