October 24, 2016
Marfa Prokhorova/for PhillyVoice
Die Antwoord plays the Electric Factory Saturday, Oct. 23.
The South African rave-rap group composed of Yolandi, Ninja (previously known as Max Normal) and God (formerly DJ Hi-Tek) played the Electric Factory on Saturday and their performance was far from the ordinary. Die Antwoord’s music is a seamless and unusual blend of various music genres; taking the key components of rap, electro, pop, trap and hip-hop. Their style is ghetto chic — freaky, raw, and unpredictable.
The crowd was similarly eclectic, including teens, parents, banana costumes, goth, business suits, grotesque masks and a couple of Teletubbies. They were all dancing and getting down hard.
The crowd went wild as Yolandi opened with “We Have Candy” from the new album, “Mount Ninji and Da Nice Time Kid.” She and Ninja never stopped moving, bouncing and dancing in front of the ever-changing images of the LED wall background. They gave us onesie-wearing backup dancers, gigantic inflatables popping up mid-show, numerous costume changes, and a crowd surfing Ninja — the audience couldn’t help but be fully engaged.
The setlist included newly released singles (“Banana Brain” and “Daddy”) as well as older gems such as “I Fink U Freeky” and “Enter the Ninja.” Radically direct, twisted, futuristic and often hilarious in their lyrics, Die Antwoord pushes boundaries and never lets your mind wander.
“Make very clear distinctions between parasites and creators
Be a creator instead of a second-hand artificial flavor
Do not concern yourself with anyone's opinion of your methods, save your own
Be three steps ahead of everyone, I promise you'll make it home”
Their unapologetic aesthetic and passion for creating art is fully expressed in their live performance. Not to be missed.
Die Antwoord plays the Electric Factory Saturday, Oct. 23.
