A combination of comedic dialogue and soaring operatics leaves the listener confused yet wanting more a description that can be applied to most songs from Die Antwoord. The opening track “We Have Candy” is a surreal and theatrical invitation to the rest of the album.
However, in an interview, Yo-landi Visser says “Zef’s kind of like you don’t give a f*ck and you have your own flavor and you’re on your own mission” a mentality that’s ingrained in all of Die Antwoord’s work, especially in their newest album Mount Ninji and Da Nice Time Kid. For Die Antwoord, the style is most often characterized by bold colors, gaudy outfits, and flashy jewelry. The group’s aesthetic stems from the South African counter-culture movement called “zef” which roughly translates to “common” in English. However, while it’s easy to dismiss the group for their crude and audacious persona’s, there’s much more to Die Antwoord than meets the eye.
Apparently I wasn’t the only one considering the mostly negative reviews of Die Antwoord’s fourth studio album Mount Ninji and Da Nice Time Kid. The first time listening to a song by the South African rap-rave group, Die Antwoord, I was appalled, shocked, and even offended.
