"He is singing into a penis..."

Die Antwoord, Rye Rye Stereo Live November 1, 2010

For more photos from the show, see our slideshow here.

It was industrial, grating, disorienting, sweaty, funky, hilarious and altogether like nothing we had ever seen in our lives. The world of South Africa's Die Antwoord is a grimy, alluring place, and they brought an hour of it to Houston Monday night at Stereo Live.

Every since that first promo clip for "Zef Side" hit YouTube months ago, the group has been steadily creating a buzz on this side of the globe, tilting hip-hop heads and enchanting hipsters looking for their next musical high. We weren't immune to their charms either, watching everything we could to learn about their bit of the musical map.

When leader Ninja was asked what "the answer" meant, all he answered with was, "I don't know. Fuck." Four simple words was all he needed for his group's brand of hip-hop.

And we were sold.

Opener Rye Rye (right) is a spitfire, and her quick opening set came off like Trina thrown in a blender with M.I.A with a swirl of '70s porno-style drizzled on top. Her "Party In The USA" sample bowled most everyone over.

Live, Die Antwoord is punk rock. It's grisly, angsty, haughty, and all you wanna do is dance at any cost. Co-leader Yo-Landi, this miniature bleach blonde in gold lame pants and epic mullet, stalks the stage shaking her ass and screaming, bringing to mind a pocket-sized Wendy O. Williams or Karen O. Her flows come in a piercing, breathy, child-like clip. When she flashed her vagina to the crowd, the place exploded.

At one point from our vantage in the crowd, during "Enter The Ninja" she turned away from the crowd and we saw this demonic performance wave go over her face, like she was wrenching this extra strength out from somewhere deeper down. It's the little moments like that that sell us on an artist, when you see them working, not just for us but for themselves. A higher calling.