The group portrays themselves as straight from the ghetto, often doing interviews inside of single wide trailers and bombed out slums. Their music features hits such as "Rich Bitch" and "Jou Ma Se Poes in 'n Fishpaste Jar" (your mother's vagina in a fishpaste jar). The music is part nerd, part underdog, and part ghetto pride. But their gutter image has been under fire lately as listeners learn about their past alter egos that are less than tough. For those that don't mind KISS in makeup or most rappers pretending to be hard for the sake of selling records, you can get over the individual behind closed doors and enjoy the entertaining persona on stage. I agree with this article, "I’m sure for some reason everyone would have liked it better if they were actually borderline mentally-retarded Poor Children from Ghettos covered in Generic Cheetoes Dust and Meth Crumbs or whatever, but none of these new revelations makes what they are doing any less great."
DA rap in English and Afrikaan, making the music both accessible yet culturally unique to South Africa. The group tried borrowing from American hip-hop for years before they decided to draw instead from locale flavors. They come forward, all fists and teeth, rapping about South African ghettos, relying colloquial terms like "zef" (hip, fresh, S. African style). Though front man Ninja looks like a poor man's Vanilla Ice but his lyrics are catchier and he's got better flow, even if his material is often juvenile, referring to video games and fantasy worlds. The groups first single, "Enter the Ninja," lays the ground work for what to expect:
I'm a ninja, yo
My life is like a video game
I maintain when I'm in the zone
One player, one life, I'm on the mic, limited time, yo Ninja go!
If you listen to this song twice, the falsetto chorus sang by Yo-Landi Visser will stick in your head for days, for better or for worse.
Aii Aii Ai
I am your butterfly
I need your protection
I need my samurai
Aii Aii Ai
I need your protection
Need your protection
DA has recently hit the US via festivals such as Virgin Mobile. They'll be in DC on 10/27 at the 930 Club. If you're curious, here's a good introduction to the group:
That dessicated old man in the "enter the ninja" video...wtf.
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