91Èȱ¬

(Here isn't the video. It's sweary as heck.)

You've got to admit, even if you take out the cultural differences - the girl singing "protection" in such a thick accent it sounds more like "production" being a BIG one - this goes way beyond the scary, threatening bleakfest it seems to want to be. Even though the sung choruses are fairly eerie, we're still a long way into the gigglezone.

It's not the bragging, or the self-justification. Those are central to the hip hop experience, as any fool knows. It's the furious delivery of the (deliberately?) cheesy lyrics, hammered home as if they are nails of pure truth, piercing the armour of lies and badness, and slaying the dragon of, y'know, things which Ninja doesn't approve of.

I dare ANYONE to listen to the breakdown without at least smiling. The bit where he tries to prove that he's not a psycho by saying "but look at me now" - you've seen the video, right? - is surely worth a grin? No? OK, how about when he, in all seriousness, brags about being "all up on the interweb", like that's a knighthood from the Queen? How about when he says "don't ask for kak or you'll get what you ask for"? Just me?

OK, then how about when he stops to REVIEW HIS OWN SONG? Surely saying "this is, like, the coolest song I ever heard in my whole life" qualifies him for entry to this year's Comedy Awards? I can't conceive of a situation in which you get to do that and not have your tongue so far into your cheek, it's poking out of your ear.

Perhaps the two best clues that this is less-than-100%-serious come from the lyrical nods to Hollywood comedies. "I-I-I-I want the knife" is a joke from the Eddie Murphy film The Golden Child, and "too hot to handle, too cold to hold" is a bold claim which was last made by Bobby Brown, as part of the soundtrack song to the film Ghostbusters II.

Of course, it's possible Ninja thinks these films were documentaries, but I doubt it.

Download: September 13th


91Èȱ¬ Music page

(Fraser McAlpine)

PS: "2009: Futurista" - HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

"On the surface, Die Antwoord are simply the latest in a never-ending line of "did ya see that?!" blog-hopping music memes."

"The group emits a very unique blend of angry hip hop with a touch of rave, all bathed in Cape Town grime."

"Die Antwoord's latest video 'Enter the Ninja' has had mixed reviews, with some dismissing their work as mere lack luster parody and others lauding it as the future of South Africa's avant garde alt-pop music scene."