A fire took everything, then “Waves” took over Europe

Dennis Princewell Stehr, who records as Mr. Probz, was born in 1984 and began expressing himself creatively as a graffiti artist before turning his daily activities into lyrics. In 2006 he played the lead role of Jimmy in the first Dutch hip-hop film, Bolletjes Blues, and in 2010 he was nominated for a BNN/State Award as best artist. That August he and another rapper were shot in Amsterdam, which drew a lot of media attention.

At the end of 2013 a fire broke out in his studio and home. He lost all his possessions except a box of important documents and a laptop with some of his compositions. Shortly afterward he achieved success with his first official single, the guitar ballad “Waves”. His solo hip-hop album The Treatment, released in September 2013, was given away for free.

“Waves” won him an Edison, Buma Awards, and prizes at the FunX Music Awards and the 3FM Awards. It still ranks highest of all singles on the Dutch charts since 1956. In April 2014 German DJ Robin Schulz released a remix that peaked at number one in the UK, Germany and Norway and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Remixed Recording. Mr. Probz became the first Dutch artist to reach one billion streams on Spotify.

The momentum held. “Nothing Really Matters” took first place in the Dutch Top 100 for six weeks in 2014, and he featured on 50 Cent's “Twisted”. “Another You”, with Armin van Buuren, topped the Billboard dance chart in 2015, and in 2019 “Faith” brought together Galantis and Dolly Parton. Along the way he founded his own label, Left Lane Recordings, and a 2017 documentary, Against the Stream, told his life story. The fire took his home, but the song that followed it took his name around the world.