Die Antwoord have just signed a major record deal with Interscope. They’re shooting music videos with Neill Blomkamp and having lunch with David Lynch. But back in the Cape Flats, people still don’t know who they are.
I don’t like Die Antwoord. I’ve bought into Waddy’s other incarnations before and I’m running low on indulgence this time around. Mildly ironic, as it’s his current project that’s threatening to garner the success that he’s been dodging for decades.
The interweb is eating him and his Zef-rap up whole. I just wonder when it will get full and need to kots. Because Die Antwoord is like a droe snoek pizza delivered by Eminem: cheesy, fishy, aggressive, bound to make you ill and a fundamentally bad idea.
I wouldn’t mind having him appropriate another culture if it was done in a less cynical way. See, what’s novel and funny to white people smells like plastic and opportunism to coloured people.
For my part, I know the Flats. I grew up with the people that Die Antwoord is pastiching. They’re my uncles and friends and teachers and the girls that I hit on and the guys who used to chase me around on Guy Fawkes Day and the gangsters on the corners that my mother warned me about and the aunties reading The Voice on the train and the shopkeepers who let me buy on credit because they knew my grandfather and the brasse that I used to go half on a gatsby with at school but are vuil tikkoppe now. They are not Die Antwoord. No question.
Waddy has always ninja-stepped the razor line between irony and sincerity, with many people believing that his varying personas were for real. This makes Ninja’s assertion that he is an embodiment of South African culture dangerous, particularly in the face of global attention. An entire people’s representation hangs on what is at best performance art and at worst commercial exploitation.
So while The Guardian, Pitchfork Media and uh… Katy Perry and Fred Durst are smaaking Die Antwoord, what about the people whose culture they are appropriating?
I take my laptop around to Grassy Park and played some songs from www.dieantwoord.com for my grandmother. “Hoekom moet hy so die heel tyd vloek (Why does he have to swear all the time) ?” my grandmother wants to know. Me too, for that matter. Now, this is the woman who routinely referred to my German girlfriend as “plank-poes”. So she’s not afraid of a bit of profanity. But Die Antwoord’s swearing is cynical and not very clever. It’s not even gratuitous: it’s calculated to manufacture edginess and the illusion of street-cred.
“Huh-uh. Ek lyk die gladtie (Nope. I don’t like this at all) ,” Mama says. “Wat se hy? Huh-uh. Vat die kak weg! (What’s he saying? Nope. Take this kak away) ”
I head around the corner to Bronwyn’s house. She was my Matric year girlfriend but we still chat regularly on Facebook. She still lives with her folks and her father still hates me and her room still reminds me of gangly teenage sex.
“I can’t actually hear what he’s saying,” she says after listening to ‘Enter the Ninja’. “Um… He raps very fast, hey. Umm… What’s Zef? And why’s she singing about his production?”
Things get a bit awkward during ‘Beat Boy’s graphic porno-rap. Memories, I suppose.
Bronwyn is not stoked about his accent either. To our ears it’s as authentic as Matt Damon’s South African accent is in Invictus. Americans might not notice the discrepancy, but the misplaced flat/sharp mispronunciations ring loudly in our ears.
Next, I go to visit my cousin in Heideveld. His mother hugs me, shoves a polony and cheese sandwich at me and says that Rashied is in his room. Aunty Tiefa loves her son but isn’t quite able to acknowledge that he is a full time drug dealer and low-ranking gang member. He’s sitting on his bed listening to his beloved Tupac’s Hit ‘Em Up. I worry about my laptop when I see that he’s got a scary looking friend there too who remains unintroduced. I play ‘Wie Maak Die Jol Vol’, ‘Wat Pomp’ and ‘Dagga Puff’ for them.
“Bwwwhahahhaaaahhaaa,” they laugh during ‘Wie Maak Die Jol Vol’ and ‘Wat Pomp’. “Befok ja!”
It seems that they dig the party stuff. They’re less enthused about ‘Dagga Puff’ and its intro supposedly detailing a dagga deal followed by music-box beats and kiddie rhymes. “It werk ‘ie ‘n fok soe nie (it doesn’t go like that at all) ,” says Rashied. Die ou het nooit gemurt ‘ie, ‘n mens kan soema hoor (this guy has never dealt before, you can easily hear).”
I show them the pics and they laugh more. “Ninja, huh?”, says Rashied’s friend. “Ek sal hom in sy poes in skop. Ouens innie mang sallie sy koukie tchappies grand ‘ie (I’ll fuck him up. Guys in prison won’t dig his magic-marker tattoos).”
Coloured people are history’s middlemen – nie te wit ‘ie, nie te swart ‘ie, net reg. It must sound a bit rich to be defending Cape Flat’s culture from appropriation when the entire race springs from interracial banging and slave sex.
But it’s the manner in which Die Anwtoord goes about their business. The whole affair feels aggressive, high-concept and insincere. There’s nothing wrong with Ninja embracing his inner coloured and getting down at Galaxy with his darker-skinned brethren. He just shouldn’t shout that he is all of us. If he continues doing this it’s quite likely that one of Rashied’s friends will find him and kick him in his poes.
Vox Pop
Mungo asks a bunch of Grassy Park residents if they’ve heard of Die Antwoord.
Gakkie: No, not yet. I'm a busy man. No time to listen to music. When people pull up in cars, I listen. They must come here to the food stoep.
Enriko: Who? Never heard of them.
Ahmed: No, no, never heard of them.
Wayne: No sir. Never heard of that band.
The steak-masala Gatsby I had for lunch
Nathan: Die-who? No I don't know them. I'm a Tupac fan.
Shakira: Who's this?
Taliep: Never!
Angie and Raynor: Hoezat?
Azarh: I never heard of Die Antwoord
All images © Andy Davis
dankie here for once, MUNGO a voice wattie kak praatie
unfortunately if you say anything against the poes, then “like dude you a hater bruu”
Excellent article. Thank you!
Cultural appropriation is always problematic, but how to prevent it?
Bravo mahala! Opinion pieces from all sides of the fence are definitely what we need.
But is die antwoord a take on cape flats culture or on poor white culture? or a unique combo of both?
I remember characters like these from days visiting my cousins up on the mines. Hanging out with poor wit-ous on the bluff in Durban.
And another question – Is really cynical? Or is a love letter? Like the photography of Martin Parr.
“If he continues doing this it’s quite likely that one of Rashied’s friends will find him and kick him in his poes.”
haha
would pay money to see this.
Finally, someone said it!
Of course your mom and gran won’t like it. The only other person you played it to, smaaked it. What does that tell you?
Die Antwoord never claim to represent the Cape Flats. I think they’re aiming at a broader allegorical amalgam.
Shouldn’t we be chuffed for Waddy for finally cracking the big time?
//File under “glib cynicism” next to “Avatar is racist”. Sigh.
There are some justifications that are so verbosely vague in their meaning that they actually mean nothing and “broader allegorical amalgam” is one of them.
Uhm maybe check out this article and the comments as well if you feel Die Antwoord is parodying coloured people.
http://mhambi.com/2010/02/die-antwoord-is-it-blackface/#comments
And my 2 cents:
The character of Ninja is not really a gangster from the flats or a superstar rapper, but he aspires to be these things. In actual fact you would be more likely to find Ninja and his mom and Yo-landi living with her granny in a suburb like Brooklyn or Ysterplaat, where the colour line between white, black, coloured, indian has already blurred in reality.
And I have to disagree with the writer that Die Antwoord is a parody.
Do I have to be a gangster or originate from a black working class background in the States to be allowed to appreciate/love/embrace the Wu-Tang Clan, Ice T, NWA and Dead Prez?
Is it possible that they are really embracing and championing this mash-up of white rap rave coloured flats slang Afrikaans Wat Kyk JY? culture?
It’s all irrelevant anyway. They’ve made it in the States, in a BIG way. 2 damn duidelik.
I am with biobot and Challa on this. Jy poep teen die wind my broe. What does it matter?
It’s like that people saying Bok se De La Rey represents Afrikaans music. Then I take it to my gran. She doesn’t like it, then I took it to my aunt – she didn’t like it. Then I took it to a friend’s oom Fanie buite Loftus one Saterdag en toe like hy dit. Then to my Afrikaans coloured friendm then he skopped me on the poes.
Then I printed out Watkykjy.co.za claiming to represent new Afrikaans and took it to the kinderkrans because the dominee needs people to be hip. The dominee wanted to poes me but he can’t, because he runs with god. Now he feels dirty becasue my site represents Afrikaanse youth and there is fokol he can do about it.
I can go on. I can take pictures of people and of my lunch as well. And take it around Sunnyside.
All these rants make me think of those disgruntled rednecks in a couple of South Park Episodes:
“They took oour jobs!”
“They took aoour jawbs!”
“Tikuuurduuuuh!”
@griffin “Then I took it to a friend’s oom Fanie buite Loftus one Saterdag en toe like hy dit. Then to my Afrikaans coloured friendm then he skopped me on the poes.”
whahahahaha
Die Antwoord being our portrayal of South African Culture just in time for the world cup being as common as they are? SIES!
Thanks for the article. I hope all their “fans” read this.
By the way, im busy writing a biography on the group. Im super excited!!
Its going to be a real in depth look at all their body of work/ philosophy/ etc
If anyone wants a copy they will be available soon at A Store.
Woooooo! YAY
Lets do this SA!!
@sd3000
Can i pre-order one now?
@griffin
Yes, you know where A Store is?
@ sd3000
Ah of course man! Will go there now now, just going to listen to the album again,
thanks bud. XX
@griffin
Oh snap! im also listening to the album right now!!
thats so crazy..
Yes I think so?
Is it up your mom’s poes?
See 17 comments down on this page: http://book.co.za/bookchat/topic/richard-poplak-writes-on-die-antwoord
no, its not, the last time I checked. But I will go look. Hey, this posting under someone elses name is quote poescool hey?
ja its kief. I like it too. Its nice to pretend to be someone else. dumb poeses, haha
Fuck, I missed a zero there.
Can I bang all you guys?
please DONT ever post under my name again, it took me years to perfect my synonym, and i will be darned if someone spoils it!!
ufff!
@griff
i feel you brother!
@sd3000
i know you do! feels good
No Xana, I only bang Jesus.
Sorry love i play for other team!
i love mahala. when is the magazine coming out so i can buy all of it at the gallery on 4th?
jis i love the photos in this story. it proves that mungo is really coloured and that he actually did go to the flats and played die antwoord to all these people
Haha! this is the best article written on them ever! and a reminder to not come south on the M5 naaiers!!!! Julle sal jou poes sien. for real!
Thy get inspired by the plain but the plain don’t get inspired by them
Hierdie comments is fokken deurmekaar. Wat gaan hier aan? Hoekom comment julle so onder my naam? Hoekom moet julle my…. so seer maak?
South Africans get so worked up about SA talent visiting the US. If I could count the millions of articles published in SA about how “famous’ someone from SA is when they are not at all. What is a “major deal with Interscope” and did they really have a chip roll with David Lynch?
fokken deur mekaar! get back to the subject. Yeah Biobot!
whatever…
Rumour has it that he has already been threatened by gang members because of his tattoos. All just adds to that mystery.
Klink soos n kakpot vol jaloesie. Die Antwoord is nie ‘real’ gansta nie. So what? As hulle was sou almal gedink het hulle is n spul doose, want gangstas is mos n spul doose, nuh?
I thought they were doing a white trash thing, not coloureds? Who’s appropriating whom?
What a big pile of kak man. Last I checked, that whole Ninja/Yolandi persona was ripping off poor white trash while vaguely incorporating coloured slang… so what, you’re going to lay claim to his tattoos now? Sounds like jealousy to me.
And seriously my bra, if you’re going to try and be militant about your culture and prove a point to us about online viral marketing… try surveying people from the flats that you suspect may ACTUALLY USE THE INTERWEBS.
Ga vorm dan jou eie cape coloured band en raak kak famous, nes hulle. Niks keer jou nie. Al wat jy kort is n website en n kakhuis vol talent. Of dalk is die lekkerder om die kerm op die interwebz oor ander mense se sukses.
Lekker vinger innie hol, ne?
Dis n klomp kak. In 5 jaar gaan hulle nie saak maak nie, net die res van al die kak of 5fm! Dis commercial crap. Imagine jy luister nou ‘My name is slim shady’ in jou kar, mense sal jou opfok! Luister Led Zeppelin of Irom Maiden…dit bly classic. RADIO MUSIC FAAAKIN SUCK!
DA are hanging with that other Guy of the Moment, David Choe:
http://www.juxtapoz.com/Current/die-antwoord-x-david-choe-video-in-la
Do you think Elvis payed Leadbelly? Die antwoord is “Pretty wise” ; )
ja let’s all go poes David Kramer in the mouth. He’s not Afrikaans or coloured. have you ever seen ‘n rooinek wearing vellies? i bet you he doesnt wear those at home.
fuck while we’re at it, let’s round up Johnny Clegg and James Phillips. WTF?
This is about power and race.
I think the appropriation has been appropriated.
Die Antwoord has a song called Wat Kyk Jy, Griffen has a website called Wat Kyk Jy. Ninja says Die Antwoord needs no explaining. Griffen constantly fights Die Antwoord criticism. Has anyone ever seen Griffen and Ninja in the same room?
I think I have…
Pretty sure I have too.
Just fucking with you Grif. But seriously Die Antwoord needs no defense.if they don’t get it, they don’t get it. They know fuck-all, and that’s how it will stay. Must be frustrating for them.
But you can understand why people think he’s pastiching “coloured culture” – especially with the line “I can be a coloured if I want to be a coloured” – but there seems to be a lot of focus, from fans and pundits, on re-positioning DA as a white trash peripheral cape flats thing. But culture is culture, it bleeds at the edges…
The argument put forward in this article is nonsensical (if very entertaining). If you played ‘Sweet’ byJaak (http://bit.ly/bzvmw3) to 10 random people on the Cape Flats, you’d probably manage to find at least 5 people who didn’t relate, or just didn’t like it. So what?
Die Antwoord has generated a huge discussion in popular media around race, class, culture and authenticity. When was the last time an SA band created discourse on these subjects? And therein lies the genius. It works on many levels. It’s crazy, super-high energy fun entertainment, but it also makes you think (or not, depending on whether or not that’s your thing). In short, it’s exactly what I expect from art.
Everyone’s opinion is valid, but Die Antwoord seems like something worth celebrating. Just on the most basic level, it’s great to see artists from Cape Town making big waves internationally. I can’t wait to see how this amazing journey unfolds for Waddy and Yolandi. BIG UP.
Who is this Waddy you speak of?
Sorry, Ninja.
Amazing how you spent so much time dragging them down.(not jealous i hope) Die Antwoord are not Cape Flats . They are ZEF – friends with some cape flats people . Work hard and at some point you will succeed. Your destiny seems to be bitterness.
well put Dplanet…
Wait, your grandma doesn’t like Die Antwoord? Does fucking Interscope know about this!? Boet, you don’t ‘own’ Cape Flats culture anymore than Waddy does. It’s his country too, he gets to appropriate some of that shit if he wants to. God knows all of us Capetonians have to live with it whether we’re from there or not. And as many others have pointed out, the lines that seperate exactly what is being appropriated here are pretty fucking blurry anyway.
… this is like debates over “Precious”
@Carol Reed @griffin
I have seen Griffin turn into a Ninja.
I’ve also seen Ninja and Griffin on my stoep.
I’ve never seen Griffin and Ninja in the same room.
I’ve seen Griffin without seeing Ninja, and seen Ninja without seeing Griffin.
I’ve seen Ninja become Ninja, but never seen Griffin become Griffin.
Ah, wait a minute….. fok!
Who can read the future but afrikaans is gaining the new Kool
ons kwaai taal afrikans is in die wereld nou beroep tjoep tjoep
Laka Ouens
Maak dit goed
Van Dirtbin af – n engels mannetjie wat smaak stukkend
Fok Jou
ja Doenbaar, but have you ever seen Carol Reed?
@Ali Funkadilishis
Once Interscope is done with them–and I am not sure what a record deal with a major label means nowadays now that the recording industry does not exist anymore–let’s see if they’ll rap in Afrikaans.
Ever heard of a little thing called artist’s integrity? – meaning they can do what the fuck they want and label it as art. I know they are appropriating aspects of our culure but so does many international artists and any sane person over the age of 14 knows that artists take liberties. It does suck that they’re not more authentic. It would have been more appropriate if waddy was in polsmoor and yolandie a hardened tik-addict who was beaten and raped by her 14-year-older dad. But, until someone does a better job I say let them run wild, let’s see what they can do. Afterall, they’re entertainers, not journalists or historians!!
If nothing else, I’m happy that Die Antwoord have sparked so much debate.
In all the DA columns on mahala, you fuckers have disagreed violently but we still seem to be getting somewhere; it feels like we’re making progress in a way more profound than just music tastes. And progressive debate is rare in SA right now.
That’s why I like DA’s blurred edges and the contradictions. This article I think, misses the point, but the ongoing exploration is pretty interesting nonetheless and the ensuing banter makes it worthwhile; not just an exercise in slander.
On a more meta note, the ongoing DA debate – in the shadow of all that’s falling apart; the Malemas and corruption and chaos – that I kind of feel we’re maybe making progress on some cultural front. All power to them.
To the haterz: if not for the music, thank them for the opportunity.
Ek wonder maar net of die skrywer weet dat witmense ook arm kan wees. Soos Ruyterwacht, Rugby, Jan Bom, Danville, so aan.
Interesting article.
Griffin is funny
I love the way you write. Very entertaining. And I love Ninja. Never looked at him as anything authentic. He’s just as much white trash as gangster. And he’s also not very authentic white trash. But the energy and the tunes is piele!
Oh… I thought he was taking off ‘poor white’ culture… what am I missing?!
Die Antwoord definitely gets some of it’s magic from the flats. But it works and it could only have come from SA. Reading the commets on their YouTube videos where people outside of SA have no idea what to make of them. I tried hard not to find them interesting or funny. But they are.
“I tried hard not to find them interesting or funny. But they are.”
Why would intentionally try not to find them interesting or funny?
I’d say empirically, the coloured community know exactly who they are…
the most hits and searches are from belleville after all…
http://www.google.com/trends?q=die+antwoord&date=ytd&geo=zaf&ctab=0&sort=0&sa=N
@Moose:
Stellenbosch, you mean…
http://www.google.com/trends?q=die+antwoord&date=ytd&geo=zaf.wc&ctab=0&sort=0&sa=N
@Moose – jy is FOKKEN dom.
Refreshing take on the whole.Antwoord thing. But I’ve never experienced Die Antwoord as depicting a typical Cape Flats culture…
@griffin. i was tired of waddy’s previous incarnations. silly me.
@doenbar – thats weird, you select western cape and it shows stellenbosch as top city and when you select the whole country it shows belleville as top city. wtf? whatever.
I liked the old Waddy persona. He moved on and everyone moved with. I don’t like DA and don’t listen to them. I don’t have to. But if they make it big in the American culture, then good for them. Hats off to artistic expression AND earning pitte for it. But that is what it is. Another persona and not an assimilation of ZEF/coloured culture. It’s a mere performance. Installation art if you wish.
@Moose
“when you select the whole country it shows belleville as top city. wtf? whatever.”
Do you even know why? I hope you’re not in IT.
All those coloured in the Cape are just not on the Ninja’s level man.. He’s on the next level..
@griffin – instead of being a dick, why not enlighten me with your infinite wisdom? the only point I was making is that there are other ways to evaluate where they are popular. I wasn’t intending to get into a pissing contest with someone as obviously ‘right’ as you inevitably are. “wood vs trees” mean anything to you?
@Moose. You are not ready for my next level infinite wisdom, but how is this for a start:
A little phrase known as “Assumption is the mother of all fuck-ups”
@griffin – you may be a dick, but you are funny.
this article is jits, my laani. ek soekie die antwoord, but do you have the tym, ser?
Great post, at first, but you proved nothing by getting coloured people’s opinion on the music. Zef has nothing to do with coloured people. Nothing at all.
Having said that…
Waddy is an attention-seeking poser who relies on gimmicks to grab the spotlight. It’s really entertaining and funny, but to read anything more into his shit is giving him way more credit than he deserves.
I see him prancing about town like a knob, wearing his khaki suits and whatever else. He may as well have a neon sign suspended above him flashing the message: “Hey everyone, look at me! Look how weird I am! JESUS CHRIST WILL SOMEONE PLEASE JUST LOOK AT HOW FUCKING WEIRD I AM!?!?!?”
@nvrs Welcome to 2010. You must be from Pofadder originally seeing that Waddy hasn’t worn khakis since your 3rd re-exam for Elitism 101 at Stellies, which I gather you must have passed by now.
He now prances down the streets of LA and NY wearing bright tracksuit pants and Ren & Stimpy tops.
Now go iron your Che Guevara shirt and go read One Small Sees somewhere where people will look at you. Onthou jou swartraam bril. Dit sal jou nog meer soos die poser laat lyk as wat reeds is. I know what you aspire to, becasue I don’t know you but I think I do and make shit up as I go along.
PS: Remember the beret as well. And some red wine.
nee, sjit, hei, ek’t nog die heeltyd gedink Waddy stuur die mense op waarmee ek grootgeword het – en hulle is wit. Neem hulleself ernstig op, en is net een generation removed van (wit)mense wat soos Waddy-hulle se personas lyk en optree. En dis HULLE wat uitfreak (en behoort te uitfreak). Regtig, ek is jammer maar ek dink jy slaan die bal mis – vertel liewer die mense waaroor dit gaan.
did you ask them if they’ve heard of Facebook? Myspace? Twitter?
seems like there is some missing frame of reference. I don’t think authenticity is the real issue. It’s the deconstruction of the relevance of authenticity and how that is playing out in the ‘interwebs” that I find fascinating. Full disclosure: I’m white from Portland, Oregon Pacific Northwest USA.
Props to Mahala for creating a space for the discourse.
Great article.
I cant see why these fong kongs are so famous?
If the music was better maybe it would be less of a circus act.
Ma vok die bra mettie koki tjaps.
shame the haters carry on hating ekse…naar cause a local bra got some serious fame on the net….regarding nobody knowing them on the flats aint no thing: our local hero and turntable genius Ready D, won his first SA DJ champs in 1989, then he went back 1990 and won again…never been done before ever…represented SA at DMC world dj champs years later, he was selected to play on French national radio representing DMC not even american or uk dj’z were asked to represent…but….guess what still no club or festival wanted this boy at there events in sa….strangely in 1998 did cape town’s oldest club galaxy only start booking ready d for events, etc…the flats sheople will pick up on die ant when ETV, SABC or the daily voice talks about them….another example: MR Len of company flow was here years back…this dude came from new jersey…he was treated like a genius in london, new york, sweden, cape town, japan…but nobody in his own town knew who he was…i don’t hear anybody complaining about the daily voice/die son “huge coporates” dissing/destroying coloured peoples minds, image & culture and making millions off it…with absolutely no CSI project in place????
if DA starts signing deals with the illuminati like Jay z, rihanna, lady gaga & madonna does…then we’re in trouble….then it’s worth talking about…
Ja Mnr Adonis, ek stem saam met Katherine, Ninja is ‘n armblanke. Hy gee vir ons ‘n nuwe weergawe van die Armblanke-vraagstuk, daai lang langvraag wat ons op skool in Geskiedenis moes leer. Zef is niks nuut nie, Jeanne Goosen skryf al vir jare daaroor. Die ou NP-regering was skaam vir die armblankes, zef is nie geduld in die ZAR nie. Nou kyk nou net wat gebeur as jy iets probeer onderdruk of wegsteek, dit broei later jare uit in hordes soos gremlins wat hoender geeet het na 12 uur die nag. Haha wens ek kon weer daai langvraag beantwoord, dan sou ek vir 50 punte net skryf: “Die Antwoord”.
I think the point is being missed in this debate.
The main thing I’m getting from Die Antwoord and my mayor problem with them is that so many people are buying into the hype and calling the DA’s promotional campaign, market research and exploitation thereoff a cultural revolution/progression and whatever else after sliced bread.
Cultural Revolution? How about Moral Degradation?
There is the saying: “Wat die hart van vol is, loop die mond van oor” i.e. What you carry inside you (thoughts, emotions), you will naturally verbalise.
Like Katie Perry, Lady Gaga, Madonna and all the mega rich pop stars, Die antwoord is also propagating the same type of message that is total hedonism or self gratification. To live outside the barriers of any kind of moral or social obligation. To “Not give a fuck”. Basically the Punk Rock phrase of old rehashed by the big record labels of today with more effect. Waddy was in advertising, and he’s a clever guy. Right time and right place? How about “a well informed strategist”?
So what if you don’t subscribe to a religion that teaches you compasion, decency and some kind of moral code that makes it easier for one to relate and work with others. Like so many new agers, certainly you have some kind of personal spirituality? Or is everyone today, devoid af a basic value system?
Why are we drawn to everything today that drips with smut? Why do we feel the need to associate with everything anti-establishment? Who do you think you are fighting if the church or government does not even feature in your day to day life?
As such Die Antwoord’s genre of music (HipHop/Rap/Rave music), their swearing, and their reference to coloured and poor white folks “uneducated” socio-political backgrounds as platform for their act is not really a problem. As any artist from visual arts to music, has always done this type of thing as the catalyst or background for their “expression”. However exploitive or expletive it might be.
Personally I dont think much of Die Antwoord as I find their lyrical content to be shallow, un-inspiring, sensationalist and morally corrupt, even though I myself struggle maintain some kind of moral balance. Personal music taste is just that. Personal. But since I’m in advertising, I’m defiantely not going to be the one buying into media hype nor keep on listening to stuff I don’t personally agree with.
So to like or dislike Die Antwoord is totally your own perogative.