South African singer/rapper
Watkin Tudor Jones
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![Watkin Tudor Jones (Ninja) in 2012](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Die_Antwoord_-_Ninja_%288382415968%29_%28cropped%29.jpg/220px-Die_Antwoord_-_Ninja_%288382415968%29_%28cropped%29.jpg) Watkin Tudor Jones (Ninja) in 2012
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Also known as
| - Ninja
- Max Normal
- The Man Who Never Came Back
- MC Totally Rad
- Yang Weapon
- Destructo
- Waddy
- WAD:e
[1]
- Ninjie
[2]
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---|
Born
| (
1974-09-26
)
26 September 1974
(age 49)
Johannesburg, South Africa
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---|
Genres
| |
---|
Occupation(s)
| - Rapper
- songwriter
- singer
- record producer
- actor
- music video director
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Years active
| 1993?present
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Labels
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Musical artist
Watkin Tudor Jones
(born 26 September 1974),
[4]
better known by his stage names
Ninja
and
Max Normal
, is a South African rapper, songwriter, singer, record producer, performance artist, and director. Tudor Jones found international success as a member of
Die Antwoord
, with
Yolandi Visser
. He was formerly a member of
Max Normal
and
The Constructus Corporation
.
Tudor Jones also has had a number of acting roles, including a self-styled role as Ninja in the 2015
Neill Blomkamp
film
Chappie
.
[5]
Early life
[
edit
]
Tudor Jones was born in
Johannesburg, South Africa
in 1974.
He frequented nightclubs where he would develop his skills as a rapper. He attended Parktown Boys High where he would meet his Original Evergreen band members.
[6]
Career
[
edit
]
1993?1999: The Original Evergreen
[
edit
]
Tudor Jones was part of the South African rap band
The Original Evergreen
, which was signed to
Sony Music
.
[7]
He released one single with the group, "Puff the Magik," which was banned from radio for its controversial lyrics about
marijuana
usage. In 1996, after the track would later win a SAMA
music award
for
Best Rap Album award
, he left to release a solo album under Chameleon Records
[8]
and later form Max Normal. The band released Burn the Evidence in 1997, which caused more notoriety in the South African music scene. In 1998, the band resurfaced in
Cape Town
with a new lineup featuring
Brendon le Roux
(vocals), Sebastian Voigt (bass, programming),
Richard Bruyns
(guitar),
Stephen Trollip
(saxophone),
Phat Jack
(turntables),
Tasha Baxter
(vocals) and
Sven Mc Alpine
(drums), and played extensively in Cape Town and Johannesburg while working on a new album titled "Addictive Personalities," produced by
Warrick Sony
(
Kalahari Surfers
) and featuring a guest appearance by
Arno Carstens
(
Springbok Nude Girls
). The album was to be released on the
Sheer Sound
label. Still, it caused such uproar in the South African press due to the contents of its lyrics that Sheer Sound was forced to withdraw it and was the final chapter in The Original Evergreen story as it resulted in the band splitting up. The album "Addictive Personalities" was released in a limited run by Melt 2000 in 1999.
2001?2002:
Memoirs of a Clone
and Max Normal
[
edit
]
In 2001, Tudor Jones released his debut solo album
Memoirs of a Clone.
[9]
At the time, he was the lead vocalist of
Max Normal
, a hip hop act, which released their debut album entitled
Songs From The Mall
in 2001, which he disbanded in 2002.
[10]
Their last gig was played with
Faithless
on the group's 2002 South Africa tour.
[11]
2002?2003:
The Constructus Corporation
[
edit
]
When Tudor Jones disbanded Max Normal in early 2002, he and musician Sibot invited
Markus Wormstorm
and
Felix Laband
to collaborate on The Constructus Corporation project, which resulted in the concept album and graphic novel
The Ziggurat
,
released on 3 June 2002.
[12]
Tudor Jones asked Anri du Toit, better known as his Die Antwoord bandmate
Yolandi Visser
to lend vocals for the project. She was credited as Anica the Snuffling.
[13]
The Constructus Corporation disbanded in 2003.
2005:
The Fantastic Kill
[
edit
]
In 2005, Tudor Jones released his second solo album
The Fantastic Kill.
[14]
It was released in France in 2007 as
MC Totally Rad And DJ Fuck Are Fucknrad
under the name Fucknrad.
[15]
2007?2008: MaxNormal.TV
[
edit
]
In 2007, Tudor Jones resurrected and revamped Max Normal as the 'corporate' hip-hop group "MaxNormal.TV."
The new lineup consisted of Watkin Tudor Jones revising as Max Normal, and Anri du Toit as
Yolandi Visser
. The band also featured Neon Don playing various recurring characters and
Justin De Nobrega
making instrumentals.
The group released its debut and only album
Good Morning South Africa
in 2008.
[16]
A DVD featuring 13 skits, music videos and short films was released in the same year, titled
Goeie More Zuid Afrika.
[17]
2008?current: Die Antwoord
[
edit
]
Tudor Jones is currently a member of the South African rap-rave group
Die Antwoord
. The group was formed by Tudor Jones as Ninja, Anri du Toit as
Yolandi Visser
, and producer
Justin De Nobrega
as HITEK5000 (formerly referred to as DJ Hi-Tek and God). They have since added a second producer Lil2Hood.
[18]
Die Antwoord is part of the South African counterculture movement known as
Zef
.
The band released its 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" 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.".
[19]
They formed their own
independent label
, Zef Recordz and released their second album
Ten$ion
through it.
[20]
They have since released 3 other albums;
Donker Mag
in 2014,
[21]
Mount Ninji and da Nice Time Kid
in 2016,
[22]
and "
The House of Zef
" in 2020. As well as this, Tudor Jones played a self-styled role as Ninja in the 2015
Neill Blomkamp
film
Chappie
.
[23]
Controversies
[
edit
]
In March 2019,
Australian
musician Zheani Sparkes released a
diss track
titled "The Question" detailing an alleged sexual assault on her by Tudor Jones in South Africa in 2013.
[24]
[25]
Italian-American singer Dionna Dal Monte also accused Tudor Jones of sexual assault, which she claimed occurred at a Die Antwoord show in 2014.
[26]
In 2019, a video from 2012 surfaced, showing Tudor Jones and Visser fighting
Hercules and Love Affair
founder Andy Butler.
[27]
Tudor Jones claimed that the person who filmed the video edited it to make it seem like he and Visser were in the wrong.
[28]
[29]
In April 2022, adopted/foster son Tokkie (born Gabriel du Preez) accused Tudor Jones and Visser of physical and sexual abuse against himself and his younger sister Meisie.
[30]
City Press / News24 reported that six of the cast and crew of
Chappie
confirmed that he had "made life on set hell during filming."
[31]
[32]
In June 2022, American rapper
Danny Brown
accused Tudor Jones of attempted sexual assault against him.
[33]
Tudor Jones denies all allegations against him.
[
citation needed
]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Tudor Jones' father died in Johannesburg from a fatal shooting during a hijacking in 2000.
[34]
Tudor Jones has a daughter named Sixteen, born in 2005, with Die Antwoord bandmate
Yolandi Visser
.
[35]
Tudor Jones and du Toit also have adopted or fostered three children: Gabriel "Tokkie" du Preez and his sister in 2010, and another boy in 2015.
[36]
Tudor Jones lives in
Cape Town
.
Discography
[
edit
]
The Original Evergreen
[
edit
]
- Puff The Magik
(1995)
- Burn The Evidence
(1997)
- Addictive Personalities
(1999)
Max Normal
[
edit
]
- Songs From the Mall
(2001)
The Constructus Corporation
[
edit
]
MaxNormal.TV
[
edit
]
- Rap Made Easy
(2007)
- Good Morning South Africa
(2008)
Die Antwoord
[
edit
]
Solo
[
edit
]
- Memoirs of a Clone
(2001)
- The Fantastic Kill
(2005) (released in 2007 in France as
MC Totally Rad And DJ Fuck are Fucknrad
)
Filmography
[
edit
]
- Goeie More Zuid Africa DVD
(2008)
- Tokoloshe
(2011)
- Umshimi Wam
(2011)
- Chappie
(2015) ? features "Baby's on Fire", "Ugly Boy", "Cookie Thumper" and "Enter the Ninja".
[37]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Anything But Normal (archived)"
. Levi's Original Music Magazine. 9 September 2008.
Archived
from the original on 24 March 2010
. Retrieved
27 July
2014
.
- ^
Donker Mag (album), Raging Zef Boner (track 5), line 1 and repeated throughout track (lyrics)
- ^
"Die Antwoord to sign with Interscope, Neill Blomkamp to direct next video"
. Boing Boing. 12 March 2010
. Retrieved
6 September
2015
.
- ^
"Max Normal ? Music, Movies, Merchandise"
. 5 March 2007. Archived from
the original
on 8 December 2007
. Retrieved
6 September
2015
.
- ^
ScreenPrism.
"Why cast Die Antwoord in "Chappie"? What is Zef? Was all the obvious product placement good or bad | ScreenPrism"
.
screenprism.com
. Retrieved
13 February
2020
.
- ^
Dazed (26 February 2015).
"Yo-landi Visser's rise from hood rat to heroine"
.
Dazed
. Retrieved
13 February
2020
.
- ^
Barker, Jean (4 February 2010).
"24 Facts: Die Antwoord"
.
Channel
. Retrieved
16 February
2020
.
- ^
"The Original Evergreen"
. Discogs
. Retrieved
13 February
2020
.
- ^
"Watkin Tudor Jones Jnr.* ? Memoirs of a Clone"
. Discogs
. Retrieved
13 February
2020
.
- ^
"Max Normal"
. Discogs
. Retrieved
16 February
2020
.
- ^
Barker, Jean (4 February 2010).
"24 Facts: Die Antwoord"
.
Channel
. Retrieved
16 February
2020
.
- ^
"Ziggurat ? African Dope Records"
. Africandope.co.za
. Retrieved
6 September
2015
.
- ^
"High Energy Shit ? Die Antwoord klettern aus dem Netz ? Netzpiloten.de"
.
Netzpiloten Magazin
(in German). 27 August 2010
. Retrieved
13 February
2020
.
- ^
"Watkin Tudor Jones ? The Fantastic Kill"
. Discogs
. Retrieved
13 February
2020
.
- ^
"Fucknrad ? MC Totally Rad And DJ Fuck Are Fucknrad"
. Discogs
. Retrieved
14 February
2020
.
- ^
"MaxNormal.TV ? Good Morning South Africa"
. Discogs
. Retrieved
13 February
2020
.
- ^
"MaxNormal.TV ? Goeie More Zuid Africa"
. Discogs
. Retrieved
13 February
2020
.
- ^
"About"
.
Die Antwoord
. Retrieved
15 December
2019
.
- ^
"Die Antwoord's Totally Insane Words of Wisdom"
.
Spin
. 7 February 2012
. Retrieved
13 February
2020
.
- ^
"Die Antwoord leave Interscope, will release "TEN$ION" on their own new indie label"
.
Boing Boing
. 7 November 2011
. Retrieved
13 February
2020
.
- ^
"Die Antwoord Reveal 'Donker Mag' LP, Share New Video"
.
exclaim.ca
. Retrieved
13 February
2020
.
- ^
"Album Review: Die Antwoord ? Mount Ninji and da Nice Time Kid"
. Drowned in Sound. 16 September 2016
. Retrieved
13 February
2020
.
- ^
ScreenPrism.
"Why cast Die Antwoord in "Chappie"? What is Zef? Was all the obvious product placement good or bad | ScreenPrism"
.
screenprism.com
. Retrieved
13 February
2020
.
- ^
Oro, Roy (11 March 2019).
"What Happened with Zheani and Die Antwoord?!"
.
All Metal Everything
. Retrieved
13 February
2020
.
- ^
Baroni, Nastassia (21 March 2019).
"Aussie Rapper Accuses Die Antwoord Of "Trafficking", Sexual Abuse & More in Explosive New Diss Track"
.
Music Feeds
. Retrieved
13 February
2020
.
- ^
Bossi, Dominic (15 September 2019).
"Australian woman accuses Die Antwoord singer Ninja of sexual assault"
.
The Sydney Morning Herald
. Retrieved
5 October
2019
.
- ^
Earls, John (20 August 2019).
"Die Antwoord axed from festivals for 'homophobic attack' on Andy Butler"
.
NME
. Retrieved
13 February
2020
.
- ^
Ninja (18 August 2019).
"DIE ANTWOORD"
. Archived from
the original
on 30 September 2019
. Retrieved
13 February
2020
– via Facebook.
- ^
Norris, Chelsey (26 September 2019).
"Die Antwoord Reschedules Dallas Show Amid Controversy. We're Not Surprised"
.
Dallas Observer
. Retrieved
15 November
2019
.
- ^
van den Heever, Megan (25 April 2022).
"Blood rituals, porn & violence: Die Antwoord's 'child slave' tells all"
.
[
dead link
]
- ^
Blignaut, Charl.
"Die Antwoord's Ninja 'is pure evil'
"
. No. 3 February 2014. News 24. City Press
. Retrieved
29 April
2022
.
- ^
Cloete, Kervyn (27 February 2015).
"
"Pure evil" Die Antwoord made filming on CHAPPIE a nightmare"
.
Critical Hit Entertainment
. Retrieved
29 April
2022
.
- ^
Rettig, James (29 June 2022).
"Danny Brown Says Die Antwoord's Ninja Sexually Assaulted Him"
.
Stereogum
. Retrieved
29 June
2022
.
- ^
"Watkin Tudor-Jones"
.
geni_family_tree
. Retrieved
6 November
2020
.
- ^
"Meet Sixteen, The Daughter of Ninja And Yolani Vi$$er ? 2oceansvibe.com"
.
2oceansvibe.com
. 2 February 2012
. Retrieved
15 December
2019
.
- ^
"YOHO! MAGAZINE"
.
Die Antwoord
. 3 December 2019
. Retrieved
15 December
2019
.
[
dead link
]
- ^
JonathanBarkan (20 February 2015).
"Die Antwoord Featured in Latest 'Chappie' Featurette"
.
Bloody Disgusting!
. Retrieved
13 February
2020
.
External links
[
edit
]
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Studio albums
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Extended plays
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Mixtapes
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Songs
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Related articles
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International
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National
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Artists
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Other
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