After a brain hemorrhage that turned his life upside down, Dr. Rude has rediscovered his passion for music. The artist came to an important realization: making music must, above all, be fun again. That realization forms the core of his new project ‘Limitless’, a title that reflects not only his musical vision but also his personal recovery.

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Dr. Rude is known as one of the biggest names in the freestyle scene. A genre where it is not about one specific sound, but about playful energy and influences from various harder styles. In 2025, Dr. Rude was unexpectedly struck by a brain hemorrhage that turned his entire life upside down.

“It was heading towards playing hit songs and ski lodge parties”

Before his brain hemorrhage, Dr. Rude was in a phase where he identified less and less with the direction the scene was taking. “It was heading towards playing hit songs and ski lodge parties,” he says. “At a certain point, that made me really unhappy.” This development caused him to partially lose the joy in his profession.

That mindset changed drastically after his recovery. Once out of the hospital, he decided to consciously distance himself from the Dutch-language repertoire. “Of course, if someone wants an X-Qlusive Holland-style set, I’ll do that, but not multiple times a week anymore.” His focus is now elsewhere. “I actually want to do what I enjoy again,” he says. “That Pussy Lounge style is what I’ve always liked.”

New course

A number of records from before his brain hemorrhage formed the starting point for change. “Before the brain hemorrhage, I had a number of records lying around that were back in that traditional freestyle sound. I released a few of them; I was in a nice flow regarding what I really wanted the new Dr. Rude sound to be. Then I thought: yeah, let’s just make a whole album out of that.”

That ultimately resulted in Limitless: a project in which he experiments with different styles without pigeonholes. “It can vary from jumpstyle to hardstyle to hardcore. Limitless simply stands for the fact that there is no limit to what you can do with freestyle. But also for life—there is no limit to what you can do; with everything I have been through, that is something I have really taken away from it.”

For the project, he collaborated with various names from the scene, including Adaro, Jebroer, Darkraver, LNY TNZ, and Pat B. Because the tracks vary widely in style, they are being released on different labels. “We have already had 9 releases so far, and there are another 6 coming.” Ultimately, the goal is to bring everything together in a physical album, with the final release scheduled around the weekend of Defqon.1.

Freestyle on the rise again

Interestingly enough, Dr. Rudes’ renewed course coincides with a broader development within the scene. Freestyle seems to be making a comeback. “It is quite a coincidence how that happened; when my heart told me I want to do this, the entire sector basically moved in this direction too,” he says. “But the stages are getting fuller again, there is more engagement on posts, and plenty of good music is coming out. There was a good dip, but now we’re back in full swing.”

That resurgence is noticeable for Dr. Rude as well: this summer he is performing at both large and smaller events. “I’m taking part in a lot this year. Many big events, but I’m also attending some smaller ones.” He is quick to explain what makes the genre so enjoyable for the artist: “There is a lot of build-up in freestyle. That ensures it is never boring; there is always variation.” He once shared the stage with Henny Huisman. “That is truly epic to experience. No one can take that away from me.”

With Limitless, Dr. Rude embarks on a new path, driven by fun, creativity, and freedom. A renewed energy that not only charts its own course but also seamlessly aligns with the resurgence of freestyle as a genre. Listen to the full PLAFONDDIENST episode with Dr. Rude now via this link.

Pictures via: Dr. Rude