Zef: The Story of Die Antwoord is a 2024 documentary about the controversial South African band. It’s currently streaming on Veeps. Its main focus is the relationship between Yolandi Visser and Ninja. The documentary follows many of the familiar tropes that movies about musicians possess. Its only real stand-out moments are how it chooses to address the many allegations of racism, homophobia, and sexual misconduct that they have faced throughout their careers.
Zef: The Story of Die Antwoord does what it can to sway viewers into believing their side of the story.
Yolandi and Ninja, the couple and de facto face of the group, met in 2001 outside of a nightclub in Cape Town. In a scene familiar to anyone who has watched a music biopic, they talk about the first time they made music together. For them, it was immediately cool, unique, and the type of sound that would soon take over the world.
Their bond grew. They had a daughter together and named her Sixteen. The small family lived in an apartment complex in Cape Town’s trendy Gardens suburb, just a two-minute walk from the CBD. Home videos of a happy family are entwined with Ninja telling the viewer about his desire to achieve greatness for himself and his family. It’s the familiar story of a struggling musician who hasn’t found his sound.
Contrary to popular mythology and belief, the members of Die Antwoord do not come from the white lower-income families that their personas suggest. Die Antwoord’s inspiration to become Zef came by chance. Ninja and Yolandi were driving in Cape Town when a bakkie pulled up in front of them. A man was sitting in its back, staring at their car. Yolandi called him “Zef”. Ninja didn’t know what she meant but saw that she was attracted to him. He changes his physical appearance and convinces her to do the same.
Their edgy personas led them to create edgier music. They began working on their debut album, SOS, and their first single, “Enter the Ninja”. Again, many of the tropes of movies about artists are present. They keep saying they did not expect it to be as big of a success as it was. They say they poured all their energy and money into its production. It was, according to them, a great deal of hard work.
The movie cuts to their rise in popularity across the world through the power of the internet. It’s worth remembering that this was 2010, and virality was a far more significant phenomenon than it is now. Despite the criticisms, they did achieve something that many musicians, especially from South Africa, never did.
They are eager to show how famous celebrities endorse them. Jack Black is a surprising addition. He talks about how his “jaw fell open” when he first watched “Enter the Ninja”. Later in the documentary, we hear from Sharlto Copley – the leading actor from District 9.
Of course, once we see their rising success, struggles, and triumphs, the story can bring up many criticisms of Die Antwoord.
The first controversy is brought up by the interviewer behind the camera. It’s also the introduction to their third member, DJ Hi-Tek.
The cameraman says, “There’s a bit of a controversial thing I wanted to bring up. People say that you guys are homophobic, but isn’t DJ Hi-Tek gay?”. We then cut to DJ Hi-Tek, confirming that he is gay. This rhetoric is simple: how can they be homophobic if they work with someone who’s gay?
It’s not worth pointing out the faults here. There are many more issues to discuss, like how they justify many South Africans disliking them.
They say that the anger towards them from South Africa comes from it being a violent country. We cut to an angry Afrikaans man calling their music the work of the devil. International viewers might not realise that he’s an Afrikaans actor. The movie certainly does not make this clear. Instead, it chooses to show him as if he is a real person whose views exemplify the feelings of many in the country.
There are South African musicians that speak well of them, like the singer Moonchild. She toured with the band in 2018.
The documentary shows these tours. The period from 2011 to about 2015 was great for the band. They released songs like “I Fink U Freeky” and “Baby’s on Fire”, some of their most well-known songs. Their daughter, Sixteen, talks about how much she loved being in their music videos. I’m sure that this comment was intentional.
Much of the controversy from within South Africa – at least during this period – had little to do with the band’s personal lives. It was their shocking music videos that upset many, and it wasn’t really about the satanic imagery or the violence.
South African poet Rustum Kozain said it best when he wrote his article “Die Antwoord is Blackface.”. Ironically, this was before they used blackface in their videos and dismissed the underlying racism.
Worse, the shows from the documentary that show their daughter Sixteen in their music videos do not reflect her role in them. The documentary completely ignores that she was painted black for “I Fink U Freeky”.
I’m obviously not judging her. She was a child made to perform. I’m pointing out that the Zef: The Story of Die Antwoord isn’t being truthful about the band. It’s seeking to tell a specific story that hides what the band doesn’t want viewers to know.
Every story hides some aspects, but it’s different when the hiding appears intentional. These manipulating tactics were chosen not so much to sanitise the band but rather to write over the many terrible things people have been saying about them.
This is clearest with how they handle the allegations of sexual abuse from their adopted son Tokkie. They do not even mention that he is accusing them of this.
Yolandi says they first met Tokkie at one of their many visits to their friends “in the hood.” They helped his mom pay for his school fees and clothing. Soon, they started taking him on tours. Yolandi worries that they spoiled him because “he’s always been quite naughty.”
She goes on to say that they never could control him. So, when he turned eighteen, they stopped giving him money. Soon after, he went on YouTube “and tells all our fans that we just abandoned him into poverty.”
Ninja chimes in and says they hope he gets some professional help because they’ve done all they can.
What video? The biggest YouTube video about Tokkie is on the Wide Awake Podcast. He talks about being sexually groomed, drugged, and various other allegations. His story wasn’t just about being abandoned, so why does Yolandi speak as if it was? If she was talking about a different YouTube video, which one was it?
It’s significant that they address these allegations at the point of the story where the relationship between Yolandi and Ninja is being questioned. The two had been drifting apart for years. The de facto heart of the band is taking strain, and they must come together for the extraordinary performance that all music movies end with. And with the allegations swept under the rug, they do this.
The darkest moment comes. Their daughter, Sixteen, talks about being suicidal about her parent’s break-up. Yolandi and Ninja decide to reconcile for the sake of her. This is a great family moment that I don’t want to criticise.
With the family back together, the man behind the camera asks what’s next for the bad. Ninja says that he hopes they will start making music again and hints that he and Yolandi might finally marry. The credits roll with their song “Age of Illusion”.
My feelings after watching Zef: The Story of Die Antwoord aren’t anger or disappointment. I haven’t cared much for the band since first listening to their music in the early 2010s. It amazes me that a band that claims to be controversial and edgy would make a documentary whose primary focus was clearing their name by utilising tired and overused tropes. If they do exist, Diehard fans can use the movie to confirm that there is nothing wrong with the band. But the facts of their misdeeds are just below the narrative surface.
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Kris Van der Bijl 
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