Die Antwoord Continue the Freak Show on ‘Mount Ninji And da Nice Time Kid’

Stephanie Hernandez

South African rave-rap phenomenon, Die Antwoord, has been mesmerizing listeners with their comically vulgar lyricism and skeletal funky beats ever since Hitting US airwaves straight from Cape Town, South Africa. Comprised of conceptual artists, Yo-Landi Visser and Watkin Tudor Jones AKA Ninja, the two struck Internet gold with their fabulously freaky hit video “Enter the Ninja” and became poster children for the South African musical sub-culture known as “Zef,” a fusion of hip-hop, electro and rave. Everything from their appearance to the their songs subject matter harkens back to the darker, grittier side of their nation’s psyche, and Die Antwoord (“the answer” in Afrikaans), were unlike anything else on the scene. Intriguing and baffling, their offbeat trailer-park rap and politically incorrect humor carried the pair through successful three albums. Now, their fourth release “Mount Ninji and da Nice Time Kid” the new material has us wondering if their discordant style may too polarizing for the uninitiated to enjoy.

Clocking in at 16 tracks, there are definitely some gems, many were previously included heard on the “Suck on This” EP. Featuring production by Cypress Hill’s DJ Muggs, God (aka DJ Hi-Tek) and the Black Goat, the tracks are roughed up, dark, twisted bangers full of Die Antwoord’s signature menace and mischief. From the club ready, “Gucci Coochie,” that features burlesque star Dita Von Teese, to the melancholy “Stoopid Rich” and the asinine humor of “Jonah Hill,” the duo clearly does not cater to the mainstream. Packed with shocking punchlines delivered with naughty smiles and middle fingers up, “Mount Ninji and da Nice Time Kid” is a pop and counter culture cesspool. Blending the good with the bad, it’s difficult to distinguish which end of the scale they are tipping towards. Bizarre features like Jack Black on “Rats Rule,” a nonsensical spoken interlude which, earlier on, might have played as refreshingly odd, now just feels tired and purposeless.

The trouble with “Mount Ninji and da Nice Time Kid” is that we’ve heard it before. Die Antwoord’s once blissfully ironic freak show has turned into mindless shtick, a cabaret of tried and true shockers designed to keep people talking. At what point does madness for the sake of itself become unimaginative and self-indulgent instead of frighteningly original? Though the duo remains a crass and eccentric force in a world of homogenized pop stars, it feels as though the two have no idea where to go next—which explains the recent announcement that they will disband in 2017 and almost immediate subsequent retraction.

“Mount Ninji And Da Nice Time Kid” is available on Apple Music Sept. 16.