Zef Vice

Last night I had some friends over. I was anticipating a new episode of True Life, that doc-style show on MTV that follows people based on whatever topic discussed. Last night's was I Have A Fetish, and followed a guy from Maryland with an odd foot fetish and a chick from Atlanta, GA who was a dominatrix*
*Mind you, this guy from Maryland was from Elkton, which is about 20-30 minutes away from my house in Delaware. I should look him up so he can suck on my toes. Eww foul. 

After the show was over, we sat around and watched this show that I'm becoming somewhat addicted to and I've only watched four episodes: The Vice Guide to Everything.

Described as an "online den of nefarious activity and enlightening information technology" (as stated on Google), Vice debuted on MTV earlier this year. I never paid attention to it, only seeing the commercials. It was originally a magazine from Montreal that was started sixteen years ago. I understood that the magazine used to be all about sex, drugs, and rock n' roll but has turned to traveling around the world as a way of reporting news stories. They got more into culture and politics, entertainment, fashion, the environment, among other oddities that one wouldn't necessarily know about a particular country or section of America, including the heroin epidemic & low-riding traditions found in New Mexico and a mock-up of Afghanistan in the middle of California that serves as a training ground for the military. Yes, actors dressed in burqas and talking in Pashto included. View the trailer here!

As I watched the show, the guys going into the different countries had BALLS. Not only were some reporting on peculiar practices in said countries, but they were also going behind "enemy lines" in order to get the inside scoop (i.e. North Korea, West Bank, Liberia, Libya, etc.).

Some of these places would have guards that would shoot them if a camera was seen. The documentarians often had to sneak hidden cameras in when interviewing mafia men, drug lords, or former militiamen who were oftentimes self-proclaimed cannibals.

I couldn't help but gawk for the whole thirty minutes minus commercial time. This show is nuts. But what's so great about it is that each news story they do, they show a second perspective on each topic. So it's not one-sided. These news stories make sense.

I watched as the guys went into a deserted North Korea, talked to a Russian mafia leader, hung out with a former rebel leader who turned into a Evangelical preacher in Libya (this dude used to eat people too), checked out the gun trade in Pakistan, learned how to pick up girls in Yemen, watched Mixed Martial Arts in Brazil (this was "Vale Tudo" as is "Anything Goes"), discuss Bass music in San Francisco, race stolen cars in the West Bank, and participate in a "crossing the border" re-enactment at a family-friendly amusement park in Mexico. Yeah, I kinda wish I was involved in this shit.

One of the places they also went was Johannesburg, South Africa to meet a group of misfits that are becoming popular on the music scene with their genre called "Zef." This group is Die Antwoord (pronounced 'dIe antVord'). I've heard of them from A/P/G who wore a Zef Side shirt to work orientation. For some reason I wanted to punch her in the face after I saw her with that shirt on. Anyways, the name of their group is Afrikaans for "The Answer", and members Ninja, Yo-Landi, and DJ Hi-Tek compile a unique sound of rap, some dubstep noises, and....zef?

Zef is a South African slang term for unique and modern South African style. A little bit of old and a little bit of new South Africa. High class, white trash? Possibly, but groovier. Here's their video for "Zef Side", which may help you get a better idea of this group and their sound and their personality?


There's something about Ninja's cool demeanor that makes this group so cool. They were first popular in their native South Africa then came booming onto the American music scene at Coachella and now have a sold out tour. Wow, who knew what an old PC computer can do (apparently, that's what DJ Hi-Tek uses) along with some Afrikaan rap about sex, drugs, and "whatever man, fuck."