Let’s start from some sort of beginning, shall we? Die Antwoord are a South African hip-hop group featuring a DJ who may be missing, an MC named Ninja (left) who may or may not answer to Waddy, and a female vocalist named Yo-Landi. According to the Ninja himself, he’s the embodiment of all various cultures in modern-day South Africa, all bundled into his hyper-kinetic, Dark Side Of The Moon-boxers-wearing, Pauly D-haircut-having, tatted-up, beating-up-the-beat body.

Yo-Landi is basically a combination of Lady Sovereign and the girl from Fever Ray/The Knife.

Die Antwoord makes furious, rave-infused hip-hop that reflects a multi-cultural, underprivileged life in modern-day South Africa. Their explicit raps are sometimes in English, and are referred to as “Zef” music, which, in Afrikaans, loosely means “redneck.” There’s also much evidence that suggests Ninja’s past life as Max Normal. There’s much speculation that the whole thing is made up by a bunch of art school kids. Meanwhile, Bizcommunity.com writer Ruth Collins suggests that Die Antwoord could be nothing more than “a calculated marketing strategy by the trio cashing in on the Afrikaans Culture coolness phenomena.” Regardless, Die Antwoord’s visuals are eerily compelling — their videos mix the aesthetic of Harmony Korine and Aphex Twin‘s haunting videos.

It’s because of these videos that Die Antwoord has become an Internet sensation, showing up on dozens of aggregation sites like BoingBoing and Buzzfeed, and garnering the group so many web hits their official site got shut down. Fred Durst likes them.

Check out the insane, NSFW videos for “Enter The Ninja” and “Zef Side.” And, to learn more, head over to Die Antwoord’s (now working) site. And seriously, is Ninja not totally the embodiment of Pauly D?

Read more here:
Who Is Die Antwoord, And Why Does A Guy Named Ninja Look Like DJ Pauly D From ‘Jersey Shore’?