Die Antwoord bringing one-of-a-kind rhymes to Cosmo

Racial identities, language barriers, class consciousness and plenty more become a snarling blur via the barbed, blue tongue of a fellow named Ninja.

He’s a South African rapper and the teeth of Die Antwoord, a rap-rave trio tied to the countercultural zef movement who fetishize ugliness and a kind of anti-glamour as a way of embracing and ultimately elevating their hardscrabble backgrounds.

Ninja, who likens himself to a pit bull terrier on the group’s latest album, the thoroughly one-of-a-kind “Donker Mag,” provides Die Antwoord’s bite, his gruff, scatter-shot rhymes offset by the baby-voiced ghetto pixie Yo-Landi Vi$$er, whose breathy coo can become a prickly shriek.

Together, they embody the ethnic and socioeconomic hodgepodge of their homeland over a musical backdrop that accelerates from loping hip-hop beats to a full-on dance floor riot.

On “Zars,” for instance, Ninja adopts a variety of accents, speaking in the 11 different national languages of their native country, swearing in most of them.

It’s lowbrow and high-minded, ridiculous and infectious all at once.

“Whatcha gonna do today, Ninjy, huh?” Yo-Landi asks at the beginning of “Raging Zef Boner.”

“Same thing I do every day,” Ninja explains. “Kick some zef raps, speak to girls, try to take over the world.”

“Cool,” she replies.

Yeah, cool.

Contact reporter Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476. Follow on Twitter @JasonBracelin.