Turn your back on the picture-postcard streets of central Reykjavík, head out of town towards the southeast and you will come across Breiðholt. This somewhat unloved suburban neighbourhood sprang up in the late 60s to help house the city’s expanding population in the kind of prefab apartment blocks that have since become synonymous with urban decline.
Breiðholt is indeed the closest thing to a “ghetto” in Iceland. The prevalence of low-income groups, single parents and a proportionally high immigrant population have made it the target of social stigmatisation from some corners of society and it often plays a starring role in gritty music videos and feature films, such as the 2006 monochrome crime drama, Börn.
But Breiðholt has never shone quite like it does in the video for hip hop duo Úlfur Úlfur’s 2015 single Brennum Allt. The video, directed by Magnús Leifsson, features frontman Arnar Freyrd riding around Breiðholt on a native horse, as well as three drooling St Bernards in a convertible plus a bit of Icelandscape thrown in for good measure. You’re welcome. p (gk)
Turn your back on the picture-postcard streets of central Reykjavík, head out of town towards the southeast and you will come across Breiðholt. This somewhat unloved suburban neighbourhood sprang up in the late 60s to help house the city’s expanding population in the kind of prefab apartment blocks that have since become synonymous with urban decline...
Photo courtesy Magnús Leifsson.
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