Pitbull Terrier

Die Antwoord released a video for Pitbull Terrier where they dress as bloodthirsty dogs tearing through the streets, which is basically just them being themselves. The South African group—Ninja, Yo-Landi Vi$$er, and DJ Hi-Tek—have been building this world of deliberate ugliness for over a decade now, refusing every basic aesthetic rule. Be attractive. Be likable. Be accessible. They don’t do any of that. Their whole project is making something intentionally uncomfortable.

After a while the shock wears off. You see the violence and the provocation and the crude sexuality and realize it’s not a stunt or an ironic performance from a safe distance. There’s something more direct about it, more committed. A video of them as rabid dogs terrorizing the neighborhood feels like the natural extension of their logic. This is what they do. They scare people. They disturb you. And they’ve never seemed to care if you can handle it.

It’s hard to know if that’s admirable or just interesting or kind of exhausting. Maybe they’re assholes. Maybe the whole thing is cynical. But there’s something in refusing to soften it, to make it palatable, that feels real in a way most music doesn’t anymore. They’re not trying to be liked.