Ten$ion

Ten$ion is the second studio album by South African hip-hop/rave group Die Antwoord. The album was released on the iTunes Store on 29 January 2012[1] and on CD on 7 February.[2] The album was released on Die Antwoord's label Zef Recordz after leaving their previous label Interscope due to pressure on Die Antwoord to become "more generic".[3] The album debuted at number 20 on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart.[4]

Ten$ion
Studio album by
Die Antwoord
Released29 January 2012
Length38:46
LabelZef Recordz
Die Antwoord chronology
Ekstra
(2010)		 Ten$ion
(2012)		 Donker Mag
(2014)
Die Antwoord studio album chronology
$O$
(2010)		 Ten$ion
(2012)		 Donker Mag
(2014)
Singles from Ten$ion
  1. "Fok Julle Naaiers"
    Released: 17 October 2011
  2. "I Fink U Freeky"
    Released: 29 January 2012
  3. "Baby's on Fire"
    Released: 5 June 2012
  4. "Fatty Boom Boom"
    Released: 16 October 2012

Promotion

A trailer for the album was released 22 January 2012 featuring "I Fink U Freeky".[5] The group also appears in both a video and print ads for Alexander Wang fashion line "T" for Spring 2012.[6] The ad features the song "Fatty Boom Boom". The group also had a performance spot on the American television show Late Show with David Letterman, in which they performed "I Fink U Freeky." Letterman, apparently amused by the song, would randomly drop the phrase "I think you're freaky and I like you a lot" into his monologues for weeks afterward.[7] They performed the same song on another US late night TV show Jimmy Kimmel Live!.[8]

Music videos

"Fok Julle Naaiers" (English: "Fuck You Motherfuckers"[9]) was released as a music video on Vimeo on 7 November 2011.[10] "I Fink U Freeky" was also released as a music video on 31 January 2012, featuring the appearance of Watkin Tudor Jones (Ninja)'s cousin, Marthinus Thomas Jacobus Van Tonder.[2] On 5 June 2012, a video for "Baby's on Fire" was released.[11] Although a single wasn't released for "Fatty Boom Boom", on 16 October 2012 a video for the song was released. It lampoons Lady Gaga in response to her offer to have Die Antwoord be the opening act on her tour.[12]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic(57/100)[13]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[14]
The Guardian
One Thirty BPM(75%)
No Ripcord(7/10)
Blare
Pitchfork(4.2/10)
Rolling Stone
The Phoenix
PopMatters
Tiny Mix Tapes

The album has a score of 57 out of 100 on Metacritic, indicating mixed or average reviews.[13] Pitchfork's Andrew Ryce called it "id rap at its worst" and that "even their excess lacks scope or imagination" concluding with "For a band so obsessed with its own self-consciously humorous image, Ten$ion in part fails because it feels so strangely humorless" and that they "picked the most unfortunate parts of their oversized, manufactured personalities to highlight".[15] Monica Herrera of Rolling Stone cited the album as "a marathon of overwrought beats and clunky horn-dog-rebel boasts" going on to say Jimmy Iovine who signed the band to Interscope was "on to sounder investments these days."[16] Joshua Khan of Blare stated the album had "more confidence" than $O$ but it was "forced, coming off senseless and providing some sort of proof their fire might finally be cooling off."[17]

Allison Stewart of The Washington Post noted the album's "simplest songs" were "hopelessly complex" while saying the album was "better than it needs to be, but not as good as it thinks it is" but that the album is "peppered with great moments".[18]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Never Le Nkemise 1"
2:52
2."I Fink U Freeky"
4:40
3."Pielie (Skit feat. Ninja)"Leon Du Toit0:09
4."Hey Sexy"
  • Visser
  • DJ Hi-Tek
  • Jones
5:08
5."Fatty Boom Boom"
  • DJ Hi-Tek
  • Visser
  • Jones
3:45
6."Zefside Zol (Interlude)"
  • DJ Hi-Tek
  • Jones
0:56
7."So What?"
  • Visser
  • DJ Hi-Tek
  • Jones
3:51
8."Uncle Jimmy (Skit)"
  • Uncle Jimmy
  • DJ Hi-Tek
  • Visser
1:21
9."Baby's on Fire"
  • Jones
  • DJ Hi-Tek
  • Visser
3:56
10."U Make a Ninja Wanna Fuck"Jones3:16
11."Fok Julle Naaiers"
  • Jones
  • DJ Hi-Tek
  • Visser
3:54
12."DJ Hi-Tek Rulez"DJ Hi-Tek1:37
13."Never Le Nkemise 2"
  • Jones
  • Visser
  • DJ Hi-Tek
3:21
Total length:38:46

Sample credits

Charts
Chart Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[20] 38
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[21] 40
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[22] 156
Canadian Albums Chart[23] 73
Dutch Albums Chart[24] 87
Swiss Albums Chart[25] 100
U.S. Billboard 200[4] 143
U.S. Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums[4] 8
U.S. Billboard Heatseekers Albums[4] 2
U.S. Billboard Independent Albums[4] 20
U.S. Billboard Rap Albums[4] 12

Release history
Region Date Format(s) Label
United States 29 January 2012 Digital Zef Recordz
7 February 2012[26] CD

References
  1. "Ten$Ion by Die Antwoord". iTunes Store. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  2. Lee, Amy (1 February 2012). "'I Fink U Freeky': Die Antwoord's Latest Creepy Video Drops". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  3. Marchese, David (19 January 2012). "Die Antwoord Keep 'TEN$ION' High on New Album". Spin.com. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  4. "Dance/Electronic Albums". Billboard.com. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  5. "Die Antwoord – Ten$ion Trailer". YouTube. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  6. Nika, Colleen (1 February 2012). "Video: Die Antwoord Star in New Alexander Wang Campaign". Thread Count. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 3 February 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  7. "Die Antwoord on David Letterman: South African Rappers Perform 'I Fink You Freeky' (VIDEO)". Huffington Post. 7 February 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  8. "Die Antwoord: 'I Fink U Freeky' (Live on Kimmel) (Video)". Prefix. 24 February 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  9. "Die Antwoord – "Fok Julle Naaiers" Video". Vimeo. 7 November 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  10. Emami, Gazelle (7 November 2011). "Die Antwoord, 'Fok Julle Naaiers': Rave-Rappers Drop New Single (VIDEO)(NSFW)". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  11. Video on YouTube
  12. "How Did Lady Gaga Respond To Die Antwoord's 'Fatty Boom Boom' Vide | Prefix". Prefixmag.com. 18 October 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  13. "Reviews for Ten$ion by Die Antwoord". Metacritic. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  14. Jeffries, David. Die Antwoord: Ten$ion > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  15. Ryce, Andrew (10 February 2012). "Die Antwoord: Ten$ion". Pitchfork. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  16. Herrera, Monica (7 February 2012). "Ten$ion". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  17. Khan, Joshua (5 February 2012). "Review: Die Antwoord – "Ten$Ion"". Blare. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  18. Stewart, Allison (3 February 2012). "Music review: Amid the frenzy, Die Antwoord's 'Ten$ion' has a few jewels". The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  19. Hattenstone, Simon (2009). "Mike Tyson: 'I'm ashamed of so many things I've done'". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
  20. ARIA Singles Chart (dead url – accessed: 7 June 2010) (archive url:web.archive.org (archive date: 17 February 2010)
  21. "Die Antwoord – Ten$ion". Ultratop. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  22. "Die Antwoord – Ten$ion". Ultratop. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  23. "CANOE -- JAM! Music SoundScan Charts". Canadian Albums Chart. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  24. "Die Antwoord – Ten$ion". MegaCharts. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  25. "Die Antwoord – Ten$ion". swisscharts.com. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  26. "Ten$ion: Die Antwoord". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
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