My interview with Ninja from South African zef-rap phenomenon Die Antwoord for this week's Reader was one of the most grueling transcription jobs I've ever done, thanks to his thick accent, the speed at which he speaks, and the extent to which he will expound on the questions asked of him—not to mention the quality of the phone connection to Johannesburg via a three-way call through a publicist's office in New York. (If you ever interview him, plan on five to seven times the amount of time you'd normally give yourself to transcribe.) But the story of Die Antwoord making a million dollars off of Interscope, then walking away owning the album the label bankrolled? It's wonderful and worth the effort.

This week's issue also has Peter Margasak's profile of CSO composer in residence Anna Clyne and her unlikely journey from a not especially music-driven youth to having her work conducted by Riccardo Muti at age 31. This week's In Rotation features picks by Reader music editor Philip Montoro, Forced Into Femininity's Jail Flanagan, and composer Charles Joseph Smith. The latest Gossip Wolf has the dish on a new band, an old band breaking up, a new concert series, and a new collection of "sloppily fuzzed-out punk." A new Secret History of Chicago music introduces us to proto-alt-rockers HA. The latest Soundboard picks include A-Trak, the Jacob Garchik Trio, Goatwhore, the Swan King, and the Heartless Bastards, plus we've got a guide to the 52nd University of Chicago Folk Festival.