''5'' is an EP by

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

n hip hop group,

Die Antwoord Die Antwoord (, Afrikaans for "The Answer") is a South African alternative hip hop group formed in Cape Town in 2008. The group comprises rappers Watkin Tudor "Ninja" Jones and Anri "Yolandi Visser" du Toit, a male/female duo, and producers ...

. The EP was the first official release by Die Antwoord on a major record label,

Cherrytree Records Martin Kierszenbaum, also known by his pseudonym Cherry Cherry Boom Boom, is an American music personality. As a songwriter and producer he worked with Lady Gaga, Sting, Madonna, Mylène Farmer, Keane, Tokio Hotel, Far East Movement, Robyn, Fe ...

(an imprint of

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

). It followed up on internet circulation of the album ''$O$'' and the viral "Enter the Ninja" music video, which featured on a number of high-traffic

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

sites, most notably

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. The song incorporates elements of

Smile.dk Smile.dk (sometimes written SMiLE.dk or Smile-dk, pronounced ''Smile D-K'') or Smile is a Swedish Eurodance group with Veronica Almqvist as the only current member. The band is known for many songs featured in music video games, such as ''Dance ...

's song "

Butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

", famous for appearing in the ''

Dance Dance Revolution (''DDR'') is a music video game series produced by Konami. Introduced in Japan in 1998 as part of the Bemani series, and released in North America and Europe in 1999, ''Dance Dance Revolution'' is the pioneering series of the rhythm and dance V ...

'' series. The EP features some previously released material, as well as one new track and a remix. 'Fish Paste' was released as a promo single.

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

made the entire EP available to stream on 12 June 2010.

Reception

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

magazine noted the use of both

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

and English in

Ninja A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enem ...

's lyrics, whilst also mentioning the problem this presents for people not used to his strong South African accent, but ultimately concluded that "Die Antwoord don't dispense with rap clichés – they give them a new accent that's both disorienting and thrilling".

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...

noted the fusion of hip hop with

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

, and also mentioned the presence of lyrics in Afrikaans. The generally positive review concluded that ''5'' was "a fantastic prelude to a debut; the perfect thing to get you primed for their upcoming debut, '' $O$''.", and that the EP was "a breath of fresh air and the perfect introduction to the South Africans, Die Antwoord". A review by online music retailer

Insound Insound was a discounted, online music store. Insound carried CD, vinyl, hard to find items, music accessories and merchandise. The company was located in New York, New York. History Insound was founded in 1998 by Christian Anthony, Matt Wishn ...

noted that whilst the rerelease of some tracks from the initial internet release of ''$O$'' might mute the impact of the EP, it was perhaps better that some of the hype regarding the band had died down, allowing the music to be judged on its own merits. The review concluded that 'Enter the Ninja' was 'still as infectious, fascinating, witty and beautifully trashy as ever', noting 'Wat Kyk Jy?' and 'Fish Paste' as other standouts, and observing the fusion of musical styles in a similar manner to the Consequence of Sound review ('an odd blend of rave and 90's euro-pop'). "Enter The Ninja" debuted at #37 in the UK Music Charts on 19 September 2010.

Artwork

The cover and back for 5 was shot by photographer Niel Bekker in Cape Town, South Africa.

Track listing

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:5 (Die Antwoord Ep) 2010 debut EPs Die Antwoord albums Interscope Records EPs