Bittereinder (band)

Bittereinder
Bittereinder by Louis Minnaar
Background information
Origin	Pretoria, South Africa
Genres	Hip hop, Rap, electro, Afrikaans rap
Years active	2009–present
Labels	Rhythm Records, Electromode, Independent
Website	http://www.bittereinder.com/
Members	Jaco van der Merwe Peach van Pletzen Louis Minnaar

Bittereinder is an Afrikaans rap/electro band from Pretoria, South Africa. Jaco van der Merwe, Peach van Pletzen, and Louis Minnaar founded the three-man band in 2009, and have since performed at major South African festivals such as Oppikoppi, across southern Africa, and the Netherlands. They are known for their high-energy performances.

The name Bittereinder originates from the Second Boer War. Towards the end of the war, so-called boers, Afrikaans-speaking farmers, engaged in guerrilla warfare against the British despite the fact that they had already lost. They fought "to the bitter end", and were therefore called "bitter-enders", or, in Afrikaans, "bittereinders"; more colloquially, the English translation would be "diehard". Van der Merwe says that the band interprets the word more positively: "Today, it means more not giving up."

They have been characterised as more positive than Die Antwoord. Van der Merwe's lyrics are "a little more hopeful", he has said, because he tries to find things to be proud of in the Afrikaans identity, although it is difficult because there is "much to be ashamed of".

All three members of Bittereinder are from Afrikaans-speaking families in Pretoria but went to English-speaking schools. Due to the low status of Afrikaans in post-Apartheid South Africa, as a boy, Van der Merwe was made to feel like an outsider growing up, and was "called 'Dutchman' and 'Boer' daily." The shame he felt as a result led to him rejecting the language and culture when he was growing up.

He began writing rap when he was fifteen years old, initially in English, and only later in Afrikaans, "with a dictionary in [...] hand" as he tried to learn the language after he had reconciled with his background.