Dance music’s international pinnacle is set to kick off as industry experts, DJs, producers and fans from all over the globe gather for Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) next week (October 19-23) for panel discussions on emerging trends and evolutions in electronica as well as live music showcases, nightclub events and warehouse after hours. But it’s ADE’s inclusion of hip hop that’s gaining traction with a new demographic as the genre continues its merge with various aspects of dance music – from trap and dubstep collaborations to deep house and techno samples. So, how will hip hop culture play into ADE?

We caught up with Creative Director of ADE Beats Saul van Stapele to discuss hip hop’s role and influence ahead of this year’s conference.

How will hip hop be incorporated in this year’s event?

Since last year the Hip-Hop, bass and beats genres got their own dedicated conference as part of Amsterdam Dance Event. Before that Beats existed as a separate conference, one month later in a different city. We were already partners with ADE from the beginning and decided to merge last year, because these genres are crucial to electronic music, the stories we were sharing for many years about, for example the Caribbean roots of DJ culture, Hip-Hop, remix culture and modern popular music – urban and dance – as a whole, were crucial for the wider electronic music community and the genres as a whole started to merge so much more than before, making their shared roots more visible then ever.

What is most interesting to you about the evolution between hip hop and dance music?

The industry is rapidly changing, as are music consumption, fanbase engagement, independent promotional possibilities etc. ADE has proved to be a crucial platform to help navigate the ever changing global dance industry, setting up new business relations internationally, reacting to change with innovation, inspiring new talent, breaking into new markets. With ADE Beats we are creating a similar platform for the Hip-Hop, bass and beats industries, right in the week of the biggest electronic music conference and club festival in the world, when the music industry already meets in Amsterdam, so we can share our unique content, network and knowledge with the vast amount of professionals in town.

How does this merge affect music labels and the method in which they release music?

It is the right time to create a strong international platform within ADE. We got the Def Jam CEO with a keynote on ADE, and his label is now as much a dance label as a Hip-Hop label. Hudson Mohawke grew up on hardcore Dutch dance music and this had influenced the beats he made for MC’s like Kanye, Pusha and Big Sean. Independent labels easily navigate from dance to Hip-Hop and back. One of our most talented Dutch Hip-Hop MC’s became an incredibly singing international electronic music pop star, in Mr. Probz. U.S. MC’s choose to flex on European electronic sounds more and more. The exciting grime scene in the UK is exactly in the middle of this, pushing all genres forward. There is so much opportunity for the urban music scene to become really global. Once Hip-Hop was New York, now the biggest names are from Toronto and ATL. We believe this will only become more international, and present for example inside information on rising Hip-Hop markets in India, China, Dubai, and a panel on Dutch producers who work independently for acts like Young Thug, Lil Yachty, Chief Keef, M.I.A. and Major Lazer. In short: we want to create a strong platform for a strong international industry.

Amsterdam Dance Event takes place October 19-23. For more information visit their website.