Inside Nokia Music

Coming on 9 years ago I left the country of my birth, completely disillusioned by the state of the music industry there. Something that would ultimately lead to my permanent immigration, and to me ostracising myself of any association of what I left behind.

Ironically, just weeks before my Citizenship Ceremony, something that’s so heavily accented I would usually hang my head in shame… has now instilled a sense of homesickness in me.

Maybe it’s the realisation that throughout the years I’ve been untrue to myself, that I’ve been in denial about my roots… or maybe this is the first time that someone has taken a chance on something and nurtured it in the necessary means to make a success of it. Okay, so enough of the narrative mind-setting already, let me get to the point…

By now, surely every man and his dog has seen the “interweb” phenomenon that is Zef Side, the video interview/introduction to the next-level beats and serious gangster skills of South Africa’s Die Antwoord. What’s interesting about their sudden rise in popularity on the web world wide since the beginning of February is that due to this, most seem to have the impression it’s a spoof or viral marketing campaign for either Puma or Jagermeister as the band are sponsored by both.

I believe, though It’s obvious every word in the video is no less than a little played up and that the pretence of their origins is not entirely true, I can just about assure you they’re doing it for real and they’re not “Da Ali G of South Africa” as Stereogum reported 3 weeks ago. How can I be sure?… Well I can’t, but if you didn’t figure it out for yourself already, I’m South African and so I understand the cultural diversity and the isms. They’re a group of musicians/rappers having a little fun, that I can buy, but fake?… I think that word is just a little too strong.

Beyond the incredible album production and the astoundingly beautiful website and photo shoot, understanding the Afrikaans language would show you a whole other level. For me the charm lies in the perfect balance of all the aforementioned as well as the language toggling for the convenience of their rhymes, where in the past, South African music has failed to garner international appeal due to one of two things (in my opinion of course).

Firstly, rootsy homegrown Afrikaans bands generally only appeal to the locals who understand the language, and even in this case it’s a minority. Secondly, English speaking bands for the most part draw on inspiration from a limited flow of new music into the country. This coupled with a largely Americanised music and television influence has made bands try and be everything but what they really are (like Seether)… it would seem we’re all a little uncomfortable in our own skin. I believe it’s this warts n’ all, heart on a sleeve approach that has made Die Antwoord impossible for us to keep our eyes off… like morbid fascination at the scene of a car crash.

In a world of pop stars so perfectly polished on the verge of mannequinism, the ghetto’s ghetto realism of Die Antwoord has klapped me across the back of the head like the reprimanding hand of a guiding parent and has taught me to never forget where it is that I come from.