De Hardheid is a skaband from Amsterdam, the Netherlands. They play uptempo ska and they play it loud. They've been around since 1996, and started as a five headed formation. Over the years they developed their own style and the band grew to 9 members (including a new leadsinger and a horn section). For the last 6 years they played a lot, all over the Netherlands. They sing in Dutch about various things. Most of the lyrics hide a critical view towards society. They released a live album called Lijfstraf in 2001. Two full-length studio albums followed: De Nodige Hardheid (2003) and Onze Jongens (2006).