Send "Die Antwoord " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 If you're unfamiliar, Die Antwoord operate on the principle of "zef," a philosophy of intentional ignorance and crassness. It's the latest in series of personas for rapper Ninja, née Watkin Tudor Jones, but even with that conceptual bent in mind, it's still hard to process Die Antwoord as an idea, especially on Ten$ion where they replace what made them sometimes intriguing and slightly subversive with tired and tropes and lazy lyrics. In some ways it's the worst of both worlds: We've seen and heard it all before, and now it's dumbed-down even further. The blunt simplicity of Ten$ion could be seen as the mastery and refinement of a fledgling aesthetic (stupid for the sake of stupid). But this is a step back. Whatever cultural interrogation Die Antwoord might have been performing with $O$-- and it was hard to tell-- is totally absent here.Die Antwoord abandoned their deal with Universal because of perceived pressure to be "like everyone else out there at the moment," and it's immediately clear from Ten$ion opener "Never Le Nkemise 1" that their sound has gotten a whole lot more...expensive. Earlier tracks like as "Enter the Ninja" and "Wat Kyk Jy?" hinted at big-room ambitions but still sounded endearingly cheap and shoddy. But "Never Le Nkemise 1" begins with a blockbuster-worthy bit of string-led melodrama and pseudo-choral vocals and quickly slams down into a-- what else?-- dubstep throwdown, all fiery blazes of scorched-earth LFO threatening to drown out Ninja's screeches of "that's why we keep it motherfucking gangsturrrrr!"...full text |
| Consequenceofsound |
| When the announcement arrived that South Africa’s rave-rap collective Die Antwoord were leaving Interscope Records, due to conflicts in creative control, it was an early indicator that their sophomore full-length, Ten$ion, would have all the same vulgarity, filth, and Zef-side as the trio’s successful debut, $o$. The move also reinforced Ninja and Yo-Landi Vi$$er’s “Full Flex” mentality, but after multiple listens to the 36-minute Zef experiment, it seems the album could have benefited from some artistic restraint. Tracks like “I Fink You Freeky” and “Hey Sexy” each showcase DJ Hi-Tek’s electro-glitch production skills and Yo-Landi’s piercing vocal delivery, but they’re bogged down by rogue choruses and abrupt tempo changes. The album’s three tracks that clock in under a minute and a half similarly distract from the flow, feeling better suited as B-sides (as in the case of the disturbing “Uncle Jimmy”), or ripped of their beats to develop an additional single (the bouncing bass and vocal-sample “Zefside Zol – Interlude” seems a perfect candidate). Production similarities between $O$ and Ten$ion continue to surface after multiple listens. The punching synths of “I Fink You Freeky” are only slightly edited from the extended run to close “Wat Kyk Jy” off of the earlier record, and the build of “Fatty Boom Boom” is reminiscent of “Beat Boy”, though the former demonstrates DJ Hi-Tek’s progressive love for sub-bass. The album is partially redeemed with the band’s ability to humorously embed re-interpretations of [once] popular lyrics into their beats. On “Fatty Boom Boom”, Ninja takes a stab at Vanilla Ice, disclaiming “now I do not want to stop, collaborate, or listen,” with Yo-landi then bringing back Eminem’s “Hi, my name is” for her own personal shout out. The most profane track, “DJ Hi-Tek Rulez”, arrives courtesy of a controversial Mike Tyson interview. And, of course, the album wouldn’t be complete without a few words reserved for Interscope on “Folk Julle Naaiers”: “Motherf**kers tell me to slow my roll, but sorry no can do?/My style is so brand new, I try to make [you] understand it.” Despite more of the foul-mouthed impish fun, Ten$ion doesn’t offer much punch or cohesive power....full text |
| Noripcord |
| What do you do when the joke's over? In the case of South African satirical rap group/shock artists/walking internet memes/"zef" pioneers the only way to go is the really (really) weird. Witness the video to Ten$ion's lead single (and grammar/spell check nightmare) I Fink U Freeky, a hideous, yet oddly exciting, melange of writhing beds of rats, deformities and children in blackface and elephant masks. Although, the other big innovation that strikes when listening to Ten$ion is that they've actually got some tunes this time; other than Rich Bitch - the most catchy bit of dead-eyed glamour this side of Lana Del Rey (yes, she's started invading other reviews now) - their debut was hardly the most entertaining of listens. In fact it was mostly flat-out unlistenable. But now the music's bold enough to live up to the band's image, just about, even if it isn't often tasteful exactly: there's something thrilling about frontman Watkin Tudor-Jones yelling "Jump motherfucker jump" over and over during I Fink U Freeky, but there's also something more than a bit House of Pain about it too (more overt, and unexpected references to guilty pleasure pop come in the form of interpolations of I Think We're Alone Now and, jaw-droppingly, Ice Ice Baby); while opener Never Le Nkemise 1 (African folk sample aside) sounds like the work of Skrillex and the immense Baby's on Fire is really only a short jump away from Vengaboys territory. If you stop to think about it. Not that this is an album that really encourages you to do that. After all, Tudor-Jones is still insisting on being referred to by his comically crap pseudonym Ninja, dropping the word "zef" wherever possible (one can't really imagine the English equivalent of a slumming-it middle class act yelling "chav" over and over again being anywhere near as charming) and his flow is still all over the place. Presumably though this is intentional as his occasional flashes of gonzo motormouth delivery show that he is capable of upping his game when he wants to. Still, if it wasn't all done with tongue firmly in cheek (as the Vanilla Ice reference confirms), then his assertion that "Now all these rappers sound exactly the same/ It's like one big inbred fuck-fest/ No, I do not want to stop, collaborate or listen" would definitely come across as hypocritical. Once again, the real appeal lies in the presence of Yo-Landi Vi$$er, his diminutive, alien-styled, helium voiced co-vocalist, who remains a brilliantly unique creation. She even manages to make the line "I think you freaky and I like you a lot" sound like a genuinely alluring chat-up line (*sighs* I wish that somebody would try and use that one on me) and a track called Fatty Boom Boom seem unassailably cool. Wisely, she's been pushed front and centre this time around....full text |
Die Antwoord lyrics Music videoclips
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