I saw Die Antwoord earlier this year in Brixton where they performed in a surprisingly tight venue for two packed nights. They presented 16 in between acts as some kind of angel figure and made a lot of effort to connect to the crowd to see how much rapport they still had. Ninja referred to the controversies in a rap bit about the homophobia accusations being off since their DJ is gay, and the best part in the doc is that he himself gets to clarify he did not want to hog the spotlight once the group became famous.
16 talks about her depression once her parents separated and is presented as the reason they got back together. I'm not sure what to think about her narration and the way she is used to hold the film together. The last frame is a clip of her as a toddler saying "Mommy my heart is fixed". But she is 18, old enough to make her own decisions. I hope.
Ninja and Yolandi talk in an excessively controlled and staged manner, that's not going to help to dispel the bad rep. Ninja's Jesus attire is way over the top. They mention the abuse allegations of their warden son Tokkie but he himself doesn't get to speak his piece. There is an envy narrative in rap music, told by black ZA artists in what feels like carefully staged PR. There is no comment on the sexual misconduct allegations against Ninja. It would have been appropriate to at least mention Zheanni since she reported him for assault and they can't perform in Australia because of that.
So all in all, this is a visually impressive PR piece to assist the comeback of the most wildly innovative act of the 2010s. But it doesn't comment on Waddy Jones' behavior which is OK if you think art and artist should be viewed separately. If you're a fan it's a nice companion piece, it you look for answers you won't find them here.
