Die Antwoord signs with US label
2010-03-19 10:16
Cape Town - Local "zef-rap" outfit Die Antwoord, who went from underground trend act in Cape Town to super-hot unsigned act almost overnight due to the power of viral web publicity, have signed a deal with US record label Interscope.
The signing follows a few weeks of wining and dining by the record company, with Yo-landi "rich bitch" Vi$$er and DJ Hi-Tek lunching with other famous celebrities in LA, and scoring a promise from D9 director Niel Blomkamp to make their new music video, according to blog site Boingboing.net.
The signing means that Die Antwoord will now be label-mates with Eminem, Black Eyed Peas, 50 cent, G-Unit, and U2.
"When we did the big meeting with Interscope," Ninja told boingboing.net, "Jimmy Iovine [chairman of Interscope) was telling me all about how badly their business has been harmed by the internet. I can understand that but I said, 'Jimmy, I want to give you a piece of samurai advice: Become the enemy'."
The announcement has raised a few eyebrows in the South African scene as it appears that Waddy (as he was known when he was with Max Normal) had decided to talk to international media about upcoming developments rather than sharing his news with local sources first.
Opinion in SA is divided as to why Die Antwoord have not yet made any specific local announcements to media outlets, with some local journalists theorising that US media is more likely to buy into the image that Die Antwoord have constructed around themselves.
News24 interviewed Die Antwoord the day their fame broke on twitter, YouTube and US blogs. You can read and see more of them here:
24 Facts
News24 Interview 2010