SOUTH African rap-rave group, Die Antwoord, performed on the main stage at Leeds Festival on Saturday (August 27) and our entertainment reporter, Abi White, was drawn in by their weirdly wonderful set…
The group, consisting of rappers, Ninja and Yolandi Visser and DJ Hi-Tek, often referred to as ‘God’ first came to the music world’s attention upon the release of their 2009 single ‘Enter the Ninja’, which had everybody questioning their weird – yet strangely intriguing – sound and style.
Since the release of their first album, ‘$O$’ in 2009, they briefly became signed to Interscope Records before creating their own label, Zef Records, through which they released two future albums: ‘Ten$Ion’ and ‘Donker Mag’.
Come August 2016, the group have just played on the main stage at both Reading and Leeds Festival and are set to release their fourth studio album this September: ‘Mount Ninja And Da Nice Time Kid’.
Die Antwoord was one of the strangest things I've ever watched #leedsfest
— Henry Wood (@henrywood2142) August 30, 2016
Starting their controversial set was the track ‘Fok Julle Naaiers’, and murmurs regarding Die Antwoord’s set were heard across the campsites throughout the rest of Saturday and Sunday – some people absolutely fell in love with their outlandish set and others simply could not grasp the hype.
Admittedly, the set was a little too banal for some audience members, but many punters who were apprehensive as to if they would like the set found themselves strangely fixated and hypnotised by the set in its entirety.
The group are simply something the world has never seen before, and for seven years since the release of their first single, no-one else has been able to live up to the childlike helium vocals mashed together with electro-dance beats and rap, whilst crude cartoon imagery provides the backdrop.
As the completely black-eyed Yolandi Visser pranced around the stage with her innocent voice, husband and co-star, Ninja, shouted Afrikaans rap.
A combination that would never in a million years be put together somehow works so incredibly well, creating an almost futuristic dystopian feel.
Ninja and Yolandi Visser do not stop moving throughout their whole set – partly due to the fact that the pair have a brilliant physique.
The group covered a handful of their songs, with equally as weird song titles, from ‘U Make a Ninja Wanna F**k’, ‘Fatty Boom Boom’ and ‘Banana Brain’.
It’s hard to ignore the cartoon backdrop playing throughout the packed out set, filled with strange dancers and a bunch of costume changes, as an image of Casper the ghost rides on a phallic symbol towards the end of the set.
The camera finds a young toddler in the crowd on his father’s shoulders enjoying and raving to the nine-track set, and it raises questions as to if this toddler has already lost his childhood innocence from simply being present at this set.
‘I Fink U Freaky’ played towards the end of the set, before ‘Enter The Ninja’ closed their performance, only leaving the audience craving more of the wacky and wonderful South African group.
By Abi White
@AbigailWhiteUOS
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