Much has happened in the twisted world of Die Antwoord since Vulture first made contact with the breakout South African rap-rave group in March. Most important, the duo signed a record deal with Interscope and Yo-Landi Vi$$er was offered — and turned down — a starring role in David Fincher’s remake of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. (“They contacted my agency in L.A.,” Vi$$er told us backstage after a recent show in Toronto, “but we said no because it’s not something I want to do.”)
But the two haven’t been neglecting their personal lives. Vi$$er, for one, has seen her collection of live rats grow to thirteen. “The first time I got a rat,” she explains, “it would sneak in the bed at night and crawl all over me, and I’d throw it fucking hard against the cupboard — bwah! — ‘cause I was so pissed off, and then it would come back and I’d do the same thing, I’d throw it again, and did it over and over, the whole night. I was like, Jesus, this is crazy; it’s so tough. And then I just got obsessed with them, and their tails and different colors.” Meanwhile, we’d heard that the male half of the group, Ninja, had gotten a tattoo — on his penis. “Do you want to see it?” he asked us. “I’ll show you the top. [Pulls down his shorts.] Wat Kyk Jy. It means ‘What you looking at?’” That’s brave, we volunteered. “I just really wanted it.” As to the question of whether the band is a satire, Ninja replied, “Some people are very proud of us, that we’re doing good overseas — and to other people we’re like a national fucking embarrassment. But we’re representing South African reality.”