Fatty Boom Boom

"Fatty Boom Boom" is a song by South African hip hop group Die Antwoord from their second studio album Ten$Ion. The song was written by DJ Hi-Tek, Ninja, and Yolandi Visser.[1] The song's chorus is an interpolation of Carl Malcolm's 1975 reggae single "Hey Fattie Bum Bum". The term derives from Jamaican Patois and remains commonly used in Jamaica since emerging in the late seventies.

"Fatty Boom Boom"
Single by Die Antwoord
from the album Ten$Ion
Released16 October 2012
Length3:46
LabelZef Recordz
Songwriter(s)DJ Hi-Tek, Watkin Tudor Jones, Yolandi Visser
Die Antwoord singles chronology
"Baby's on Fire"
(2012)		 "Fatty Boom Boom"
(2012)		 "Cookie Thumper!"
(2013)

The official music video for the song premiered on 16 October 2012 and generated controversy for some because of its usage of black body paint, as well as poking fun at Lady Gaga which triggered a response from her on Twitter.[2]

Background

The official music video for the song premiered on 16 October 2012. It was directed by Ninja, Terence Neale, and Saki Berg. Described by Die Antwoord, the video is a "bright and colourful African adventure, complete with wild animals, zef savages singing and dancing in the streets, and a special guest appearance by a sneaky little prawn star."[3]

Synopsis

The video features a male Lady Gaga impersonator donning Gaga's meat dress during a tour of a "concrete jungle" in Johannesburg.[4] Her guide (Dave Kibuuka) points out Die Antwoord, who are preparing to street-perform and she remarks that she wishes to tour with them, a reference to Die Antwoord's former label, Interscope Records, contacting them in March 2012 and informing them Gaga wished to have the band open for her during the Born This Way Ball, to which they declined.[5] In the video, Gaga's minibus is hijacked and she flees in fear. During her escape she discovers the office of a gynecologist (Kagiso Lediga). She complains that there is something "really funny going on down there" before he removes a parktown prawn from her vagina.[6] The scene is based on a drawing by Anton Kannemeyer titled "Black Gynecologist".[3] After leaving the office, she is chased and eaten by a lion. In between the scenes of Gaga are scenes of Yo-Landi, Ninja, and DJ Hi-Tek performing, most scenes showing them in full body paint including blackface.[7]

Controversies

The day after the video was released, Lady Gaga tweeted "i fink u freaky but you don't have a hit. hundred thousand tickets sold in SA (South Africa) #thatsmyshit" and "i guess its not a good idea to tell someone you're a fan."[8] Die Antwoord replied on Facebook by saying "even tho u r 'larger' than us... we still cooler than u... plus we don't have prawns in our private parts... haha!"[9]

Yo-Landi with her body painted black.

Aisha Harris of Slate criticized the band's usage of blackface: they failed "to bring anything fresh to the subject. Instead, they borrow loaded imagery for a cheap thrill, and do little with the horrific history behind it" ; "in line with the—some say false—persona they have carved out for themselves as rebellious, in-your-face provocateurs who are meant to bring a voice to the disenfranchised."[10] Hearty magazine also took position, stating the video was "a gimmick using the shock value of a horrifically racist part of history."[11]

Troy Farah of the Phoenix New Times expressed doubt the band was "doing it to poke fun at darker-skinned folks", noting Yo-Landi's yellow eyes, an indication that it could possibly be an imitation of a black panther and noted the usage of full-body white makeup as well. Farah concluded with the statement that there were "plenty more things to be offended about in this video" such as "the dead animals, tied up baby dolls, the Bible on fire and Nicki Minaj, Kanye West, and other pop stars painted as the Satanic heads of some sort of Hydra monster."[12]

Personnel

References
  1. "Fatty Boom Boom". Allmusic. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  2. "Lady Gaga". Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  3. Noisey (16 October 2012). "Die Antwoord - "Fatty Boom Boom" (Official Video)". YouTube. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  4. Conway-Smith, Erin (18 October 2012). "'Lady Gaga' eaten by lion in new Die Antwoord video". GlobalPost. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  5. Sia, Nicole (16 October 2012). "Die Antwoord Terrorize Lady Gaga in Controversial 'Fatty Boom Boom' Video". Spin. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  6. "Gaga births Parktown prawn...then dies". IOL. 18 October 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  7. Shotwell, James (16 October 2012). "Music Video: Die Antwoord – "Fatty Boom Boom"". Under the Gun. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  8. Lucas, John (17 October 2012). "Die Antwoord blasts Lady Gaga in outrageous new "Fatty Boom Boom" video". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  9. Die Antwoord (17 October 2012). "lady... even tho u r 'larger' than us... we still cooler than u... plus we don't have prawns in our private parts... haha!". Facebook.
  10. Harris, Aisha (18 October 2012). ""Fatty Boom Boom" Die Antwoord video: literal and figurative blackface". Slate. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  11. "Die Antwoord Fatty Boom Boom". Hearty magazine. 17 October 2012. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  12. Farah, Troy (17 October 2012). "The New Die Antwoord Video Probably Isn't Racist You Guys. Probably". The Phoenix New Times. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
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