She seemed ageless, almost species-less, a horror-movie demon doing a terrible job of pretending to be a sweet little girl.
We know now that she’s Anri du Toit, Ninja’s 31-year-old lover and mother of his child, but early on, her inscrutability was the most dangerous and disturbing thing about the group. On “We Have Candy,” he decides he’ll take a cup of hot coffee instead-“ black, like my soul.” He’s not doing much actual Ninja-ing these days, and his formerly sharp flow has dulled to a sort of Southern-rap mumble, but he’s still a hoot as long as he sticks to his strengths.Īs for Yolandi, she’s one of the most intriguing hip-hop alter egos this decade. On “Daddy,” he’s the idle, rich criminal, showing off his spoiled daughter (played by Yolandi, of course) as a status symbol. On “Fat Faded Fuck Face,” he pathetically mumbles threats through a hungover haze as co-MC Yolandi Visser screams at him to get out of bed. As the international envoy for South African “zef” culture, Ninja plays a guy who always thinks he’s a little more gangsta than he actually is. On their otherwise wildly inconsistent fourth (and possibly final) album, Mount Ninji and da Nice Time Kid, the most inspired moments come when they remember this. Die Antwoord’s most interesting aspect has always been the personalities at the center of their music.
