Die Antwoord
Just Made Out With Your Girlfriend and Stole Your Car
Review by Abraham Mizrahi
“Apartheid, Nelson Mandela, District 9, and Die Antwoord, this is the history of South Africa” according to the Die Antwoord front man who goes by the title “Ninja.” The band, Die Antwoord (Afrikaans for “The Answer”) has been making a lot of noise out of their trailers in the slums of South Africa recently; and the world is starting to listen.
The group led by Ninja, a self-proclaimed “ninja on the mike, with some serious gangsta skills,” is joined by his nymph like female partner Yolandi Vi$$er. The “next level beats” are cooked up by DJ Hi-Tek (not to be confused with the Cincinnati based and frequent Talib Kweli collaborator Hi-Tek) on his “PC computer.”
For Die Antwoord, the magic takes place in their low rent trailer park/neighborhood in Cape Town. Brought together by geographic ties and a mutual admiration of hip hop music, the artists who all still live at home (DJ Hi-Tek with his granny, and Yolandi and Ninja with their parents) began performing at the raves they threw for friends. As the raves grew in popularity, so did the fame of the group. Starting off in friends' backyards, the group has gone on to perform at festivals throughout South Africa and around the globe, including Coachella.
The group led by Ninja, a self-proclaimed “ninja on the mike, with some serious gangsta skills,” is joined by his nymph like female partner Yolandi Vi$$er.
The crew has traveled the land dropping knowledge as the arbiters of “Zef.” “Zef” according to the group is a way of life, and not only describes their lifestyles as “the ultimate style/next level,” but also attempts to put the unexplainable group into a genre. The term “Zef”, comes from the South African lexicon which is traditionally very creative and harsh with its slang. Originally the term was meant as an insult for low class white South Africans, however just as their American heroes have done with the word “nigga,” so have Die Antwoord proudly done with "Zef." Band members and fans proudly wear "Zef" tattoos. Ninja practically drips with ink that looks like he himself or friend with a shaky hand scribbled it onto his skin.
Like Yolandi says “You're poor but you're sexy, you've got style.”
Adhering to “Zef” style, the whole group wears the same variation of the Zef haircut, which looks like a classic high and tight gone fantastically wrong.
Die Antwoord has stuck to the formula of writing ninety-five percent of the lyrics in English as a way to garner mass appeal. Staying true to their roots, the other five percent is either in Afrikaans and Xhosa, allowing them to slyly spit profanities. The majority of their songs revolve around South Africa's numerous social issues. The cross-over hit "Evil Boy," discusses uncircumcised boys and AIDs, among other things.
Through hard rhymes and harder beats, “The Answer” has found a strange medium to spread their even stranger tales and messages.
Like Weird South African Hip Hop? Hit Up The Interwebs: www.dieantwoord.com
