Zef, yo.

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To a majority of those raised in the Western hemisphere a first glimpse at the video featured above may be quite a culture shock. A mostly unfamiliar dialect, images of lower class South Africa, odd dance moves and a rap flow and subject matter definitely incomparable to most music that seems to be on popular today. Many people reject it claiming it is too strange but I was instantly hooked. This band above, if you didn't catch in the video, is Die Antwoord. They are a rave-rap group from Cape Town, South Africa and they are slowly gaining recognition all over the world. This video was even featured in the Guggenheim, voted in by many artists including Animal Collective into the "YouTube Play: A Biennial of Creative Video exhibit".

The two main members Yo-landi Vi$$er and Waddy Jones, who goes by the name of Ninja, began this project around 2009. What is incredibly interesting about these two art school drop outs is that they have been in the hip-hop scene in South Africa for years developing different personas. But Die Antwoord seem to be their final project. Waddy Jones described it as such, "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." Watch this interview to get more a feel for who they are.

They rap in Afrikaans, the West Germanic/Dutch language spoken in South Africa. Many of their lyrics reflect so many elements of South African culture that so many people in America have no clue about. Even if one doesn't enjoy their sound you have to respect where they come from and their "zef" style. That's why I was so enthralled by them. Their message is something that isn't found in today's mainstream media. They decided to take the dirty, gritty truth of lower class South Africa and throw it in everyone's face with filthy lyrics, humor and sick beats. I think Die Antwoord is a revolutionary group for much of what music has turned into for the masses today.