Watkin Tudor Jones
| Watkin Tudor Jones | |
|---|---|
Jones in December 2012
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Watkin Tudor Jones |
| Also known as | Ninja Max Normal The Man Who Never Came Back MC Totally Rad Yang Weapon Destructo Waddy WAD:e Ninjie |
| Born |
26 September 1974 Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Labels |
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| Associated acts |
Yolandi Visser The Original Evergreen MaxNormal.TV The Constructus Corporation Fucknrad Die Antwoord |
Watkin Tudor Jones (born 26 September 1974), also known by his stage name Ninja and formerly Max Normal, is a South African rapper, record producer, and actor, best known for his role as frontman of rap-rave group Die Antwoord.
Jones comes from Johannesburg, South Africa where he attended Parktown Boys' High School. Jones left school in 1992, one year before graduating. He spends his time between Los Angeles and Cape Town.
Jones was a part of the South African hip-hop scene for many years. He has had many different stage personas, including with the Sibot-produced The Fantastic Kill and Markus Wormstorm-produced promo-only EP "Emmanuel Rothchild - My Favourite Songs" and "Markus Wormstorm Is Not Gay", and fronting such acts as The Original Evergreen, MaxNormal.TV and The Constructus Corporation. He is best known as Ninja from Die Antwoord.
Jones has embarked on various other endeavors, notably graphic art and stuffed animal making.
Yolandi Visser, Jones's former partner has been a frequent collaborator and is also a member of Die Antwoord. The two have a daughter together, named Sixteen.
Jones was the lead vocalist of Max Normal, a live hip hop act, which released their debut album entitled Songs From The Mall in 2001. The band performed at various festivals around South Africa, including Up the Creek, Splashy Fen, and Oppikoppi. They also played in London and three shows at the Pukkelpop Festival in Belgium. A second version of this band evolved into the 'corporate' hip-hop group MaxNormal.tv in which they released an album, Good Morning South Africa, in 2008 with a sound not unlike the later-formed and more well-known group "Die Antwoord." They were a South African hip-hop crew that performed live wearing three-piece suits while frontman MaxNormal delivered his motivational speaking style raps to the audience. He also illustrated his lyrics to help the audience follow which were projected onto a big screen above the live performers and are triggered live to the beat by Max's personal assistant, Yolandi Visser, in a PowerPoint presentation style.
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