'Alien', 'Streetlights' and 'Darkling' all show a darker, more sombre side to Die Antwoord, with Visser in particular dealing with issues such as her adoption and depression with surprising tenderness. It's the record's latter half where the promise of diversity really comes to fruition. The former sees Cypress Hill's Sen Dog on guest vocals, and though chock full of gangster posturing, it sees Ninja and Yo-Landi both full of venom the transformation of Visser, from the angelic nymph in the aforementioned 'Daddy', to tenacious and bile-spewing here epitomises her appeal. Elsewhere 'Daddy' and 'Gucci Coochie' do little to deviate from the band's already established aesthetic.įortunately however, both 'Shit Just Got Real' and 'Rats Rule' show the band at the top of their game. 'Wings On My Penis' for instance stymies the pace early on, while 'Jonah Hill' does likewise, and you can't help but think these cuts would have been better suited to the mix-tape the band released prior.

And though new beats and a different side to Ninja are brought to the fore, particularly on the record's latter half, they're perhaps not as realised as one might hope.Ĭlearly influenced by the hip-hop of the '90s, skits have always featured heavily in Die Antwoord's records, but here they feel in contention with the record's more serious side. The addition of an extra producer in the form of The Black Goat promised diversity from the trio's well-trodden fractured house, while the idea of Ninja rapping in his own voice suggested a new-found vulnerability in the hyper-masculine frontman. It's for that reason that the prospect of Mount Ninji and Da Nice Time Kid, the trio's fourth album was so exciting.

In spite of this, the trio's garish rap-rave had begun to wear thin on the aforementioned critics, the danger of their early material lost beneath more and more elaborate shock tactics. It's this undercurrent of irony that first gave the band their enigmatic appeal, and while aspersions were cast by the music press as to the legitimacy of Die Antwoord with each subsequent release, each release also saw their ever-growing legion of fans swell. Three albums and a Hollywood movie later however, it's hard to get behind the idea of them as a real reflection of the South African working class, especially given their propensity for rapping about wealth and material gain, however tongue in cheek that may be.

There was also something exotic, something dangerous about them Ninja, manic-eyed and well-endowed, Yo-Landi Visser nmyph-like and somewhat demonic, both providing the lyrics while DJ Hi Tek layered intentionally dated house beats behind their torrents of explicit posturing. Embodying the Zef culture (think South African chav, or white trash) of their home-town, the trio possessed an underdog quality, an us-against-the-world mentality that was both endearing and admirable.

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