This South African rap video does not belong on a Torah blog:
This is a long way from Air Supply:
I am disturbed yet strangely compelled by this group.
Die Antwoord (Afrikaans: “The Answer“)[2] is a hip-hop group from Cape Town, South Africa consisting of three members Ninja, Yo-Landi Vi$$er and DJ Hi-Tek. The band self-identifies as a mélange of several diverse cultures.[3]
Die Antwoord lead vocalist Ninja (born Watkin Tudor Jones) was a part of the South African hip-hop scene for many years, fronting such acts as The Original Evergreen, MaxNormal.TV and The Constructus Corporation.[4] He is known for adopting different stage personas. In the case of Die Antwoord his persona is Ninja: a vulgar and aggressive character who is very different from his previous incarnations. When asked whether Ninja was a character he said, “Ninja is, how can I say, like Superman is to Clark Kent. The only difference is, I don’t take off this fokken Superman suit.”[5]
Die Antwoord performs music which incorporates many Zef elements and references. Zef is a South African slang term that describes a unique South African style which is modern and trashy and also includes out-of-date, discarded cultural and style elements.[9] Both Ninja and Yolandi have offered definitions of zef. Yolandi was quoted as saying, “It’s associated with people who soup their cars up and rock gold and shit. Zef is, you’re poor but you’re fancy. You’re poor but you’re sexy, you’ve got style.”[10] Their lyrics are performed in both Afrikaans and English.[3][11]
In an interview with Exclaim! magazine, the group revealed they have a five album plan. According to Ninja, “We’ll be dropping films between each of the albums, feature films… We have one we’re working on for next year called The Answer. It’s like the story of how Die Antwoord started. But that’s like, our power, and where our energy is at right now”[12] In another interview with Mother Jones magazine, the group mentioned that they already had most of the musical hooks written for a second album, tentatively titled Tension.[13]
