Released on the 16th of February, “Rasto Ki Kavita” is a seven-track tape by the Vadodara-based rapper-producer Bhadrankar. Being from a tier-2 city, Bhadrankar does not have the privilege of proper resources and a substantial rap culture that supports him as an artist. While the scene is still growing, a lot of rappers even from the major cities are finding it hard to thrive, let alone the artists from the smaller ones. One can only imagine the struggles of artists practising Hip-Hop or other smaller genres in cities where there is an absence of people appreciating them or supporting them. However, Bhadrankar doesn’t complain about this, he does not sound like your ‘everyday cocky rapper’. In fact, the tape sees him in his element trying his level best to represent his city and his surroundings while also portraying his aspirations and perspectives through deep introspection.
Out of the 7 tracks, my favourites were ‘Jataayu’, ‘Do Duni Chaar’ and ‘Karam Ki Lakeer’. The first track, ‘Jataayu’ is quite aggressive piece that aptly portrays the hunger and the will to break out that Bhadrankar possesses. The track is quite lyric-heavy, it possesses some witty one-liners and domineering lyricism that is complimented by a dark and drumless production. The third track of the tape ‘Do Duni Chaar’ also brings Siyaahi as a featured artist. The track is very hard-hitting and drum and bass heavy. Sampled over a sitar instrumental, the kicks and percussion form a very appropriate soundscape for the fierce flow of the rappers. Bhadrankar starts with a verse full of wordplays and the flow switches here and there as he talks about the ‘gangster activities’ of his area. The hook of the track features proper Gujarati slangs that further add to the regional essence of it.
Siyaahi picks up the narrative and starts off without drums, while a part of his verse is just over the sample, the other part sees him catch the beat and sync his flow over it as his verse builds up the drop. I am not a fan of the slo-mo type ending, but still ‘Do Duni Chaar’ is a very well-executed banger thanks to the hardcore flow that carried the track. The fifth track ‘Karam Ki Lakir’ features four different beat switches. Ranging from soul to funk samples, the track is sonically quite well-designed. In the track Bhadranker lays out a lot of his perspectives obtained from what he sees around him, he portrays his thoughts on the significance of money and the hustles that an artist goes through. The track is summarized with a Bollywood dialogue at the end which acts as a perfect poetic add-on.
‘Rasto Ki Kavita’ sees Bhadrankar taking pride in his roots and the city he owes everything to. Bhadrankar seems to portray this pride in his own way through Indian elements ranging from instruments to Bollywood dialogues and a lot of Gujarati references and slang. The title, which honestly sounds like a poem title in Hindi school books, is quite apt considering Bhadrankar is still finding his way into success. Being a rapper-producer, Bhadrankar’s attempt to curate a project having different sounds and themes while making it cohesive and packaging it into a larger interpretation is admirable and hence the tape boasts of a promising future for the Vadodara-based artist.
