Kwadwo Adu Genfi Amponsah (born 4 January 1993), known professionally as Kojey Radical, is a British music artist, creative director and mixed media visual artist. His style has been described as a mix of
grime
Grime may refer to:
* Dirt, in the form of black, ingrained dust
* Grime (music genre), a genre of music
* ''Grime'' (album), a 2001 album by Iniquity
* ''Grime'' (video game), a 2021 Metroidvania video game
* "Grime", a 2022 song by Dallas Woo ...
-y
hip hop,
alternative rap
Alternative hip hop (also known as alternative rap) is a subgenre of hip hop music that encompasses a wide range of styles that are not typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as comprising " hip hop groups that refuse to confor ...
and
spoken word
Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...
. Since 2018, he has received six nominations at the
MOBO Awards
The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and ...
, including Best Newcomer. He also performed at the 2020 and 2022 MOBOs ceremonies.
Early life
Radical was raised in
Shoreditch and
Hoxton
Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, England. As a part of Shoreditch, it is often considered to be part of the East End – the historic core of wider East London. It was historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. It li ...
, London, the son of Ghanaian immigrants. He began as a
spoken word poet and mixed media illustrator, graduating from
London College of Fashion with a
First Class Honours
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...
Bachelor of Arts degree in Fashion Illustration.
Career
2014–2016: ''Dear Daisy: Opium'' and career beginnings
In 2014, Radical released his first musical project ''Dear Daisy: Opium'' just after graduating. Media commentators stated ''Dear Daisy'' was Radical's first music project in which he touched on topics of love, social media and religion. It spawned from a book with the same name Radical was illustrating during his time at university. Radical linked up with UK artist and producer Jay Prince, who produced Radical's first official record, ''The Garden Party.'' Radical followed up with a record called "Bambu", which subsequently became the first single on his sophomore EP, ''23Winters.'' Bambu made use of
blackface, a persona Radical would later adopt in majority of his early visuals.
After supporting
Young Fathers
Young Fathers are a Scottish band based in Edinburgh, Scotland. In 2014, they won the Mercury Prize for their album ''Dead''.
History
Formed in Edinburgh in 2008 by Alloysious Massaquoi, Kayus Bankole and Graham 'G' Hastings, the group starte ...
on tour, Radical later released "Open Hand" a record that saw him adopt a much more political stance in his music. premiering the visual at
Tate Britain
Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in ...
in 2015. Radical aimed to offer an alternative outlook on socio-political issues. He later followed up with a record called "Kwame Nkrumah" before releasing the ''23Winters'' EP in February 2016. "Kwame Nkrumah" was written in honour of the first Ghanaian president and Ghana's independence.
The ''23Winters'' EP was a personal analysis of a relationship between father and son, with themes of religion, society, family, love, new-age revolution and African diaspora narrated by Kojey's father.
The project includes production from KZ The Producer, Fwdslxsh, Lupus Cain, Selvsse, Niels Kirk & New Machine as well as collaborations from Tom Grenan, Ray Blk & Bobii Lewis. It has been described as "a supreme phonic proclamation of one’s ethnicity, history, and future." In an interview with ''The Source Magazine'' Radical stated his intention was to "...create a body of work that voices my ideas and philosophies while also offering another sense of perspective... "
''23Winters'' also saw Kojey nominated for two
MOBO Awards
The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and ...
, one for Best Newcomer and one for Best Video.
The project independently debuted in 3rd position in the
Rap & Hip Hop Albums Charts and also entered the
UK top 40
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
.
2017–present: ''In Gods Body'' and ''Cashmere Tears''
In 2017, Radical returned with his third EP, ''In Gods Body''. It includes features from Shola Ama,
Ghetts
Justin Clarke, better known by his stage name Ghetts (formerly Ghetto), is a British grime MC, rapper and songwriter. His music has been played on national radio stations such as BBC Radio 1, Kiss 100, BBC Asian Network, and BBC Radio 1Xtra. C ...
, Tamera Foster, Miloh Smith, dance music producer Potè,
Obongjayar and British actress and screenwriter,
Michaela Coel. Coel recites a poem written by Kojey that serves as a central narration to the project.
Media commentators stated the project was a continuation of ''23Winters'', honing in on some of the messages recited by Radical's father and developed into a journey of self-discovery. Radical deconstructed the politics of black identity and race while introducing conversations about sexuality and love. Since the release of ''23Winters,'' Radical has toured the world independently playing in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, South Africa, Russia, and Europe. Radical has a long-lasting brand relationship has been with Adidas, which began in 2017. In 2018, Radical collaborated with
Mahalia Mahalia is a given name and may refer to:
* Mahalia Barnes (born 1982), Australian singer-songwriter
*Mahalia Belo, British film and television director
*Mahalia (singer) (born 1 May 1998), English singer, songwriter and actress, better known by th ...
on her single, ''"Water"'', which was also featured in the soundtrack for the video game ''FIFA 19''. This was followed up with another collaboration with the
Leicester-born musician on the single, "One Night Only." The track went onto feature on
Mahalia Mahalia is a given name and may refer to:
* Mahalia Barnes (born 1982), Australian singer-songwriter
*Mahalia Belo, British film and television director
*Mahalia (singer) (born 1 May 1998), English singer, songwriter and actress, better known by th ...
's EP, ''Seasons''. During the same period, Radical and
MJ Cole
Matthew James Firth Coleman, better known by his stage name MJ Cole, is an English garage DJ, record producer and remixer.
Career
Born in London, England, in his youth, Cole was classically trained on the oboe and piano, and won scholarships ...
collaborated on the track, ''"Soak It Up."'' Radical and
Adidas teamed up to create a short film about mental health and depression alongside director Max Luz and international fashion platform, SSense.
Away from music, in 2019 Radical was responsible for the bottle design of the spirits brand,
1800 Tequila
1800 Tequila is a Mexican brand of tequila owned by the Beckmann Family, who also own the Jose Cuervo tequila brand. The 100% blue agave tequila is bottled in Jalisco, Mexico.Lewis Wallace“1800 Tequila Gives Artists a Shot at Boozy Fame,”''W ...
. In late 2019, Radical released his fourth EP, ''Cashmere Tears''. In the review by magazine ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' it received five out of five stars and was described as a "tale of deeply emotional tales of everyday life". In January 2020, it was announced that Radical would be teaming up with US-musician
Mereba
Marian Azeb Mereba (born September 19, 1990), known mononymously as Mereba, is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer.
Early life
Mereba was born in Montgomery, Alabama on September 19, 1990, and raised in Pennsylvania. S ...
on his single, "Same Boat".
Radical was a nominee at the
MOBO Awards
The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and ...
in 2020 following a two-year break of the ceremony in the Best Video category.
Subsequently, he was announced in the British media as one of the headline performances at the ceremony in December 2020. He released the single "Good" in late 2020, which was part of a wider collaboration with
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...
and the use of 360 Reality Audio.
Discography
Studio albums
* ''
Reason to Smile'' (2022)
Extended plays
* ''Dear Daisy: Opium'' (2014)
* ''23Winters'' (2016)
* ''In Gods Body'' (2017)
* ''Cashmere Tears'' (2019)
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Radical, Kojey
1993 births
Living people
Black British male rappers
British spoken word artists
English people of Ghanaian descent
People from Hoxton
People from Shoreditch
Rappers from London
Alumni of the London College of Fashion