Die Antwoord | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Origin | Cape Town, South Africa |
Genres | Rap-rave |
Years active | 2008–present |
Labels | |
Spinoff of | |
Members | |
Website | dieantwoord |
Die Antwoord (Afrikaans: [di ˈantvuərt]; Afrikaans for 'The Answer') is a South African hip hop duo formed in Cape Town in 2008. The duo consists of rappers Ninja and Yolandi Visser (stylized as ¥o-Landi Vi$$er). Their music, a fusion of hip hop with rave music, is frequently produced by DJ Hi-Tek, also known as God, and performed in both English and Afrikaans.
Die Antwoord rose to international fame in 2010 through the virality of the music video for their song "Enter the Ninja" on social media and through blog posts, soon signing to Interscope Records and reissuing their debut studio album, SOS, later that year. They parted ways with Interscope in 2011 and independently released their second studio album, Tension, in 2012. Their follow-up albums, the techno-influenced Donker Mag (2014) and the trap-based Mount Ninji and da Nice Time Kid (2016), became their most commercially successful releases in the United States, each topping Billboard's Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart. Their fifth studio album, House of Zef, was released in 2020.
In film, Die Antwoord starred as fictionalized versions of themselves in both Harmony Korine's short film Umshini Wam (2011) and Neill Blomkamp's science fiction film Chappie (2015), while a documentary about them, Zef: The Story of Die Antwoord, was released in 2024. Die Antwoord's style revolves around the South African zef movement, which is largely based on working class Afrikaners and "white trash" motifs. They are known for their graphic and surreal music videos, energetic live performances—particularly at music festivals—and provocative public image. They have faced controversy since their inception for what critics have decried as cultural appropriation of numerous South African groups, the use of blackface in their music videos, homophobia, sexual assault allegations against Ninja, and abuse allegations from their adopted son. They have been regarded as one of the most internationally successful acts to come out of South Africa.