$O$
$O$ is the debut studio album by South African rap-rave group Die Antwoord. The album was initially a widely circulated internet-only release, and made available to stream for free on the band's website prior to Interscope Records signing the band. The song "Wat Pomp?" had a music video released on 6 June 2009, followed by "Enter the Ninja" (a track with previous exposure as a viral video on YouTube and other video-hosting services), which received an official release on 9 August 2010. "Fish Paste" and "Beat Boy" have also been released as promotional singles. "Enter the Ninja" debuted at #37 in the UK Music Charts on 19 September 2010.
| $O$ | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 12 October 2010 | |||
| Recorded | 2008–2009 | |||
| Genre | Alternative hip hop, rave, electronica | |||
| Length | 68:03 (original release) | |||
| Label | Indie/Cherrytree (re-release) | |||
| Producer | DJ Hi-Tek Diplo ("Evil Boy" on re-release) | |||
| Die Antwoord chronology | ||||
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| Die Antwoord studio album chronology | ||||
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| Singles from $O$ | ||||
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| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | (69/100) |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| One Thirty BPM | (87%) |
| Pitchfork Media | (5.5/10) |
| Robert Christgau | A− |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Spin | (7/10) |
| The A.V. Club | B |
| NME | (5/10) |
Following the group's signing to Interscope in the US, it was announced that $O$ would be re-released in physical format with a different track listing. Diplo produced one of the new tracks on the re-release, "Evil Boy", for which a promotional video was made available on 6 October 2010. The US iTunes digital release includes the previously hidden track "$O$" separately, a bonus track "Wat Pomp?" and an alternate version of "Evil Boy" titled as "Evil Boy (F**k You In The Face Mix)" not present on US physical release.
In an interview Ninja mentioned that he considered the album to be the first in a five-album plan.