Die Antwoord

Die Antwoord (which means "The Answer" in English) is a South African rap group, the likes of which I've never seen before. Never has a mullet looked so hot on a girl (or anyone, for that matter). I love their fashion, their "next-level" beats, and their rhymes.

Read more about the band's origins in this BoingBoing article that came out earlier this month, and read the mind-blowing (extremely nsfw!) lyrics to the song "Beat Boy". Their album, $o$, isn't available yet, but you'd better believe that I'll be buying it when it's out.

The video below is "Enter the Ninja", which is extra awesome because Yo-Landi is singing a version of the song, "Butterfly" from Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 3.




20 FUN FACTS ABOUT DIE ANTWOORD [from their website]

1-NINJA, YO-LANDI and DJ HI-TEK made all their music, music videos, video stings, photos, and this next-level interwebsite all on their own with the help of some good friends.

2-NINJA was in many weird rap groups before DIE ANTWOORD: The Orginal Evergreens, Max Normal, Fantastic Kill, and Total Confusion on Planet Phunk to name a few. Then one day NINJA tapped into his inner zef and discovered DIE ANTWOORD.

3-NINJA has a secret fairy forest tattoo on left arm that he covers with bass.

4-Just to clear up the rumors: NINJA and YO-LANDI are not in a relationship. They are just good friends. NINJA says: Relationships are fickle, like the relationship you are having with your body.

5-Yo-landi's mom cuts her hair, but she gets her hair dyed at SCAR HAIR. Yo-landi says: It's always important to remember your roots.

6-This next fun fact is dedicated to all the confused retard people out there who hate DIE ANTWOORD but can't stop watching their interweb videos every single fokkin day of their boring lives. DIE ANTWOORD put Puma & Jagermeister logos onto this next-level interwebsite because Puma gives DIE ANTWOORD free clothes and free shoes and Jagermeister gives DIE ANTWOORD free dop. Puma and Jagermeister did not give us money to make DIE ANTWOORD. DIE ANTWOORD was created from nothing using alot of blood, sweat and tears.

7-NINJA likes Dolfins.

8-YO-LANDI likes sexy boys with no front teeth.

9-DJ HI-TEK likes his PC Computer.

10-ZEF is a unique South African term that has been around for fuck knows how long. This term was made famous 10 years ago by a next-level interwebsite called WatKykJy.com.

11-NINJA, YO-LANDI and DJ HI-TEK started DIE ANTWOORD because of WAT KYK JY?

12-JACK PAROW is DIE ANTWOORD'S duk gang$ta kung-fu panda chommie.

13-The 1st time NINJA saw JACK PAROW'S fat rap cap he got goose bumps.

14-YO-LANDI rocks more bling than C3PO.

15-YO-LANDI's best friend is KIMPOSSIBLE who lives in Mitchell's Plain.

16-DJ HI-TEK is a shape-shifting alien from another dimension.

17-NINJA does not sit like a doos with a koki pen and draw every single one of his tattoos on in the exact same identical place every time he has to be in a photo or a music video or a rap show you fuckin idiot, or wait...maybe he does. Jissis!

18-DIE ANTWOORD are busy blowing up faster than the speed of light because they are the freshest, most futuristik rap-rave crew in the world.

19-DIE ANTWOORD raps for the Chosen Ones.

20-Anyone who doesn't like DIE ANTWOORD is a poes.

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Teal

I've been working on making lots of tiny little "chiclet" glass pieces (remember those little colorful pillow-squares of gum that you could get from a vending machine for 25 cents??). They're so fun! I just got this great new teal color, which I've been using a lot since I ran out of blue, green and tomato red. I'm waiting for more glass to come in, and I'm replacing the cyan blue with a slightly more rich turquoise color.

My question to all of you lovely people is--What should I do with them? I'm making them into earrings (for about $20 a pair) and adjustable rings (for $10-12). The larger pendants I've been making are kind of hefty, so I'm thinking maybe I could turn some of these little guys into mini-pendants for about $10. Would you like that? I can also put them on sturdy bobby-pin style hairclips.

I don't want to have too many new items, but variety is the spice of life. I'm putting a poll on the sidebar (to the right) so you can tell me about your favorite colorful accessories! Let me know what you want to see!

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Jesse Reno

Jesse Reno is another artist whose work is displayed at the salon where I get my hair cut. His paintings are colorful and energetic with a primitive feeling to them. Layers of paint and words and symbols make his work fascinating to stare at for hours on end. It's also complimentary to Lana's work, making their side-by-side displays somehow seem grander than the sum of their parts.

Maybe their work plays so nicely together because they both live above the salon, and they feed off each other's inspiration? I couldn't tell you. But I know that it's beautiful, and I look forward to sitting in that chair just so I can catch another glimpse into their artistic souls.

Check out Jesse's website for a cool video about his process and a little peak into his studio.

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Crude Things

Since moving to Portland, I've been getting my hair cut at Do! Rad Cuts and Color. They're close to my house, have comic book heroines on their signage, and their stylists know exactly what I'm asking for in a cut. What more could a girl ask for?

Actually, having something nice on the walls to look at while sitting in the chair would be nice. They've got that too!
Multi-talented doesn't even begin to describe Lana Guerra, one of the hair stylists at Do!, whose paintings and wigs are also on display around the shop. Lana's paintings often involve candy-colored nude monster-people who never seem to have the correct number of body parts. There's glitter and fuzzy fabric arranged within her collage-style paintings, giving them a sort of deranged-little-girl's-bedroom feel. They're strange and dark and creepy, but all in a fun way!

Lana apparently spends most of her working hours making elaborate art wigs (not all of them are "Hairplanes"), which I will absolutely have to have the next time I go to Burning Man!

The talent doesn't stop there though: Ms. Guerra also performs in a circus, DJ's, plays in a band, and makes life-sized puppets, doll sculptures and plush, clothing (now I want a pair of stripey bloomers!), marionettes, and probably lots more things I don't even know about. Check out her many websites for more info!

http://www.crudethings.com
http://www.crudethings.etsy.com/
http://www.myspace.com/powercircusmusic
http://www.lanaland2.com/

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