Since its 2009 formation, Die Antwoord has been something to rave about, quite literally. The South African trio, whose name means “The Answer” in Afrikaans, spins its hip-hop in a decidedly dance-club direction. The group uses electronic and techno beds underneath forthright and sexually explicit raps-both in English and Afrikaans-for a style it’s dubbed Zef. There’s a spare but exotic flavor to the 11 tracks on Die Antwoord’s new album, “$O$,” which was first released on the Internet and now comes in a spruced-up major-label version that’s noticeably polished but retains the subversive and exotic vibe of the original. Save for the seven-and-a-half-minute, Eminem-like “She Makes Me a Killer” and the trancey “Fish Paste,” the new “$O$” reprises its predecessor’s tracks. The set runs the gamut from the dynamic big beats of “In Your Face” and “Evil Boy” to the watery ambience of “Rich Bitch,” the gypsy-style stomp of “Doos Drank,” the stoner mumbles of “Wat Kyk Jy?” and the chilled-out, eight-minute-plus epic “Beat Boy,” which eventually builds into a rave-worthy beat
