The Prophet
The Prophet is the professional name of Dov Elkabas, a Dutch hardcore and hardstyle DJ and producer born in Amsterdam in 1968 who started DJing in 1983 and became one of the genre's founding figures. Elkabas helped shape early Dutch hardcore before moving toward hardstyle after growing dissatisfied with the hardcore scene's push toward ever-harder sounds, producing some of the first tracks now recognized as foundational hardstyle under the Hardheadz name, including "Wreck Thiz Place." He founded and continues to own Scantraxx Records, one of the largest hardstyle labels in the Netherlands, and has held affiliations with Q-dance and ID&T, organizations central to the genre's growth into a festival-scale phenomenon.
Known within the scene as the "Godfather of Hardstyle," The Prophet built a career spanning more than three decades, performing at events including Vroeger Was Alles Beter at the Brabanthallen in 's-Hertogenbosch. His discography spans early rave, hardcore, hardstyle and nu-style, and he has been described as one of the few artists from the genre's earliest days to sustain relevance into the modern hardstyle era.
In 2023, after more than thirty years of production and DJing, Elkabas announced his retirement from the scene he helped establish. Scantraxx remains active as one of the reference labels for Dutch hardstyle, continuing his influence on the genre after his own performing career concluded.