Many people don’t know how to react—a sign of great art—and many are obsessed. Albeit R-rated, Enter The Ninja is uplifting and upbeat. It has all the key components to music video greatness—originality, emotion, energy, dance moves, realism, symbolism, shock value, humor, balance, and masterful execution. It’s a musical blend of deft artistic expression formed by four creative friends having fun. On DieAntwoord.com you can listen to their 16-track beat-heavy album $O$. The site is in-your-face artistic euro-style and includes 20 fun facts about the Zef-rap crew, which consists of dynamic rapper frontman Ninja (Waddy Jones), sexy profane blonde singer Yo-Landi Vi$$er, and PC-beatmaker DJ Hi-Tek. Also appearing in the crew is Leon Botha—a Cape Town artist with the hyper-aging disease progeria. Each member is a unique persona fueled by their own inner Zef—a term best described by Ninja in the video interview below the break. Ninja says, “If you love it, we love you too, and if you hate it, it’s because you’re not on my level.” Pitchfork posted an email interview.

Ninja has sculpted, both with his flesh and his music, the ultimate South African. He is everything in the country, “fucked into one person.” That he is willing to go so far to embody this idea is thrillingly, gloriously radical. Cape Flats Calling | The Walrus

Die Antwoord is radical but true-to-life, and personally I can’t get enough of their Zef flow. Enter The Ninja is my favorite track but the whole album is sublimely groundbreaking. I love the lyrics, the vision, the creativity, and the fierce (but IMO positive) energy. Expect Die Antwoord to tour in Europe/USA this year, and if the video below is any indication, it looks like the show will be next level.

Paramore outperforms both on and off the stage.

Why do I like Paramore? They are kick-ass live performers. But I’ve never seen them in person. Hulu delivered them to me last year when I saw them perform Ignorance on Conan O’Brien. I knew of them before via Andrew Kendall’s photos, but seeing them on Conan is what engaged me to find out more. I searched “paramore live” on YouTube. I was impressed with their energetic live show and fan-driven website, which I wrote about highlighting their fan community and presence in the social web. Paramore fans go the distance because Paramore does the same for them.

Live music trumps studio recordings.

The best music is live music. Right now I think live video footage is the next best thing—whether it’s live-as-in-streaming or recorded live events. I don’t have a cable television. But if I’m looking for home entertainment I go straight to Hulu. As far as TV goes, if it’s not on Hulu, then I don’t watch it. In today’s music industry putting out video content is a must, especially live video content. In fact I think that’s where über-commercial Vevo has it wrong—lacking rawness and intimacy. I’d rather watch bands on Hulu. The concert videos already on Paramore’s channel come from their live album The Final Riot! In my opinion, Paramore’s best videos are the live ones, and on top of the stellar performances the videos have stellar production. But even bands without access to top production can still produce video content by being creative, sourcing their fans to record or produce live videos, and distributing them with free tools like YouTube and Ustream.

Paramore tells a story.

In addition to music videos, Paramore’s Hulu channel contains a 30-min documentary on the making of their latest album Brand New Eyes. They attract fans not only because of their music, but also because they have a story to tell that their fans can relate too. Their story is about growing up—as a band, but also as people, and their fans can relate to that. The album’s theme is seeing people through brand new eyes—you have to accept the past to move on. Paramore has an intimate connection with the Internet Generation. The new channel enriches their existing fan community and exposes them to a wider audience—brand new eyes—on Hulu.

Timeline: Bands on Hulu.

In November 2009 Hulu partnered with EMI and launched a Norah Jones channel. The next month Hulu partnered with Warner Music Group launching the Muse channel in December, the Jason Mraz channel in January, and the Paramore channel yesterday. Hulu’s music content is hi-fidelity and free. Now what more can you ask for besides, well, more Hulu artist channels and frequent content, right?