Review - "ZEF: the Story of Die Antwoord"

This documentary on the South African rap group is pretty compelling as it steps behind the persona of Ninja and Yolandi, it looks at them not as the zany trailer parkers to see them as logical humans with a fair bit of self-awareness. They show how they came up from nothing to shoot their shot at the rap game their own way. They explain how their personas were created, not unlike the visages worn by Alice Cooper or David Bowie. Where the art begins and they begin as people are more clear cut, in doing this a clearer line is drawn between the facts and fiction of their career. 

If that different perspective is what you are looking for then you will find this documentary to be rewarding as it is a visually striking tapestry of that. If you looking for them to debunk the controversy surrounding them let's put it this way... a guilty dog barks the loudest. They don't feel the need to defend themselves, they just state the facts. How homophobic can they be when Dj-Hi-tekk is gay? But I've heard them yell words I don't like. Maybe you should get thicker skin along with some context. But what about what their adopted son said? Drug addicts trying to get money say lots of things

 Now in the middle of your side and their side is likely the truth, which is they admit they have not been the greatest parent to their daughter Sixteen, due to the demands of touring. There is also evidence they might have underlying mental health issues, and lack healthy coping skills as heard in how their relationship was affected by fame, but so does everyone else in the world they are just another Bozo on the bus. They certainly did not become better people moving from Cape Town to Hollywood, but who would be Los Angeles is the worst kind of trash can, it's a narcissistic hell that indulges in equal doses of vanity and false virtue. 

Ninja does recount a story about hanging with Kayne West and Travis Scott, so you might be able to connect the dots, to scumbags like Jay-Z and P-Diddy. In 2025 it's going to be clear the era of Cancel Culture is over, and the court of public opinion dismissed, the actual courts are dealing with things now, and there will be plenty of rappers brought down, but Die Antwoord, has yet to be drawn into it. If you like the persona they present while paying attention to their lyrics they are true to that persona, perhaps even saner than that. If you watch this and do not like who they are then what they do is just not for you and you might want to go back to listening to the Spice Girls.   

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