People from the music branches are often the most famous celebrities, next to actors.
Their popularity is something that is simply still the primary type of celebrities that people recognize in all parts of the world.
In today’s text we are going to talk about a famous South-African group Die Antwoord.
We are going to talk about their net worth, biography and personal life, so if you are eager to find out more about them this is the perfect opportunity.
Early years
Die Antwoord group is made out of Ninja Watkins Tudor Jones and Yolandi Visser. Ninja was born on 26th September 1974 in Johannesburg in South Africa. Yolandi was born on December 1st 1984 in Port Alfred in South Africa. Yolandi had a rough childhood and she was put up for adoption. She ended up being adopted by Local minister and his wife.
While in 2009 all South Africans were counting the days for the World Cup to arrive, a couple of friends from marginalized neighborhoods in Cape Town were encouraged, disintegrated from football and their passions, to record an album, to see what happened. The result: a free download disc called SOS and two music videos that broke it around the world: Enter the Ninja (with more than 42 million views) and Zef Side (with more than 20 million).
Thus was born Die Antwoord (expression in Afrikaans that literally translates “the answer”), the electro rap band that is, without a doubt, the greatest musical success of South Africa in recent years. Those responsible were the hitherto independent artists Watkin Tudor Jones (better known as Ninja) and Anri Du Toit (better known as Yolandi Visser). But they not only recorded together: they also became vegetarians together and even had a child together. And although they are no longer a sentimental couple, they continue to break it as Die Antwoord.
But that was only the beginning. Then comes the best part of the story: Die Antwoord came to the stage of the best music festivals without the mediation of some great label.
All at the top of their website and their official accounts on YouTube and Facebook (where they have more than 4 million followers).
Look at the posters of the best music festivals in the world and you will find the name of this pair. For the show: Hurricane Festival, Sónar Barcelona, Ultra Music, Eurockéennes and, of course, Stereo Picnic.
But where did Die Antwoord’s explosive success come from? Almost everything is due to its unique and unmistakable label called Zef. What is the Zef? It is not easy to explain, but, more or less, it is a term with which a certain tendency of the South African counterculture is known, which attracts attention for having a lot of style but little money. Zef literally means “vulgar” and is not a pejorative term.
On the contrary, it is used with pride by the working classes of South Africa. As you should imagine, Die Antwoord were the first to bring that style to music.
In the scene now, it seems that half of the people rap and the other half, electronic, when not both together. That is not why it means that they are easy musical genres.
On the contrary, standing out in such a competition is very difficult. If there is a band that mixes the electro-rap, or the zef, with whatever is in the law, or whatever you want to look like in this mix of sounds, that’s Die Antwoord.
Career path
The explosive, tribal and aggressive cocktail served by the trio can be found on the following titles “Cookie Thumper” released in 2013 and “Pitbull Terrier” (adaptation of the theme of the film Emir Kusturica, Black Cat, White Cat) which anticipates little the release of the third album.
More successful than his predecessors, Donker Mag is released in June 2014, with the participation of DJ Muggs (Cypress Hill) on a title.
The rumor of Aphex Twin’s presence in the studio had run. After a getaway in the movie Chappie (2015) by director Neill Blomkamp, the band returns to the studio and publishes in 2016 Mount Ninji and da Nice Time Kid, an album enriched by guest performances such as rapper Sven Dog, the actor Jack Black and burlesque dancer Dita Von Deese.
If you take the logic of the Internet as a gauge for pop, so the South African Antwoord should be among the most influential bands of 2010 – and only with a few songs and clever tape and video design. The principle of copying has made The Antwoord known and flushed through blogs and social networks directly and unfiltered on the screens of the generation of digital natives.
But who are The Antwoord anyway? And what is this all about? “Clumsy rap to ollie trance sounds,” writes the Süddeutsche Zeitung, not quite knowledgeable, about the style of the band, as it approaches as disgusted as fascinated the phenomenon and finally recognizes that ultimately only the supreme discipline of pop is denied: the media staging to the complete confusion of the audience.
The Antwoord is the answer in the edgy language of the white minority of South Africa. Behind this powerful hip-hop cipher are three protagonists: rapper Ninja, singer Yo-Landi Vi $$ he and DJ Hi-Tek, who are cleverly tastelessly composed pop art figures like Ali G., Johnny Rotten and Milli Vanilli.
But what nobody can foresee in the case of Die Antwoord: A test balloon of the cultural industry – behind the musicians are South African comedians – has become a real existing band because of the Internet hype. As a mixture of Deichkind, Scooter and the Flodders Die Antwoord go on tour with their millionfold clicked “Zef-Style”, in 2010 their first album “$ o $” will be released. In the case of Diplo Die Antwoord already have at least one prominent fan.
Undeniably, the band flirts in their appearance with white trash clichés, the bad taste of a white underclass. The DJ is fat and dumbfounded in the videos, Yo-Landi Vi $$ ‘s debilitating Lolita haircut is the ultimate nightmare of the satellite towns, and Ninja, with his stunted stature, poorly tattooed teeth and gold teeth, epitomizes the rude rapper-prank.
This alleged social under privileged is thwarted – amputated wheelchair users and the prostitute artist Leon Botha are shown out of their ghetto world – in the first videos for “Zefside” and “Enter The Ninja” with a pierced HD video clip aesthetic, which also Pop art, hip-hop style and pop quotes like a “Dark Side Of The Moon” boxer shorts.
The following long-playing debut “$ O $” convinces with varieties of the citation circus and catchy songs. Between art and trash, there is a well-produced album that continues the high quality of the videos.
The hype ebbs, The Antwoord remain active. In the summer of 2011 they will be touring Linkin Park, and at the beginning of 2012 they will present their second album “Ten $ ion” with no less ambiguity. Optics and slang take some getting used to, but the tracks prove to be creepy and functional at times, as is the third episode “Donker Mag”, which follows again two years later. The style has not changed.
In 2015, the successful sci-fi movie “Chappie” will be released in cinemas, starring Yo-Landi and Ninja and proving their good acting talent after the 2010 short film “Umshini Warm”.
Then the band denies a series of festival and live performances and brings under the name “Zef Zol” its own cannabis product range on the market. The mix tape “Suck on This” and the studio record “Mount Ninji and Da Nice Time Kid” 2016 expand the sound to include Trap and EDM elements, but remain true to the musical principles of the band.
When it comes to the net worth of Die Antwoord’s members, Ninja and Visser have 10$ million each. The band itself has a net worth of staggering 3.5$ million.
Both of them are doing quite well in the music industry and are still listened to all around the world. They are one of the rare groups from South Africa who have managed to make such a big success overseas, which only speaks of their popularity and talent.
Personal life
In 2019, a lot of controversy sparked up in relations to the Die Antwoord. According to allegations that were made by a young women, Ninja, one of the members of the group, sexually assaulted her and performed satanic rituals on her.
These allegations went on without any condemnation towards Ninja, so the public concluded that there weren’t enough evidence to support these claims. In 2017, there were also rumors that the band is splitting up, but they continue on to perform together so this is probably just a rumor.
Besides being successful as a band, Yolandi and Ninja have also functioned well together as a couple. They have one child together called Sixteen Jones, and their private life seems to be in perfect order, despite many different rumors.
Undeniably, the band flirts in their appearance with white trash clichés, the bad taste of a white underclass. The DJ is fat and dumbfounded in the videos, Yo-Landi Vi $$ ‘s debilitating Lolita haircut is the ultimate nightmare of the satellite towns, and Ninja, with his stunted stature, poorly tattooed teeth and gold teeth, epitomizes the rude rapper-prank.
Before Yolandi became a member of the Die Antwoord, she was a part of the Constructus Corporation which is a music and art group. Before Antwoord, she also was in MaxNormalTV group. The couple founded the group as a rebellion against the system, and to point out to the marginalized people in this country.
Even though the group is currently not publishing anything new, this doesn’t mean their creative cycle is over. They have plenty of time to come up with some new catchy tunes that will win over hearts of many around the globe.
They are definitely one of the better known South African artists and their popularity is something that is present all around the globe, no matter which country we look at.
Quick summary
Full name: Die Antwoord
Date of birth: 2008
Birthplace: Cape Town, South Africa
Age:
Profession: Hip Hop Group
Height:
Weight:
Net Worth: 3.5$ million