‘Zijn gwn UK fans die zijn gaan leven wat ze rappen ipv rappen wat ze leven’

‘They are just UK fans who started living what they are rapping instead of rapping what they are living.’ The multimedial performance of authenticity in the (online) Dutch drill culture Since 2019, drill music has been linked to the rise of violent incidents among young people in the Netherlands. Drawing on studies in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague, we examine the communication of violence in the Dutch (online) drill rap culture. First, we show how Dutch drill rappers try to establish an authentic violent self. Second, we illustrate how Dutch rappers actively contest each other’s credibility as drillers. Finally, we shed light on how online consumers interpret the authenticity of these violent claims. Our research highlights a multi-layered performance of authenticity in Dutch drill. In this process, we see that musical output and social media content blend facts and fiction across different (social media) platforms and audiences, creating multimedial loops.