The rapper Jack Parow is a special bird. This 'kletsrymer' from a suburb of Cape Town is one of the biggest surprises of 2010. Just like his friends from Die Antwoord, he raps mainly in Afrikaans, which has the advantage that the twenties are easy to understand and yet sound exotic. Good enough for a contract with Top Notch and a breakthrough in the Netherlands. This despite or because of its distinct
… style. The CD's artwork is filled with naked elderly people and his website offers little more than a computer game in which you have to shoot old ladies. In his lyrics Parow tells about the zef culture, which comes down to a lot of smoking and drinking and typical folk clothing. The Dutch phenomenon of the 'tokkies' is perhaps the closest. But Parow is certainly not the umpteenth rudely hype, almost all songs on his debut sound fresh and have depth. With alternating techno, guitars and samples from cartoons, the music is just as good as the South African's well-filled upper lip suggests. Parow may seem simple, but it is more than just an unwashed shirt with yellow spots. (JE)more
