Die Antwoord
October 27 at 9:30 Club
Seeing Die Antwoord perform puts one at a loss for words. Listening to their studio recordings does what happens during their live performances no justice. Last Wednesday night at the 9:30 Club in Washington DC, this South African rap-rave group gave their fans a performance which explained why they were able to go in one short year from no-names in the US music market to performing in DC to a packed crowd. At any given time during the performance, you might catch sight of several unusual combinations of sight and sound. You might see the projector displaying distorted images of an orgy of breasts, butts, and too many limbs to count. Or you could see closeup images of the apparently self-inflicted tattoos of Ninja, one of the two MCs in the group. The image and voice of the other MC in the group, Yo-Landi Vi$$er, is hard to forget. Her unusual look combined with the ability to rap at pitches that shouldn't be possible for someone her age make it obvious why Die Antwoord is gaining popularity at an alarmingly fast rate. The shock factor this group is known for helps give them an edge in the music scene today.
It's hard to imagine that less than a year ago, this unusual act played their first US show at the Coachella Music Festival in California. Since then, they've signed to Interscope Records, who asked them to re-record their self-released album $O$, wishing to release a better quality recording then the original self recorded version. They have embarked on a massive US tour and even enlisted the help of notorious producer Diplo to rocket them into the spotlight. Their performance at the 9:30 Club was filled with the screaming obscenities; vulgur gestures; and comedic, almost awkward moments that we all came for. At one moment during the concert, having been singing an almost illegible South African slang, Ninja relayed to the audience the meaning of the unusual pairing of words. "Jou ma se poes in 'n fishpaste jar." This phrase, we learned, means, "Your mother's private parts in a fish paste jar," apparently a common insult said in South Africa when someone is "pissing you off, like a rock in your shoe." During the song "Rich Bitch," Yo-Landi Vi$$er sported a gold spandex bottom and short-cut shirt, singing vulgar lyrics and teasing the first few rows in the crowd with her newly spandexed rear end. The over-the-top crude gestures do not stop there. Ninja had a wardrobe change before the song "Zef Side," which featured him wearing iconic Dark Side of the Moon boxers and performing pelvic thrusts which left very little to the imagination.
Die Antwoord definitely put on a performance unlike no other, yet the often unintillegible lyrics and high-pitched squealing from Yo-Landi became a significant setback in my eyes. After screaming "FUCK YOU" to the crowd and letting out a squeal that caused many people around me to plug their ears, Yo-Landi left with the positive words "be happy." This show was an experience, to say the least. But would I go to their next show, given the opportunity? Let’s just say that I’ve reached my Die Antwoord limit for now.