Ankur – “Roots” Feat. Bronte Kolbe
Ankur – “Roots” Feat. Bronte Kolbe – Single Review
Been a few minutes since we last checked in with rapper/artist Ankur – this dude was last featured on our pages back in 2019 for his Intermission EP, which came after a previous appearance in 2018 when he dropped the Shades EP onto the internet. Y’all know how it is…the ebb & flow of creativity – it comes and goes…ultimately it’s always most beneficial to strike while the iron’s hot & you’re at your most inspired anyhow, otherwise we’re all guaranteed to notice in the final product. Ankur gets it. Rather than produce something he wasn’t gonna be happy with, he took some time away from the mic and went on a mini hiatus instead. Three years actually ain’t even that long when it comes right down to it – it’s only the rapid pace of the music-scene in the modern era we’re livin’ in that makes it feel like we’ve gotta produce content every single day. Way back when, it was pretty common to go three or four years between releases at a minimum, and no one would even think to bat an eye, or even question it.
Anyhow – you get the point – he’s back in action, and that’s always a good thing for an artist to be. I suppose the real question becomes whether or not Ankur’s still as good as we remember him being, right? Give the guy some credit – he can still rhyme words like “façade” and “dark” together – so it’s not like he got relegated to a level down from where he’d climbed up to – the man’s still got his skills plenty sharp. “Roots” is a strong return to the scene…I might personally believe that this guy’s got even more inside him that he’s capable of tapping into, but I feel like for the first steps back into the spotlight, this single is a cut that shows he’s still got the goods. Performance-wise, you’ll hear the guy hasn’t lost a step when it comes to the precision & professionalism he puts into “Roots” – and generally speaking, I felt like Ankur has a solid grip on what he’s looking to communicate here. A lot of “Roots” will dive into what I suppose we’ll eventually come to know as post-pandemic language or observations…you’ll see it in his words onscreen through the lyric video and recognize a ton of’em, even if that’s not entirely what the song itself is all about. All-in-all, I’d say “Roots” is much more about discovering what your own core strengths & inspirations are…what’s important to you & what’s important to battle for…what to hang onto, and what to let go of – Ankur proves he’s still got the chops to be an inspiration on a lyrical level.
He also shows a few spots where he’s still got room to evolve as well, which is of course, natural for all of us as artists. Like…for example…I dig on how he was able to pull off that “façade” & “dark” moment I mentioned earlier – challenging spots like that show us that he’s able to innovate & rise to the occasion. Other spots…in particular when he chose to use the word “booth” in both places on “Roots” seemed to almost reveal the opposite…this was where it seemed like he was searching for a word that rhymed, as opposed to finding a way to express what he really wanted to say. Or maybe that’s an Aussie thing that my Canadian bacon ain’t aware of, I don’t know. The overall message still comes across clearly, but at points like this, has a bit of an awkwardness to it…we can feel the rhyme scheme there instead of what it’s like to feel the majority of this song make use of his flawless fluidity. The reality of course, is that most Rap rhymes – that’s what it does, that’s what it’s all about…the challenge is to make us believe every word was the right word, without us noticing the stretch for that rhyme – make sense? So in the case of “Roots,” believe it or not, rhyming “façade” with “dark” actually feels like it was a smoother fit than the “booth” moments. I even kind of feel like the main hooks of the chorus could have potentially fallen into that trap of sounding too much like an intentional rhyming pattern as well – but as always, credit where credit is due – Bronte Kolbe really works her magic on these words, and the hooks come out spectacular because of her performance. The message will resonate with a lot of hearts & minds out there – so too will the imagery of the video, which is quite potent & powerful visually – but when it comes to what we hear & what we’ll remember most, chances are it’s Kolbe’s moment of the mic that will last the longest.
Overall, it works well – if I was Ankur, I’d certainly be encouraged by the positives in “Roots” & continue to build on the inspirational aspects of his own lyricism…as in, the only words that really matter aren’t the ones I’m writing here, but the ones he’s already written himself – that’s the advice I’d be taking if I were him. A lot of “Roots” is about conquering self-doubt, shutting out the noise, and finding the truth in a world where it’s increasingly difficult to do so – but just like he reminds us all, it’s not impossible. Dig the beat, dig the production, dig the performance, love the guest appearance from Bronte Kolbe – there’s lots for Ankur to draw on as he shifts gears back into the spotlight & surges forward from here.
Find out more about Ankur from the official pages below!
Main Site: https://www.ankurmusic.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ankurmusic1
Twitter: https://twitter.com/realankurmusic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ankur_music
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6tENaLkPduH3eJk9Q2EdUb
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/au/artist/ankur/1408998381
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/ankur_music
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