Rapper and artist Unkwn Rook brings back the heart and soul of authentic hip hop, with a series of originals elevating the quietly confident reality of her story, and laying bare a clear commitment to the moment.
Silentzx as an introduction makes for a the perfect example, a softly emotive, increasingly captivating track, featuring the calm delivery of revealing and deeply personal bars that help bridge the gap between artist and audience.
Meanwhile, the music follows a simple, pop-hip-hop pathway of piano and heavy bass and drum-work at a mellow tempo.
Less than two minutes in full, the track is humble in many respects, but confident in its dealing with the subject matter. This quality rings loud throughout Unkwn Rook’s releases, with the guitar-led Trust Timezx following on with a quicker pace but equal depth and intention.
Versatility shines in a subtle and relevant way, always keeping things honest. This one impresses all the more so for the faultless performance, higher energy, and wordplay that makes up the progression and intensifies the emotive involvement.
Conceptually complex, talking on the deeper issues of life and death, the track showcases the contemplative nature of Unkwn Rook to an even stronger degree.
Ole Timezx is another release worth knowing about – the image continues to grow, the ‘zx’ is silent in every case but threads together the collection. Here we get a particularly fuzzy, heavy rhythm and another finger-picked guitar lead for emotion and late-night escapism.
Mellow vocals add to the tired vibe and tell a story loaded with scenery, imagery and personal reflections – ‘living like I’m not supposed to be here’. The style is gentle but still bold, the music and vocal uniting beautifully for a genuinely fresh sound.
Unkwn Rook has a voice which, in tone and topic, is rooted in classic hip hop, but more notably veers off in its own creative and subtly striking way. It’s recognisable, compelling, interesting, inspiring, and easy to relax into. Look out for the brand new track Tellz on October 25th.
Check out Unkwn Rook on Instagram & iTunes.
