Kojey Radical Discovers His 'Reason To Smile' On Eagerly-Awaited Debut Album

Kojey Radical Discovers His 'Reason To Smile' On Eagerly-Awaited Debut Album


March 04, 2022

After months of teasing the eclectic sounds of his debut album, Kojey Radical has finally unveiled this project titled Reason To Smile.

The album includes released tracks "War Outside" featuring Lex Amor, the funk-ridden "Payback" alongside Knucks, "Gangsta", and the recently shared "Silk" with Masego. Reason To Smile also rounds up some more of Kojey's peers in the UK music scene including Tiana Major9, Cashh, Ego Ella May, Rexx Life Raj, Shakka, Shae Universe, and a surprise appearance from Kelis.

Known for his genre-morphing style, here Kojey free-falls into a well of influences to soundtrack his lived experiences. Switching up from the booming dystopian textures of previous projects like 23Winters and In Gods Body; here we are transported to a world of funky, uplifting rhythms, stirred by exuberant horns and refined backing vocals. As we journey through the album, Kojey's mother appears in some moments to offer some personal stories of her life and his upbringing, while Kojey offers up lyrics of keeping hope alive.

Speaking on the album Kojey says: "This is the first time I've done it to the scale and ambition of what I speak. Previously it's been 'I'm warming, I'm warming, I'm warming up'. But I'm warm now—put me in the game".



Words: Blessing Borode
Photography: Danny Kasirye


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