# The Prophet

Canonical: https://www.hdrr.info/artists/the-prophet

- Genres: Hardstyle
- Tracked releases: 238
- Latest release: 30 Apr 2026
- Spotify followers: 150,636
- Spotify popularity: 51/100

The Prophet is hardstyle royalty: the Amsterdam DJ who helped invent the genre, founded Scantraxx (the label that launched Headhunterz and Wildstylez), and closed a 35-year career at Defqon.1 2023.

The Prophet (Dov Elkabas of Amsterdam) is as close as [hardstyle](/new-hardstyle-releases) comes to a founding father. DJ, producer, label boss and mentor, his fingerprints are on three decades of hard dance history.

### Present at two creations

Elkabas started in the late 1980s as a hip hop DJ, spinning local Amsterdam parties before the Dutch hardcore explosion pulled him in. He became a fixture of the 90s [hardcore](/new-hardcore-techno-releases) scene (around 1991 forming The Dreamteam, the celebrated four-DJ collective with DJ Dano, [Buzz Fuzz](/artists/buzz-fuzz) and Gizmo), and then did something few manage: he was there for the birth of a second genre, helping shape the sound that Q-dance would christen hardstyle around the turn of the millennium. The scene's nickname for him, the Godfather of Hardstyle, is not marketing; it is a job description.

### The Scantraxx machine

His most lasting contribution may be institutional. In 2002 he founded Scantraxx, the label that became hardstyle's defining talent factory, the house that signed a young [Headhunterz](/artists/headhunterz) in 2005, launched [Wildstylez](/artists/wildstylez), and gave [Brennan Heart](/artists/brennan-heart) his platform from 2006. For two decades, the Scantraxx sound has been a shorthand for melodic, high-craft hardstyle, and its alumni list reads like the genre's hall of fame.

### The long goodbye

The Prophet closed his 35-year career with a grand finale at Defqon.1 2023, and then, true to form, came back anyway, returning to the stage with an exclusive show concept. Legends of his standing do not really retire; they just choose their moments. His catalogue of nearly 350 tracked releases keeps circulating through the scene, and new material still appears.

Whatever The Prophet releases next lands on the [Hardstyle Release Radar](/playlists/hardstyle-release-radar) the day it drops. His full tracked catalogue is listed above.

### FAQ

**Who is The Prophet?**

The Prophet is the stage name of Dov Elkabas, a Dutch DJ and producer from Amsterdam widely regarded as one of the founders of hardstyle. The scene calls him the Godfather of Hardstyle.

**What is Scantraxx?**

Scantraxx is the hardstyle label The Prophet founded in 2002. It became the genre's defining talent factory, launching the careers of Headhunterz, Wildstylez and many others.

**Did The Prophet retire?**

He closed his 35-year career with a grand finale at Defqon.1 2023, but has since returned to the stage with an exclusive show concept. A legend's retirement rarely stays final.

**How did The Prophet start?**

He started as a hip hop DJ in Amsterdam in the late 1980s, moved into hardcore in the early 90s, and then helped shape early hardstyle, one of the few artists present at the birth of both genres.