Yolandi Visser Explained

Background:solo_singer
Alias:Anica the Snuffling
Birth Date:1984 12, df=y
Birth Place:Port Alfred, South Africa
Years Active:2002–present

Anri du Toit (born March 3, 1984), known professionally as Yolandi Visser (stylised as ¥o-Landi Vi$$er),[1] is a South African rapper and singer. She is the female vocalist in the alternative hip-hop group Die Antwoord. Her partner in the group is Watkin Tudor Jones.

Visser appeared in the 2015 Neill Blomkamp film Chappie.[2]

Early life

Anri du Toit was born on December 1, 1984 in Port Alfred, South Africa. She was adopted by clergyman Reverend Ben du Toit and his wife, and had an adoptive older brother, Leon (d. 2015).[3] Growing up, she has said she felt like she did not fit in or belong anywhere, and describes herself as 'a little punk' who frequently got into fistfights, and listen to the music of Nirvana, PJ Harvey, Nine Inch Nails, Cypress Hill, Eminem, Marilyn Manson and Aphex Twin.[4] [5] At the age of 16, du Toit was sent to Pretoria to attend Menlopark High School, a boarding school which was nine hours away from her family's home. du Toit said that she blossomed among other creative and artistic-minded people while there.

du Toit does not know much about her biological parents, and questioned her ethnicity after a portrait artist specializing in identifying genetic history told her she has a facial structure similar to coloureds. Visser initially thought she was white, but now thinks that because she was born during apartheid, her white mother’s parents may have forced her to give her baby up for adoption, after getting pregnant by a black man.

Career

The Constructus Corporation

Du Toit was asked by Watkin Tudor Jones (aka "Ninja") to lend vocals for his project The Constructus Corporation.[4] She was credited as Anica the Snuffling.[6] The band released their debut and only album The Ziggurat in 2003.[7]

MaxNormal.TV

Du Toit was a member of the South African 'corporate' hip-hop group MaxNormal.TV, in which she played the role of Max Normal's personal assistant. In MaxNormal.TV, she went by the stage name Yolandi Visser.

In the song "Tik Tik Tik", du Toit's fictional backstory is detailed. The song claims that she was born into poverty in a large family, and eventually ran away out of boredom and loneliness. In "Option A", she meets a drug dealer, and eventually begins working for him, transporting drugs in exchange for food and money. She becomes addicted to meth, and regrets her choices. In "Option B", she ignores the drug dealer when he tried to talk to her, and instead begins working at a cafe, and rents a room there. She then is offered to join MaxNormal.TV after watching a rap show outside the cafe.

The group released their debut and only album Good Morning South Africa in 2008.[8] A DVD featuring 13 skits, music videos and short films was released in the same year, titled Goeie Morge Zuid Afrika.[9]

Die Antwoord

Du Toit is currently a member of the South African rap-rave group Die Antwoord. The group was formed by du Toit, her then-partner Tudor Jones, and producer HITEK5000 (formerly referred to as DJ Hi-Tek and God). They have since added a second producer Lil2Hood.[10]

Die Antwoord is part of the South African counterculture movement known as zef. For the band, du Toit goes by the stage name ¥o-Landi Vi$$er. She styled her hair into a bleach-blonde mullet at the start of the band, which was originally done to have an edge. She has said cutting her hair felt like a birth, and a statement of outsider and zef pride.[4]

The band released their debut album $O$ in 2009. It was made freely available online and attracted international attention for their music video "Enter the Ninja". They briefly signed with Interscope Records, and left after pressure from the label to be more generic. du Toit explained that Interscope "kept pushing us to be more generic" in order to make more money: "If you try to make songs that other people like, your band will always be shit. You always gotta do what you like. If it connects, it's a miracle, but it happened with Die Antwoord."[11] They formed their own independent label, Zef Recordz and released their second album Tension through it.[12]

They have since released two other albums; Donker Mag in 2014,[13] and Mount Ninji and da Nice Time Kid in 2016.[14] As well as this, du Toit played a self-styled role as ¥o-Landi Vi$$er in the 2015 Neill Blomkamp film Chappie.[2]

Family

Du Toit has a daughter named Sixteen (b. 2005) with Watkin Tudor Jones.[15]

Du Toit and Tudor Jones also adopted or fostered three children:

Controversies

Visser, along with her group partner Ninja Tudor Jones, have been involved in multiple controversies together.

In 2019, a video from 2012 surfaced, showing Tudor Jones and Visser fighting and hurling homophobic slurs against Andy Butler, founder of the American dance project Hercules and Love Affair.[17] Tudor Jones claimed that the person who filmed the video edited it to make it seem like they were in the wrong.[18] [19]

In April 2022, du Toit's adopted/foster son Gabriel "Tokkie" du Preez accused her and Tudor Jones of physical and sexual abuse against himself and his younger sister.[20] Du Toit's agent made a statement denying du Preez's allegations, saying "Die Antwoord don't agree with Tokkie's statements."[21]

Discography

The Constructus Corporation

MaxNormal.TV

Die Antwoord

Filmography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Band have the answer to secret of success.. IOL.co.za. Michelle Jones. 13 February 2012. 4 March 2017. 10 October 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231010155712/https://www.iol.co.za/capetimes/news/band-have-the-answer-to-secret-of-success-1233050. live.
  2. Web site: Why cast Die Antwoord in "Chappie"? What is Zef? Was all the obvious product placement good or bad ScreenPrism. ScreenPrism. screenprism.com. en. 2020-02-13. 13 February 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200213143445/http://screenprism.com/insights/article/why-cast-die-antwoord-in-chappie-what-is-zef-was-all-the-obvious-product-pl. dead.
  3. Web site: Yolandi Visser se broer sterf. article.wn.com. 6 February 2020. 6 February 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200206012744/https://article.wn.com/view/2015/08/01/Yolandi_Visser_se_broer_sterf/. live.
  4. Web site: Yo-landi Visser's rise from hood rat to heroine. Dazed. 2015-02-26. Dazed. en. 2020-02-13. 8 January 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200108201450/https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/23706/1/yo-landi-visser-dark-star. live.
  5. Web site: 2015-03-06 . Yolandi Visser . 2024-07-21 . CAROLINE RYDER . en-US.
  6. Web site: High Energy Shit – Die Antwoord klettern aus dem Netz - Netzpiloten.de. 2010-08-27. Netzpiloten Magazin. de-DE. 2020-02-13. 2 August 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210802184233/https://www.netzpiloten.de/high-energy-shit-%E2%80%93-%C2%B4die-antwoord%C2%B4-klettern-aus-dem-netz/. live.
  7. Web site: The Constructus Corporation – The Ziggurat. Discogs. en. 2020-02-13. 19 January 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200119223852/https://www.discogs.com/The-Constructus-Corporation-The-Ziggurat/release/234802. live.
  8. Web site: MaxNormal.TV – Good Morning South Africa. Discogs. en. 2020-02-13. 20 February 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210220080113/https://www.discogs.com/MaxNormalTV-Good-Morning-South-Africa/release/1636872. live.
  9. Web site: MaxNormal.TV – Goeie More Zuid Africa. Discogs. en. 2020-02-13. 8 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201108122432/https://www.discogs.com/MaxNormalTV-Goeie-More-Zuid-Africa/release/7143103. live.
  10. Web site: About. Die Antwoord. en-US. 2019-12-15. 31 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201031060020/https://www.dieantwoord.com/about/. dead.
  11. Web site: Die Antwoord's Totally Insane Words of Wisdom. 2012-02-07. Spin. 2020-02-13. 28 January 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200128202826/https://www.spin.com/2012/02/die-antwoords-totally-insane-words-wisdom/. live.
  12. Web site: Die Antwoord leave Interscope, will release "TEN$ION" on their own new indie label. 2011-11-07. Boing Boing. en-US. 2020-02-13. 2 February 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200202211858/https://boingboing.net/2011/11/07/dieantwoordleave.html. live.
  13. Web site: Die Antwoord Reveal 'Donker Mag' LP, Share New Video. exclaim.ca. en-ca. 2020-02-13. 13 February 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200213143444/http://exclaim.ca/music/article/die_antwoord_return_with_donker_mag_album_share_new_video. live.
  14. Web site: Album Review: Die Antwoord – Mount Ninji and da Nice Time Kid. DrownedInSound. en. 2020-02-13. 29 March 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190329103752/http://drownedinsound.com/releases/19617/reviews/4150414. dead.
  15. Web site: 2 February 2012 . Meet Sixteen, The Daughter Of Ninja And Yolani Vi$$er – 2oceansvibe.com . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20190702022901/http://www.2oceansvibe.com/2012/02/02/meet-sixteen-the-daugther-of-ninja-and-yolani-vier/ . 2 July 2019 . 2016-05-26.
  16. Web site: 2019-12-03 . YOHO! MAGAZINE . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20201102051045/https://www.dieantwoord.com/yoho-magazine/ . 2 November 2020 . 2019-12-15 . Die Antwoord . en-US.
  17. Web site: Earls . John . 20 August 2019 . Die Antwoord axed from festivals for 'homophobic attack' on Andy Butler . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200718172004/https://www.nme.com/news/music/die-antwoord-removed-festivals-homophobic-attack-hercules-love-affair-andy-butler-2539949 . 18 July 2020 . 9 July 2020 . NME . en-GB.
  18. Web site: Die Antwoord . facebook.com . 18 August 2019 . 9 July 2020 . en . Ninja . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20190930202234/https://www.facebook.com/DieAntwoord/posts/10157192229201971 . 2019-09-30.
  19. News: Norris. Chelsey. Die Antwoord Reschedules Dallas Show Amid Controversy. We're Not Surprised.. 26 September 2019. Dallas Observer. 15 November 2019. 16 November 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191116070724/https://www.dallasobserver.com/music/can-die-antwoord-survive-their-latest-in-string-of-scandals-11764757. live. Alternate link (single page) .
  20. Web site: Blood rituals, porn & violence: Die Antwoord's 'child slave' tells all . 2022-04-25 . Megan . van den Heever . TheSouthAfrican.com . Blue Sky Publications Ltd. . 25 April 2022 . 25 April 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220425221650/https://www.thesouthafrican.com/lifestyle/celeb-news/die-antwoord-yolandi-visser-ninja-music-children-tokkie-meisie-abuse-pornography/ . dead .
  21. Web site: Die Antwoord's Adopted Son Alleges Years of Abuse and Exploitation. Eddie. Fu. Consequence of Sound. 26 April 2022. 28 April 2022. 28 April 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220428043722/https://consequence.net/2022/04/die-antwoord-adopted-son-abuse-exploitation/. live.
  22. Web site: Die Antwoord Featured In Latest 'Chappie' Featurette. 2015-02-20. Bloody-disgusting.com. 2015-09-06. 30 March 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190330205417/https://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3333301/die-antwoord-featured-latest-chappie-featurette/. live.

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