WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.940 Imagine giving away your entire life's work for 00:00:03.940 --> 00:00:05.759 free on the internet. Right, just completely 00:00:05.759 --> 00:00:08.820 free. Exactly. Like, if you walked into a traditional 00:00:08.820 --> 00:00:12.160 music executive's office back in, say, 2008 or 00:00:12.160 --> 00:00:15.759 2009 and pitched that idea, they would have laughed 00:00:15.759 --> 00:00:17.539 you out of the building. Whoa, absolutely. They 00:00:17.539 --> 00:00:19.239 would have called it financial suicide. Yeah, 00:00:19.320 --> 00:00:21.719 you just didn't do that. Yeah. But for a completely 00:00:21.719 --> 00:00:26.170 unknown... bizarrely aggressive South African 00:00:26.170 --> 00:00:29.329 rap rave group, it wasn't suicide at all. No, 00:00:29.350 --> 00:00:32.350 it was actually a trap. Yes, it was a trap. And 00:00:32.350 --> 00:00:34.509 they essentially got the entire global music 00:00:34.509 --> 00:00:38.090 industry right in it. So welcome to the Deep 00:00:38.090 --> 00:00:40.630 Dive. Thanks for having me. Today, we are exploring 00:00:40.630 --> 00:00:43.409 a project that practically defines industry disruption 00:00:43.409 --> 00:00:46.570 for you guys. We're looking at the debut studio 00:00:46.570 --> 00:00:49.509 album by Die Ant Word. Such a fascinating case 00:00:49.509 --> 00:00:51.850 study. It really is. The album is called S .O 00:00:51.850 --> 00:00:54.109 .S., stylized with dollar signs. So, you know, 00:00:54.189 --> 00:00:56.189 dollar sign, oh dollar sign. And our mission 00:00:56.189 --> 00:00:58.829 today is to explore the anatomy of a viral debut. 00:00:59.049 --> 00:01:01.409 Right, like how a project that started as a completely 00:01:01.409 --> 00:01:04.090 free internet stream just morphed. Morphed into 00:01:04.090 --> 00:01:07.069 this heavily debated, multi -format, major label 00:01:07.069 --> 00:01:09.849 beast. It really serves as a remarkable blueprint 00:01:09.849 --> 00:01:12.530 for anyone interested in modern media, honestly. 00:01:12.810 --> 00:01:15.209 Totally. And just so you, the listener, know 00:01:15.209 --> 00:01:16.750 where we're pulling our insights from today, 00:01:16.890 --> 00:01:18.790 we're going straight to the Wikipedia archives. 00:01:19.310 --> 00:01:21.950 We're looking at the details of the album's release 00:01:21.950 --> 00:01:24.989 history. It's notoriously confusing track lists, 00:01:25.329 --> 00:01:29.049 and it's... polarizing critical reception. Which 00:01:29.049 --> 00:01:30.810 is a polite way of saying the reviews were all 00:01:30.810 --> 00:01:32.530 over the place. Oh, completely all over the place. 00:01:32.650 --> 00:01:34.989 But to set the stage here, this album was recorded 00:01:34.989 --> 00:01:38.510 between 2008 and 2009. Right. And we are talking 00:01:38.510 --> 00:01:42.310 about a hybrid of alternative hip hop, rave culture, 00:01:42.769 --> 00:01:46.060 and electronica. It completely bypassed the traditional 00:01:46.060 --> 00:01:48.420 gatekeepers of the era. It had to, really. That 00:01:48.420 --> 00:01:50.299 kind of sound wasn't getting past a traditional 00:01:50.299 --> 00:01:53.700 A &R guy in 2008. Exactly. But before we get 00:01:53.700 --> 00:01:56.180 into what this massive album became globally, 00:01:56.819 --> 00:01:58.879 we really need to look at how it started. Because 00:01:58.879 --> 00:02:02.950 that origin story changes everything. Yeah, the 00:02:02.950 --> 00:02:05.290 origin is fundamentally tied to a very specific 00:02:05.290 --> 00:02:07.790 era of the internet. It was this window where 00:02:07.790 --> 00:02:10.090 geography was suddenly becoming totally irrelevant 00:02:10.090 --> 00:02:12.810 for independent artists. Right, because you didn't 00:02:12.810 --> 00:02:15.349 need a physical distributor anymore. Exactly. 00:02:15.810 --> 00:02:18.830 Die Antwoord initially released SOS strictly 00:02:18.830 --> 00:02:21.689 as an internet -only project. They made the entire 00:02:21.689 --> 00:02:24.729 album available to stream entirely for free right 00:02:24.729 --> 00:02:27.069 on their website. No paywall, nothing. Nothing. 00:02:27.110 --> 00:02:29.150 There was no label backing them. There were no 00:02:29.150 --> 00:02:32.639 physical CDs being shipped to, like, big box 00:02:32.639 --> 00:02:35.099 stores, it was simply a direct -to -consumer 00:02:35.099 --> 00:02:37.580 offering. Which, I mean, that feels commonplace 00:02:37.580 --> 00:02:39.500 to you and me now, right? Oh sure, everyone does 00:02:39.500 --> 00:02:42.580 it now. But back then, it was a wildly confident 00:02:42.580 --> 00:02:44.680 move. And they weren't just throwing audio files 00:02:44.680 --> 00:02:47.360 into the void either. They were building an incredibly 00:02:47.360 --> 00:02:51.319 specific, highly visual world. The visuals were 00:02:51.319 --> 00:02:53.539 arguably just as important as the audio. Totally. 00:02:53.900 --> 00:02:55.840 Like, they dropped a music video for the track 00:02:55.840 --> 00:03:00.699 Wattpomp in June of 2009. But the massive, undeniable 00:03:00.699 --> 00:03:04.340 catalyst was the track Enter the Ninja. That 00:03:04.340 --> 00:03:06.699 video just exploded on YouTube. It was everywhere. 00:03:06.919 --> 00:03:08.960 It really was. And it didn't even get an official 00:03:08.960 --> 00:03:12.020 release until August of 2010. But by September, 00:03:12.520 --> 00:03:16.139 this incredibly strange underground South African 00:03:16.139 --> 00:03:19.659 rave rap track debuted at number 37 on the UK 00:03:19.659 --> 00:03:23.180 music charts. That is just wild for an independent, 00:03:23.599 --> 00:03:26.740 unsigned group. Insane. And they followed that 00:03:26.740 --> 00:03:29.740 up with promotional singles like Fish Paste and 00:03:29.740 --> 00:03:32.879 Beat Boy, just to keep the momentum going. Well, 00:03:32.900 --> 00:03:35.860 we have to remember how early YouTube virality 00:03:35.860 --> 00:03:38.000 functioned compared to today. Right. It was a 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:40.759 totally different beast. Completely. Right now, 00:03:41.139 --> 00:03:43.340 algorithms on platforms like TikTok, they kind 00:03:43.340 --> 00:03:46.039 of spoon feed content to you based on your established 00:03:46.039 --> 00:03:48.240 preferences. Yeah, the algorithm does the work. 00:03:48.300 --> 00:03:51.840 But in 2009, YouTube was driven by organic peer 00:03:51.840 --> 00:03:54.099 -to -peer sharing. Oh, yeah. Like sending links 00:03:54.099 --> 00:03:57.400 and emails or on Facebook walls. Exactly. A video 00:03:57.400 --> 00:04:00.259 like Enter the Ninja, it basically weaponized 00:04:00.259 --> 00:04:03.659 visual and auditory conf... The viewer couldn't 00:04:03.659 --> 00:04:05.560 immediately tell if it was an elaborate joke 00:04:05.560 --> 00:04:07.599 or maybe a piece of avant -garde performance 00:04:07.599 --> 00:04:10.610 art or just genuine madness. Right. You're sitting 00:04:10.610 --> 00:04:12.569 there like, what am I even watching? And that 00:04:12.569 --> 00:04:15.389 confusion forces a reaction. You send the link 00:04:15.389 --> 00:04:18.209 to a friend simply to ask, what am I looking 00:04:18.209 --> 00:04:20.149 at right now? OK, let's unpack this for a second. 00:04:20.290 --> 00:04:22.790 It's essentially the tech startup freemium model 00:04:22.790 --> 00:04:24.870 applied to the music industry. Oh, that's a great 00:04:24.870 --> 00:04:27.670 way to put it. Right. Because they gave away 00:04:27.670 --> 00:04:31.389 the core product, the album, stream entirely 00:04:31.389 --> 00:04:35.160 for free. And that allowed them to build a rabid 00:04:35.160 --> 00:04:38.180 global user base purely on the strength of their 00:04:38.180 --> 00:04:40.980 own weirdness. And they did all of that before 00:04:40.980 --> 00:04:43.279 they ever tried to ask anyone for money or sell 00:04:43.279 --> 00:04:45.779 a physical disc. And the leverage that creates 00:04:45.779 --> 00:04:48.420 is immense. I mean, historically, the power dynamic 00:04:48.420 --> 00:04:50.540 in the music industry was entirely one sided. 00:04:50.639 --> 00:04:52.740 The labels held all the cards. Exactly. An artist 00:04:52.740 --> 00:04:55.490 goes to a record label begs for funding to record 00:04:55.490 --> 00:04:57.550 an album, and then totally relies on the label's 00:04:57.550 --> 00:05:00.129 machinery to build an audience through radio 00:05:00.129 --> 00:05:02.189 and MTV. Yeah, you needed their permission to 00:05:02.189 --> 00:05:05.829 be famous. Right. But by utilizing this internet 00:05:05.829 --> 00:05:09.269 -first freemium approach, Die Antwoord built 00:05:09.269 --> 00:05:12.310 a metric -backed viral presence on their own. 00:05:13.069 --> 00:05:15.509 Millions of views and global chart traction on 00:05:15.509 --> 00:05:18.170 an independent release completely flips the dynamic. 00:05:18.269 --> 00:05:20.509 It forces the major labels to travel to the artist. 00:05:20.670 --> 00:05:23.490 Yes. The artist suddenly holds the cards. What's 00:05:23.490 --> 00:05:26.149 fascinating here is how this strategy upended 00:05:26.149 --> 00:05:28.930 the traditional industry model entirely. But 00:05:28.930 --> 00:05:31.790 building that massive free digital footprint 00:05:31.790 --> 00:05:35.709 created an immediate physical problem. Oh, a 00:05:35.709 --> 00:05:38.089 huge problem. Because when the gatekeepers finally 00:05:38.089 --> 00:05:41.029 came knocking, Di Antwerp ended up signing with 00:05:41.029 --> 00:05:43.389 Interscope Records and Cherry Tree in the US. 00:05:43.550 --> 00:05:46.209 Right, the big leagues. Yeah. So now corporate 00:05:46.209 --> 00:05:48.769 backing is involved. Yeah. And they have to answer 00:05:48.769 --> 00:05:52.730 this seemingly impossible question. How do you 00:05:52.730 --> 00:05:56.709 convince a newly acquired rabid fan base to spend 00:05:56.709 --> 00:06:00.110 $15 on a physical CD that they've already been 00:06:00.110 --> 00:06:02.509 streaming for free for over a year? It's a tough 00:06:02.509 --> 00:06:05.449 pitch. It really is. And that is where the album 00:06:05.449 --> 00:06:07.850 had to physically mutate. Because the transition 00:06:07.850 --> 00:06:10.129 from an independent internet phenomenon to a 00:06:10.129 --> 00:06:12.870 global physical product, it requires a completely 00:06:12.870 --> 00:06:15.329 different architectural strategy. You can't just 00:06:15.329 --> 00:06:17.730 burn a CDR. No, you can't just press the free 00:06:17.730 --> 00:06:20.430 mp3s onto a piece of plastic and expect a massive 00:06:20.430 --> 00:06:22.949 return on investment. the label needs something 00:06:22.949 --> 00:06:25.790 more. Which perfectly explains the track list 00:06:25.790 --> 00:06:28.529 alterations. Because following the Interscope 00:06:28.529 --> 00:06:30.769 signing, they announced a physical re -release 00:06:30.769 --> 00:06:33.730 of S .O .S., but the track listing was completely 00:06:33.730 --> 00:06:35.629 different. It wasn't just a reshuffle either. 00:06:35.910 --> 00:06:38.389 No, they actually brought in superstar producer 00:06:38.389 --> 00:06:41.110 Diplo. They had him produce a brand new track 00:06:41.110 --> 00:06:44.889 called Evil Boy, specifically for this re -release. 00:06:44.990 --> 00:06:47.569 They even dropped a promo video for it in October 00:06:47.569 --> 00:06:50.790 2010. Adding a producer with that level of global 00:06:50.790 --> 00:06:53.930 cultural cachet is a highly calculated move by 00:06:53.930 --> 00:06:55.990 the label. See, here's where it gets really interesting 00:06:55.990 --> 00:06:58.230 for me. And I'm struggling with this Diplo addition 00:06:58.230 --> 00:07:01.370 a bit. How so? Well, you have a group that built 00:07:01.370 --> 00:07:06.769 their entire brand on being raw, weird, and fiercely 00:07:06.769 --> 00:07:09.490 anti -establishment. They conquered the internet 00:07:09.490 --> 00:07:12.290 by being abrasive. True. So bringing in a highly 00:07:12.290 --> 00:07:15.709 polished mainstream American producer like Diplo. 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:18.720 It kind of feels like a massive sellout, doesn't 00:07:18.720 --> 00:07:21.079 it? Weren't they instantly compromising the very 00:07:21.079 --> 00:07:23.199 independent vision that made them famous in the 00:07:23.199 --> 00:07:25.199 first place? I get why you'd think that. It definitely 00:07:25.199 --> 00:07:27.060 looks like a compromise on the surface. But if 00:07:27.060 --> 00:07:29.379 we connect this to the bigger picture, it's actually 00:07:29.379 --> 00:07:31.740 a brilliant adaptation to the economics of the 00:07:31.740 --> 00:07:33.899 physical music market. OK, walk me through that. 00:07:34.199 --> 00:07:36.639 Well, major labels often feel a need to add a 00:07:36.639 --> 00:07:39.319 shiny new feature to justify selling a physical 00:07:39.319 --> 00:07:42.000 product that people have already heard. But more 00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:44.740 importantly, Diplo functions as a cultural translator 00:07:44.740 --> 00:07:47.399 here. A cultural translator? Yeah, he was already 00:07:47.399 --> 00:07:50.040 a massive tastemaker in global electronic and 00:07:50.040 --> 00:07:52.579 club music at that time. His production acts 00:07:52.579 --> 00:07:56.470 as a bridge. It translates this very raw localized 00:07:56.470 --> 00:07:59.290 South African sound into an auditory language 00:07:59.290 --> 00:08:02.209 that American club DJs and broader radio markets 00:08:02.209 --> 00:08:05.029 can actually digest. Ah, I see. So it's not selling 00:08:05.029 --> 00:08:07.269 out. It's scaling up. Exactly. It's the record 00:08:07.269 --> 00:08:09.910 label ensuring their financial investment has 00:08:09.910 --> 00:08:12.750 the infrastructure to scale globally. So Evil 00:08:12.750 --> 00:08:15.350 Boy is essentially the expansion pack designed 00:08:15.350 --> 00:08:18.689 to sell the core game. That's a perfect analogy. 00:08:18.970 --> 00:08:21.009 But the crazy thing is the album didn't just 00:08:21.009 --> 00:08:23.920 expand, it shattered. Depending on where you 00:08:23.920 --> 00:08:26.040 lived in the world or even what digital storefront 00:08:26.040 --> 00:08:28.360 you clicked on, you're getting a completely different 00:08:28.360 --> 00:08:31.199 version of SOS. The fragmentation of this album 00:08:31.199 --> 00:08:34.120 is one of its most fascinating aspects. It perfectly 00:08:34.120 --> 00:08:36.480 illustrates how different regional markets require 00:08:36.480 --> 00:08:38.919 different variations of the same product to succeed. 00:08:39.259 --> 00:08:41.980 It's like buying a car. But the steering wheel 00:08:41.980 --> 00:08:43.700 is on a completely different side, depending 00:08:43.700 --> 00:08:46.039 on whether you bought it online, in a US store, 00:08:46.179 --> 00:08:48.919 or in South Africa. Yes. Let's break down the 00:08:48.919 --> 00:08:51.720 psychology and business of that regional distribution. 00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:54.179 OK. Let's look at the original digital release 00:08:54.179 --> 00:08:56.639 first. This is the version that started it all 00:08:56.639 --> 00:09:01.220 online. It is a sprawling 18 tracks. clocking 00:09:01.220 --> 00:09:04.500 in at 68 minutes long. It's dense. Very dense. 00:09:05.080 --> 00:09:07.279 It features a host of guests who are massive 00:09:07.279 --> 00:09:09.320 figures in the South African counterculture. 00:09:09.679 --> 00:09:12.860 People like Jack Parrow, Folkof Polisikar, and 00:09:12.860 --> 00:09:15.799 Scallywag. It even ends with a remix called the 00:09:15.799 --> 00:09:19.590 Orinoco Ninja Flow. It's a deeply immersive cultural 00:09:19.590 --> 00:09:21.789 document. You can really view that 18 -check 00:09:21.789 --> 00:09:25.110 version as the director's cut. It is the uncompromised 00:09:25.110 --> 00:09:28.769 artistic vision, loaded with local cultural touchstones, 00:09:29.169 --> 00:09:31.909 slang, and a very specific regional pacing. But 00:09:31.909 --> 00:09:33.590 then you look at the American physical release 00:09:33.590 --> 00:09:35.830 on CD, and Interscope basically took a machete 00:09:35.830 --> 00:09:37.590 to it. They really did. They stripped it all 00:09:37.590 --> 00:09:39.309 the way down to just ten tracks. They cut almost 00:09:39.309 --> 00:09:41.649 half the album. And why strip out local skits 00:09:41.649 --> 00:09:44.110 for the US market? Because of pacing. Right. 00:09:44.350 --> 00:09:47.190 And the strangest part of this whole US release... 00:09:46.889 --> 00:09:50.049 is the final track. It's a song called Dew's 00:09:50.049 --> 00:09:53.750 Drunk. On the American CD, this song suddenly 00:09:53.750 --> 00:09:56.710 balloons to a massive 12 minutes and 52 seconds. 00:09:56.769 --> 00:09:59.450 Oh, this is the best part. It's wild. The reason 00:09:59.450 --> 00:10:01.769 it's so long is that they took a separate song 00:10:01.769 --> 00:10:04.850 called S .O .S., which was its own standalone 00:10:04.850 --> 00:10:07.970 track on the 18 -track digital version, and they 00:10:07.970 --> 00:10:10.909 buried it as a hidden track starting at the 8 00:10:10.909 --> 00:10:13.759 -minute and 52 -second mark of Dew's Drunk. And 00:10:13.759 --> 00:10:16.320 why hide a track inside a 12 -minute song on 00:10:16.320 --> 00:10:19.580 a CD? The psychology driving that American track 00:10:19.580 --> 00:10:22.179 list is entirely based on market testing. How 00:10:22.179 --> 00:10:25.210 so? Well, for a US audience that... completely 00:10:25.210 --> 00:10:28.250 lacks the cultural context or the Africans language 00:10:28.250 --> 00:10:30.129 required to understand the deep cuts and the 00:10:30.129 --> 00:10:32.710 guest features, a 68 -minute album is going to 00:10:32.710 --> 00:10:34.669 feel bloated. It's just too much weirdness at 00:10:34.669 --> 00:10:36.929 once. Exactly. It asks too much of a new listener. 00:10:37.370 --> 00:10:39.669 By stripping it down to 10 tracks, Interscope 00:10:39.669 --> 00:10:41.750 created a much tighter, more adrenaline -fueled 00:10:41.750 --> 00:10:43.970 experience. It's designed to hook a completely 00:10:43.970 --> 00:10:45.629 new demographic without giving them a chance 00:10:45.629 --> 00:10:48.049 to get bored. But the physical release in South 00:10:48.049 --> 00:10:50.309 Africa tells a totally different story. It does. 00:10:50.539 --> 00:10:52.899 If you bought the CD there, you got 16 tracks. 00:10:53.779 --> 00:10:56.620 It intentionally retained these specific atmospheric 00:10:56.620 --> 00:10:59.980 skits between the songs. Tracks named Whatever 00:10:59.980 --> 00:11:03.240 Man, My Best Friend, and Pretty Woman. Because 00:11:03.240 --> 00:11:06.080 it's less like buying a standard pop album and 00:11:06.080 --> 00:11:09.059 more like translating a highly complex, culturally 00:11:09.059 --> 00:11:11.500 specific joke. Right, you need the context. Yeah. 00:11:11.799 --> 00:11:13.580 For the local South African audience, you leave 00:11:13.580 --> 00:11:16.649 the punchlines in their native slang. Those skits 00:11:16.649 --> 00:11:19.429 provide necessary world -building and in -jokes 00:11:19.429 --> 00:11:21.769 that a local audience inherently understands. 00:11:21.889 --> 00:11:23.409 You don't need to streamline it for the people 00:11:23.409 --> 00:11:26.049 who already speak the language. Exactly. But 00:11:26.049 --> 00:11:28.690 for the American big -box store audience, Interscope 00:11:28.690 --> 00:11:30.909 acted like an aggressive editor, cutting out 00:11:30.909 --> 00:11:33.590 the inside jokes to turn it into a fast -paced 00:11:33.590 --> 00:11:36.230 10 -track action movie. And the customization 00:11:36.230 --> 00:11:38.649 didn't even stop at physical geography, which 00:11:38.649 --> 00:11:41.309 is crazy to me. The digital platforms were just 00:11:41.309 --> 00:11:44.129 as fragmented. Oh, the platform quirks are fascinating. 00:11:44.879 --> 00:11:47.799 the album on the US iTunes store. They separated 00:11:47.799 --> 00:11:50.019 that hidden track S .O .S. so it stood alone 00:11:50.019 --> 00:11:52.840 again. On top of that, they added three bonus 00:11:52.840 --> 00:11:56.600 tracks. Just for iTunes. For iTunes. And one 00:11:56.600 --> 00:11:59.419 of those was an alternate mix of the Diplo track, 00:11:59.740 --> 00:12:02.580 Evil Boy, which was subtly subtitled the Fuck 00:12:02.580 --> 00:12:05.519 You in the Face mix. Naturally. Naturally. And 00:12:05.519 --> 00:12:08.019 that specific mix was notably absent from the 00:12:08.019 --> 00:12:10.559 physical CD you would buy at an American retailer 00:12:10.559 --> 00:12:13.799 like Target. or Walmart. Meanwhile, if you pull 00:12:13.799 --> 00:12:16.480 up the album on Spotify today, you get an 11 00:12:16.480 --> 00:12:19.100 -track, 53 -minute version. See, the music was 00:12:19.100 --> 00:12:21.240 no longer a fixed piece of art. It had become 00:12:21.240 --> 00:12:24.039 a highly fluid piece of content. Yeah, it's just 00:12:24.039 --> 00:12:26.019 adapting to whatever container you pour it into. 00:12:26.220 --> 00:12:28.799 The record label was actively optimizing the 00:12:28.799 --> 00:12:31.000 track list for the specific distribution channel. 00:12:31.379 --> 00:12:33.899 I mean, iTunes relies on incentivizing users 00:12:33.899 --> 00:12:36.259 to buy the deluxe digital version with exclusive 00:12:36.259 --> 00:12:39.059 bonus tracks. Big sense. And big box retail stores 00:12:39.059 --> 00:12:41.399 require a physical CV that doesn't offend their 00:12:41.399 --> 00:12:43.759 corporate buyers, which is why the more explicit 00:12:43.759 --> 00:12:46.460 or bizarre elements are either hidden or removed 00:12:46.460 --> 00:12:49.679 entirely. You are literally watching the commercialization 00:12:49.679 --> 00:12:52.559 of a viral phenomenon happen in real time. Which 00:12:52.559 --> 00:12:55.240 brings us to the ultimate question. When you 00:12:55.240 --> 00:12:58.200 take this abrasive viral internet phenomenon, 00:12:58.940 --> 00:13:01.059 mutate it into a dozen different tracklists, 00:13:01.519 --> 00:13:03.320 and push it through the major label machinery, 00:13:04.100 --> 00:13:05.940 what happens when it actually hits the public? 00:13:06.139 --> 00:13:09.620 The data on that is wild. It really is. How did 00:13:09.620 --> 00:13:11.980 critics and consumers respond to this chaotic 00:13:11.980 --> 00:13:14.590 rollout? The performance metrics for S .O .S. 00:13:14.850 --> 00:13:17.629 create a really fascinating study in the friction 00:13:17.629 --> 00:13:20.429 between niche dominance and mainstream acceptance. 00:13:20.909 --> 00:13:23.929 So in 2010, the album absolutely dominated the 00:13:23.929 --> 00:13:26.669 specific niche charts. It hit number one on the 00:13:26.669 --> 00:13:28.909 U .S. Heat Seekers Albums chart, which specifically 00:13:28.909 --> 00:13:32.090 tracks breaking emerging artists. Huge achievement. 00:13:32.330 --> 00:13:34.169 Right. It also hit number four on the U .S. Top 00:13:34.169 --> 00:13:36.379 Dance Albums chart. But when you look at the 00:13:36.379 --> 00:13:38.519 broader mainstream metrics, it charted respectively, 00:13:38.639 --> 00:13:41.080 but much lower. It hit number 109 on the U .S. 00:13:41.179 --> 00:13:43.720 Billboard 200 and number 14 on the U .S. Top 00:13:43.720 --> 00:13:46.000 Rap Albums chart. The gap between those numbers 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:48.120 is what we might call the weirdness tax. The 00:13:48.120 --> 00:13:50.779 weirdness tax. I love that. Right. Because hitting 00:13:50.779 --> 00:13:54.059 number one on the Heatseekers chart proves definitively 00:13:54.059 --> 00:13:56.539 that their internet virality translated into 00:13:56.539 --> 00:13:59.919 real -world commercial momentum. They were arguably 00:13:59.919 --> 00:14:02.100 the most important new act in the country for 00:14:02.100 --> 00:14:05.009 a minute there. The hype was real. Peaking at 00:14:05.009 --> 00:14:07.970 109 on the Billboard 200 shows, they were still 00:14:07.970 --> 00:14:11.110 just too abrasive for the average consumer. The 00:14:11.110 --> 00:14:13.529 sensory overload that made them go viral on YouTube 00:14:13.529 --> 00:14:17.129 was the exact same thing, creating friction with 00:14:17.129 --> 00:14:19.590 the mainstream pop audience. Abrasive is the 00:14:19.590 --> 00:14:21.850 perfect word to describe it. And you see that 00:14:21.850 --> 00:14:23.669 exact same friction in the critical reception. 00:14:23.889 --> 00:14:26.090 Oh, the reviews are a mess in the best way. They 00:14:26.090 --> 00:14:28.529 really are. SOS holds a Metacritic aggregate 00:14:28.529 --> 00:14:32.919 score of 69 out of 100. Now normally, a 69 implies 00:14:32.919 --> 00:14:35.659 that a piece of media is just broadly okay. It's 00:14:35.659 --> 00:14:38.220 safe, it's mediocre. Right, a C+. But in this 00:14:38.220 --> 00:14:40.940 case, that aggregate score mathematically masks 00:14:40.940 --> 00:14:44.840 some wildly polarizing reviews. Exactly. An aggregate 00:14:44.840 --> 00:14:47.259 score of 69 doesn't mean every music critic agreed 00:14:47.259 --> 00:14:50.039 it was a 7 out of 10. It means you have reviewers 00:14:50.039 --> 00:14:52.379 at completely opposite ends of the spectrum canceling 00:14:52.379 --> 00:14:54.779 each other out. You have the legendary music 00:14:54.779 --> 00:14:57.100 critic, Robert Kriscoe, giving the album an A 00:14:57.100 --> 00:15:00.179 -. He clearly saw the brilliance in it. Which 00:15:00.179 --> 00:15:03.220 is high praise. Huge praise. But then you look 00:15:03.220 --> 00:15:05.659 at Pitchfork, who handed out a lukewarm 5 .5, 00:15:05.840 --> 00:15:08.519 and NME, who gave it a flat 5 out of 10. The 00:15:08.519 --> 00:15:11.059 critical establishment was completely split on 00:15:11.059 --> 00:15:14.080 what to do with this album. What does this all 00:15:14.080 --> 00:15:16.179 mean? It raises an important question, doesn't 00:15:16.179 --> 00:15:18.820 it? Yeah. When you have an A - from one critic 00:15:18.820 --> 00:15:21.240 and a 5 out of 10 from another, doesn't that 00:15:21.240 --> 00:15:23.679 imply the album is actually doing exactly what 00:15:23.679 --> 00:15:27.000 art should do? Like, forcing a strong reaction 00:15:27.000 --> 00:15:29.539 rather than just being background noise. Oh, 00:15:29.600 --> 00:15:32.080 the polarization is the entire point. If the 00:15:32.080 --> 00:15:35.139 goal of alternative, avant -garde art is to disrupt 00:15:35.139 --> 00:15:37.899 the status quo, then universal acclaim might 00:15:37.899 --> 00:15:39.899 actually be the ultimate sign of failure. Because 00:15:39.899 --> 00:15:42.220 it would mean it was too safe. Precisely. It 00:15:42.220 --> 00:15:45.100 would mean the music was watered down. Die Antwoord's 00:15:45.100 --> 00:15:47.360 aesthetic was built on confrontation. They were 00:15:47.360 --> 00:15:49.820 combining the aggression of rap, the high BPM 00:15:49.820 --> 00:15:53.600 sensory overload of rave music, and highly specific 00:15:53.600 --> 00:15:55.960 counterculture imagery. It's a lot to take in. 00:15:56.220 --> 00:15:58.759 It was mathematically designed to repel a certain 00:15:58.759 --> 00:16:01.419 demographic just as intensely as it attracted 00:16:01.419 --> 00:16:04.379 another. The critics handing out those five out 00:16:04.379 --> 00:16:06.860 of tens were often doing so because they couldn't 00:16:06.860 --> 00:16:08.720 confidently declare if they were listening to 00:16:08.720 --> 00:16:11.360 a brilliant piece of performance art or just 00:16:11.360 --> 00:16:13.179 garbage. And the joke might have been on the 00:16:13.179 --> 00:16:15.480 critics the entire time. Oh, I think it definitely 00:16:15.480 --> 00:16:18.519 was. Because amidst all this perceived chaos, 00:16:19.700 --> 00:16:22.639 the weird viral videos, the fragmented track 00:16:22.639 --> 00:16:24.700 lists across different continents that divided 00:16:24.700 --> 00:16:27.720 reviews. There was an underlying structure. The 00:16:27.720 --> 00:16:30.659 master plan. Yes, the master plan. There is a 00:16:30.659 --> 00:16:32.759 specific quote from the group's frontman, Ninja. 00:16:33.389 --> 00:16:36.070 where he states that he considered SOS to be 00:16:36.070 --> 00:16:38.870 merely the first step in a premeditated five 00:16:38.870 --> 00:16:41.350 -album plan. The irony there is just incredible. 00:16:41.470 --> 00:16:43.450 Right. You have an entity projecting the most 00:16:43.450 --> 00:16:47.029 chaotic, wild, untamable image imaginable. They 00:16:47.029 --> 00:16:48.870 bypass the traditional industry, they release 00:16:48.870 --> 00:16:51.009 fragmented albums all over the place, and they 00:16:51.009 --> 00:16:53.230 intentionally divide the critics. They look like 00:16:53.230 --> 00:16:55.309 total anarchists. Yet behind that curtain of 00:16:55.309 --> 00:16:57.509 madness, they possessed a highly structured, 00:16:57.730 --> 00:17:00.509 almost corporate -level strategic roadmap from 00:17:00.509 --> 00:17:02.690 day one. They were playing a very long game. 00:17:02.600 --> 00:17:05.299 of 3D chess while the rest of the industry was 00:17:05.299 --> 00:17:06.859 just trying to figure out what game was even 00:17:06.859 --> 00:17:09.259 on the board. Exactly. So to bring this all together 00:17:09.259 --> 00:17:12.660 for you guys, we have tracked an incredible journey 00:17:12.660 --> 00:17:16.500 today. We really have. SOS started as a free 00:17:16.500 --> 00:17:19.019 internet experiment, literally just a stream 00:17:19.019 --> 00:17:22.640 on a webpage. It weaponized early YouTube culture 00:17:22.640 --> 00:17:26.279 into a massive viral explosion. We watched it 00:17:26.279 --> 00:17:28.779 get scooped up by Interscope. polished by Diplo 00:17:28.779 --> 00:17:31.240 and fragmented into a multiverse of different 00:17:31.240 --> 00:17:34.319 track lists across the globe to satisfy different 00:17:34.319 --> 00:17:36.960 corporate masters. And through all that, it remained 00:17:36.960 --> 00:17:40.000 divisive enough to spark heavy debate. All while 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:42.480 quietly setting the stage for a massive five 00:17:42.480 --> 00:17:45.000 album master plan. It really stands as a monument 00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:47.569 to the era it was born in. It proved that the 00:17:47.569 --> 00:17:50.289 internet finally gave artists the power to bypass 00:17:50.289 --> 00:17:52.650 traditional gatekeepers, provided they had a 00:17:52.650 --> 00:17:55.349 vision bold enough and strange enough to demand 00:17:55.349 --> 00:17:57.650 the world's attention. Very well said. But before 00:17:57.650 --> 00:17:59.150 we wrap up today, I want to leave you with a 00:17:59.150 --> 00:18:02.170 thought inspired by that American physical CD 00:18:02.170 --> 00:18:05.130 track list. Oh, the hidden track? Yeah. Remember 00:18:05.130 --> 00:18:08.230 how Interscope took the song S .O .S. and buried 00:18:08.230 --> 00:18:11.289 it? at the eight minute and 52 second mark of 00:18:11.289 --> 00:18:14.289 Do Strong. Such a classic 90s and 2000s move. 00:18:14.609 --> 00:18:17.250 Right. Well, think about how you listen to Spotify 00:18:17.250 --> 00:18:20.390 or Apple music right now. The algorithmic landscape 00:18:20.390 --> 00:18:23.069 demands total transparency. You can see every 00:18:23.069 --> 00:18:25.109 single track links before you even press play. 00:18:25.390 --> 00:18:28.329 There are no surprises anymore. Exactly. A 12 00:18:28.329 --> 00:18:30.109 minute song doesn't hold any secrets because 00:18:30.109 --> 00:18:32.430 you can visually see the waveform on your screen. 00:18:33.269 --> 00:18:35.390 Like if you look at the 11 track Spotify version 00:18:35.390 --> 00:18:38.029 of this album today, every runtime is right there. 00:18:38.250 --> 00:18:40.769 It makes you realize that we have entirely lost 00:18:40.769 --> 00:18:43.329 the magical, surprising experience of the hidden 00:18:43.329 --> 00:18:46.150 track. That's kind of sad, actually. It is. Have 00:18:46.150 --> 00:18:48.690 we lost something vital by leaving behind the 00:18:48.690 --> 00:18:50.930 era where a CD could keep playing in your bedroom, 00:18:51.369 --> 00:18:53.450 the room going totally silent for five minutes, 00:18:53.750 --> 00:18:56.329 and then suddenly, out of nowhere, a secret piece 00:18:56.329 --> 00:18:58.710 of art emerges from the silence? Just waiting 00:18:58.710 --> 00:19:01.440 to be discovered. Yeah. like an x -ray revealing 00:19:01.440 --> 00:19:03.500 something you didn't know was there. Sometimes 00:19:03.500 --> 00:19:05.839 the best parts of the musical landscape are the 00:19:05.839 --> 00:19:08.180 ones that refuse to be cleanly categorized or 00:19:08.180 --> 00:19:10.380 displayed on a screen. Thank you for joining 00:19:10.380 --> 00:19:12.779 us on this deep dive. Keep questioning the algorithms 00:19:12.779 --> 00:19:13.740 and keep exploring.