Yellow Claw

Amsterdam trio Yellow Claw fuse the bombastic energy of stadium techno acts such as Scooter with the profane revelry of Dada Life, then route the blend through trap and neo-electro. What started as a club night and DJ crew yielded early tracks on the Spinnin' label before the group shifted to Mad Decent in 2015 for its debut album Blood for Mercy. A rapid succession of full-length releases followed—Los Amsterdam (2017), New Blood (2018), and Never Dies (2020)—each populated by high-profile contributors that included DJ Snake, Pusha T, A$AP Ferg, Quavo, Tinie Tempah, Mustard, and San Holo.

The project was launched in 2010 by DJs Jim Aasgier, MC Bizzey, and Nils, who first built an audience by throwing parties at Amsterdam’s Jimmy Woo club. Their flashy, irreverent approach gained traction in 2011 when weekly Yellow Claw events began in Leeuwarden and Breda and early productions and remixes circulated online.

“Shotgun,” issued on Spinnin' in 2013, preceded two EPs—Amsterdam Trap Music and Amsterdam Twerk Music—that initiated the group’s association with Mad Decent’s Jeffree’s subsidiary. The 2014 sequel Amsterdam Trap Music, Vol. 2 featured Waka Flocka Flame and arrived alongside the debut of the Blood for Mercy streetwear line. One year later the same name adorned Yellow Claw’s proper Mad Decent LP, which entered the Billboard 200 and showcased Pusha T, DJ Mustard, and Flux Pavilion.

Los Amsterdam, another Mad Decent set, surfaced in March 2017 and carried the singles “Open,” “Good Day,” and “Love & War,” while the collaborative cut “Both of Us” with STORi appeared later that year. A string of 2018 singles—“Villain” featuring Valentina and “Summertime” with San Holo among them—led to the June arrival of the third album New Blood, which added DJ Snake, A$AP Ferg, Sofia Reyes, and further guests. Danger Days, a concise 2019 release, contained “Give It to Me” with Nonsens and “Break of Dawn” with Stoltenhoff. The fourth LP, Never Dies, reached listeners in early 2020 and included Offset, Tinashe, and Saweetie.