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The Internet is all abuzz with a smoking-hot new act — and this time they're South African.

Die Antwoord, a three-piece rap-rave outfit consisting of Ninja, Yo-landi Vi$$er and DJ Hi-Tek, started performing around a year ago and made their first appearance at RAMFest in February 2009.

But these humble origins have all but disappeared thanks to the magic that is YouTube and the rest of the "interwebs".

Their self-styled "zef" rap has raised more than a few eyebrows among conservative Afrikaners — and watching their music videos, it's not hard to see why.

The trio take on a "white-trash" persona, looking like they fell straight out of the 1990s. Their questionable fashion, foul language, dodgy lyrics ("Wat kyk jy? Fokol. Wat kyk jy? Poes. Wat kyk jy? Fok jou. Wat kyk jy? Jou naai") and overt sexuality make for some uncomfortable viewing moments — but their show is irresistible. (As a friend of mine put it: It's like a car accident — you can't help but stare).

And the fans are responding to it. Die Antwoord was featured on blog www.boingboing.net in early February, and within three days Die Antwoord's website — which is streaming their album — had crashed.

Their Zef Side music video on YouTube has earned over 300,000 views, and their Facebook group has ballooned to reach almost 15,000 fans.

Frontman Ninja — who used to head up hip-hop outfit Max Normal — has immersed himself in the gangster culture and language of the Cape Flats and created an undeniably unique and multicultural project.

This gangster link has drawn inevitable comparisons on Twitter to white rapper Eminem, and Yo-landi has garnered praise for her stunning vocals and edgy rapping — being placed in the same model as artists such as Peaches.

The group describes their music as "rap-rave next level sh*t", and they manage to mix in massive amounts of varying South African cultures. As Ninja himself said in an interview "Whites, coloureds, English, Afrikaans, Xhosa, Zulu, watookal — I'm like all these different things, all these different people, f***ed into one person."

And their project certainly reflects that.

What do you think of Die Antwoord? Love them or hate them? Proudly South African or an embarassment to the country? Leave your comment below!

Editor's note: I have included some of the band's videos available on YouTube. Please note that these videos contain bad language and sexually suggestive imagery ? and should not be watched by young or sensitive viewers. You have been warned.