Fatherhood informs each step of Kojey Radical’s debut studio album. From its hopeful title and the guiding words from his mother that opens it via the long, sleepless nights, Reason to Smile is a snapshot of a mindful, inquisitive and self-aware artist considering—and embracing—his responsibilities. “It’s something that forces you to really question who you are,” he tells Apple Music. “Rather than immediately thinking, ‘Oh, my God, I'm so happy, I can't stop thinking about him’, which was true—there were also feelings of fear, definitely, and huge imposter syndrome that I battled with. This album gave me a way of figuring out those thought and feelings. I’m stepping into a new world.” There is no “Isn’t She Lovely” here. Instead, the east Londoner dives deeper into the exploration of self and his connection to family: a process started long before the arrival of his bundle of joy.
In 2016, breakthrough mixtape 23Winters proved him Radical in name, and in nature. Listeners got to know what he was about—haunting rhymes (on religion, race relations, and identity) and the diverse fruits of a longstanding sonic alliance with KZ The Produce. There was also moving intergenerational dialogue drawn from sombre fireside chats with his father as the estranged pair discussed love and the diaspora. Here, Kojey draws from the guiding influence of his mother. “Whenever I’m stuck in a moment, thinking, or I need advice, it’s her voice in my head,” he says. “I was trying to write a song called ‘Father', but it wouldn’t come. I was trying to speak about experiences I didn’t get, trying to figure out something that didn't exist. I know what did—my mum was always there. She never left.” With his mother’s guidance, and spirited, jazz and soul-inflected production (from KZ, plus work with Swindle, Blue Lab Beats and Emil), Kojey offers his manifesto—one that feels filtered through the enduring legacy and spectrum of Black soul. London singer-songwriter Tiana Major9 is in step with leftfield R&B queen Kelis on the driving, anthemic “Talkin”, musical polyglot Masego adds warm vocals and radiant, orchestral touches for the lead single “Silk”, while distrust—and disconnect—breeds paranoia on “War Outside”, and the crushing weight of expectation looms large across “Pressure”. “My mother’s voice always felt like home,” he declares on “Pusher Man: BWI”. “But eventually, you’re outside, on your own.” Read on for Kojey's track-by-track insights.
"Reason to Smile” (feat. Tiana Major9)
“This is mother speaking in Twi [a dialect of the Akan language] at the beginning of this song. Essentially she’s saying: ‘Keep focused, do good, this is what your son will see. And it will guide him.’ I don't speak the language, and I feel similar to a large part of the [African] diaspora": somewhat disconnected to the motherland because of it. There’s an element of home whenever I hear Twi, but also these feelings of unfamiliarity. I was really inspired by classic JAŸ-Z albums—The Black Album, The Blueprint—and a lot of [Florida producer trio] J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League. I wanted something grand to intro, and this feels like stepping into a new world. This is something you won’t find on every station.”
"Together”
“So I decided on the funky elements of this album: ‘Let's go balls-to-the-wall, and take a Parliament Funk-style, psychedelic trip down the yellow brick road.’”
"Nappy”
“This is a playful track, but then it's also a ‘don't play with me’ record. I had to place it here, early, because I’ve come in joyous so far, but I can’t let people forget: I’m not the one. This is a reminder of what I do.”
”Silk” (feat. Masego)
“I was on Instagram [Live] pretty much every day during the pandemic: people would send beats, and I’d make music. I opened a pack from [London-based producers] Blue Lab Beats, and this was the last [instrumental] in the pack. I remember having this moment on [on the stream], jamming to it, I went off and returned in a silk shirt, screaming, ‘I’m Barbara Streisand! I've got the range, no one else can do it but me.’ And I think adopting that confidence really pushed this song for me.”
“Pressure” (feat. Shae Universe)
“[London producer and musician] Emil produced this record, he's someone I'm really standing behind. I'm putting money on it that he’s next up. I heard his [2021 album] Ambrosia, and instantly became a fan. I had a session with him and Shae Universe, writing for her album—when I heard this beat, like, ‘Yo, I might have to, respectfully, slide this to my corner.’ And Shae said, ‘If you're sliding, I'm sliding with it too!’”
”Born” (feat. Cashh)
“It was interesting to see Cashh return to the UK [after deportation in 2014], how he adapted, his music and personally, making his return. I was so eager to hear of his experiences. This instrumental feels like Africa, and the Caribbean on one record to me—and we were both able to connect with it, and go in from there.”
“Pusher Man: BWI”
“This is where the curtain falls. The main theme of this track is awareness. I'm aware the industry supports violence, sex, drugs, murder—targeted towards the Black community. And as an author of such records, I now have to study the effects of this on my own. There's an initial bravado that comes from success, you hear it on the earlier part of the record [‘Pusher Man’] and there's a point where reality hits.”
”Talkin” (feat. Kelis & Tiana Major9)
“We tried many different hooks for this song, and Tiana’s stood out the most. She wrote something so reminiscent of Kelis, that ‘I hate you so much’ Kelis, and the vibe brought me back to the moodboard of artists I wanted on the album. Kelis is up there on the board. I still don't know how the fuck this happened: I almost didn’t believe it when I got the call. My plan was to try and get Kelis on ‘Payback’, but it was this instrumental she asked for.”
“War Outside” (feat. Lex Amor)
“This track became the people's choice before anyone heard the [full] album. We were getting so many calls to sync the track, left, right and centre and it landed on the FIFA 22 soundtrack. It’s dope for it to happen for an artist like Lex, who might not be heard as much in acertain spaces. Her music came to me at a time where I was literally hunting for inspiration. I played [her 2018 single] ‘Mood’ so many times it's impossible to count.”
“Payback” (feat. Knucks)
“This is one of my favourite songs ever. You can't have hip-hop without James Brown, firstly, and I wanted to pay homage to that on this album. It started with Swindle, who always has something up his sleeve—he played this beat whilst recording for his album [2021 LP THE NEW WORLD], and it sounded like the craziest shit ever. I’d already placed four songs on his album, and finally: I found one to recall the favour on. Knucks was there, too. I called him into the room with me to vibe out, because this song needs a certain flow, and this is his wheelhouse.”
“Beautiful” (feat. Wretch 32 & Shakka)
"I wrote this with Shakka, who’s genuinely prolific, but also a bit too polite. I felt like he wasn’t feeling my first attempt here, so I wrote a fresh verse, which rarely happens. Wretch came by to listen, and was very funny—he doesn't write [lyrics], but he was rapping away in his head waiting for the green light. He was so prepared, I can still picture him now. I went over to [UK producer and engineer] KZ, and told him: ‘This is the one.’ For all of the input and guidance I’d received on the album, I still didn’t have the Wretch feature. So this made sense, and means so much to have his verse here.”
“Fubu”
“This record is one you hear… the instrumental, the vibe, the energy, and it feels for us, by us. We know why these chords [sampling 2002 single ‘Tainted’ by Slum Village] are so special.”
“Anywhere” (feat. Ego Ella May)
“Ego was on my first project [2016 EP Dear Daisy: Opium] , she’s been down since the beginning: we started as kids, green to the industry. Now, I'm still working with my friend: a singer from the ends, who's also MOBO Award-winning Ego. And our relationship makes a song like this possible—I wouldn’t have found the courage, or felt comfortable enough, with anyone else. Lex [Amor] was [in the studio] helping us, and she wrote much of the second verse. Lines like: ‘Kiss me in your mother tongue / That, and every other one.’ That's Lex, all day.”
“Solo” (feat. Rex Life Raj)
“When [Bay Area rapper] Rex Life Raj hit me up, we spoke for much longer than we spent on the music. The record was whack—but, at that moment I made a friend. So whilst writing to this sick loop, produced by Jay Prince, I suddenly thought of Rex. This is just another of our dope conversations, but we’ve recorded so you can all hear.”
“Gangsta”
“To close out the album, this track had to be about resolution. I’m going through something on every song, but while I’m here: trying to figure out adulting, and everything else, I sometimes think, ‘My mum really came [to England] with nothing. She fed her kids, and worked constantly; she didn’t have much of a choice.' So I was really inspired to use her journey as a catalyst for my understanding.”