Anke Richards' Music Is Anything But "Tired"

The rising star from South Africa is a must on all of your Spotify playlists.

Anke Richards didn't even know who Billie Eillish was until people started to compare her to the Grammy winner. And although Anke admits to seeing the similarities in their voices and vibe, she wants people to know she’s not trying to be her, DUH.

She is, however, a huge fan of Billie and her brother Finneas. In Anke's opinion, Finneas is one of the best songwriters of our generation. A lot of her inspiration comes from watching videos of Billie and Finneas’ writing process. “They make music seem so free and it’s like a whole new world," she said.

Anke Richards is a singer songwriter from South Africa. Singing has always been a passion of hers, but she never thought that she would actually sign a record deal. It was no surprise that when a label stumbled upon her cover videos on her Insta, they were instantly captured by her music–and a star (and contract) was born. We love a Generation Z success story!

"I realized I could do so much more with my voice than just singing in the shower. I started writing silly little songs and it became more of a reality," Anke told Mud.

Her inspiration for songwriting comes from everyday situations and real emotions. She looks around her, not only just South Africa but what's happening around the world, and uses it to make honest and meaningful music. I think her single “Tired” is proof of that and honestly, a fat mood.

Moods aside, Anke does dive deep into her feelings when creating music and singing. She recently put out “You Didn’t Stop,” in tribute to the late George Floyd and all the events that took place surrounding his death. By the way, If you haven’t heard this song, grab the nearest Kleenex box. Anke even said she cried while writing it.

“I watched the videos of what happened to George Floyd and I started crying. I felt inspired. I always feel inspired by heavy emotion," Anke said.

It wasn't even in her plans to release the song. She just went to her piano to pour out her feelings about what she was seeing everywhere on social media and the news. Then, it was played into existence. While she was inspired by the racial injustice surrounding his death, she wants listeners to also know the song can become personal to the listener's life. So, she cleaned off her tears in the recording studio and released it as a single.

“Excited” was the word that Anke exclaimed when she talked about the future of her music. She said, “I don’t necessarily need to blow up and become a celebrity, I just wanted to keep doing music.”

As an eighteen year old, she knows much more is ahead.

“What it means to be young is that there is a big future ahead of you and you don’t know what is going to happen, anything can happen," Anke said.

Anke does know one thing that is going to happen next year, an album. She told us this news with a big smile on her face and said, “Next year, good things are coming.”

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You can check out her current music on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever else you listen to bops!