This week I’m reviewing the South African Rap Rave Die Antwoord’s 2009 album $O$ which was originally released for free by the group. They made a big splash on the internet with Enter the Ninja.
Artist: Die Antwoord {Ninja (volcals), Yolandi Visser (volcals), DJ Hi-Tek (beats)}
Album: $O$
Year: 2009
Genre: Rap Rave
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Worth Your Time? Yes
Twitter Review: $O$ sounds unique to US listeners. Ninja and Yolandi are an exciting MC duo that complement each other nicely. Plus their videos are insane.
Top 3 Tracks:
Things to Look For:
- Ninja’s laid back lyrical delivery on Wat Kyk Jy and other tracks like $copie.
- Three Spoken Languages Intermixed: English, Afrikaans and Xhosa. Wie Maak Die Jol Vol is a great example of this.
- The ‘did he just say what I think he said’ moments of Orinoco Ninja Flow (Wedding DJs Mix) as Ninja raps over an Enya.
Low Points: When the songs slow down, Die Antwoord isn’t nearly as compelling most of the time. I definitely enjoy the upbeat tracks on the album more.
Anything Else: Check out their videos on YouTube. They are just as interesting visually as they are lyrically. Not seeing them is really only getting half of the experience.
Additional Links:
Project Lt. Morning 
I remember the first time I saw them on Letterman doing “I Fink U Freeky”, with her black eyes and not quite knowing if what they were saying was English or not. My Dad was the one who actually saw it and told us about it so we could catch it on YouTube. To this day one of us will still say, “I fink u freeky and I like it a lot” to each other.
Your dad is seriously awesome.