''Reason to Smile'' is the debut studio album by British rapper

Kojey Radical 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-y hip hop, alternative rap and ...

, released 4 March 2022 by Asylum Records and

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. It was shortlisted for the 2022 Mercury Prize and nominated for Album of the Year at the 2022 MOBO Awards.

Background

The album was preceded by four singles: "War Outside" released 23 September 2021; "Gangsta" released 15 November; "Payback" released 15 January 2022; and "Silk" released 18 February. The first three came along with music videos while "Silk" received an official visualiser. Another video for "Talkin" released 9 March, featuring animated versions of Radical and the song's guests

Tiana Major9 Tiana Thomas-Ambersley (born 22 November 1995), known professionally as Tiana Major9, is a British singer-songwriter from London, England. She is currently signed to Motown and gained worldwide recognition with the Grammy nominated single "Col ...

and Kelis.

Reception

"Payback" was included at number 9 on '' BBC Music''s list of the best songs of the year.

Accolades

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians

– vocals * Cameron Palmer – synth bass (2, 5, 10), piano (5, 8), keyboards (10, 13), organ (8), synthesizer (8), Rhodes solo (8), guitar (10), Wurlitzer (11) * Kwame "KZ" Kwei-Armah Jr. – additional vocals (1, 3, 6, 10), synthesizer (2, 13), piano (1), Rhodes solo (2), piano (7), bass (8), guitar (8), synth bass (9), whistling (9) *

– vocals (1, 8) *

Masego Masego is a Tswana/ Pedi name (a Bantu tribe found in Botswana and South Africa) meaning blessings that may refer to: *Masego (musician) (born 1993), modern hip hop artist who utilizes elements of jazz and house music * Masego Kgomo (c. 1999–2009) ...

– vocals (4) * Shaé Universe – vocals (5) * Cashh – vocals (6) * Kelis – vocals (8) * Lex Amor – vocals (9) * Knucks – vocals (10) * Shakka – vocals (12) * Wretch 32 – vocals (12), additional vocals (8) * Ego Ella May – vocals (13), additional vocals (9) *

Rexx Life Raj Faraji Omar Wright, also known as Rexx Life Raj, is an American rapper and singer. He has released five albums, including the ''Father Figure'' trilogy, and four EPs. Early life Faraji Omar Wright grew up in Berkeley, California. His mother w ...

– vocals (14) * Ayanna Christie Brown – additional vocals (2, 10) * Emmavie – additional vocals (2, 10) * Michael Stafford – additional vocals (2, 10) * Christina Matovu – additional vocals (4, 7, 12, 15) * Mundu – additional vocals (4, 14) * Bobii Lewis – additional vocals (6) * Benjamin Totten – guitar (1, 11) * David Mrakpor – guitar, keyboards, synth bass (4) * Rashaan Brown – guitar (6) * Greg Mathews – guitar (8) * Femi Koleoso – drums (1, 5) * Namali Kwaten – drums, percussion (4) * Dayna Fisher – bass guitar (6, 7, 11, 15), trombone (1) * Neil Waters – trumpet (1–4, 10, 15),

flugelhorn The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B, though some ...

(4, 5, 11) * Trevor Mires – trombone (2–4, 6–8, 10, 13, 15),

sousaphone The sousaphone ( ) is a brass instrument in the tuba family. Created around 1893 by J. W. Pepper at the direction of American bandleader John Philip Sousa (after whom the instrument was then named), it was designed to be easier to play than ...

(7, 10), bass trombone (13) * Charlie Stock and Stella Page – viola (1, 2, 4, 6–8, 12, 13, 15) * Ezme Gaze and Wayne Urquhart – cello (1, 2, 4, 6–8, 12, 13, 15) * Antonia Pagulatos, Emma Blanco, Marsha Skins, and Sam Kennedy – violin (1, 2, 4, 6–8, 12, 13, 15) * Nathan "Flutebox" Lee – flute (2) * Mike Keys – keyboards (9), piano, synth bass (13) *

Ed Thomas Edward Arthur Thomas (July 17, 1950 – June 24, 2009) was an American high school football coach. On June 24, 2009, Thomas was shot and killed in his Parkersburg, Iowa football team's weight room by Mark Becker, one of Thomas' former players. ...

– piano (15)

Technical

* Cameron Palmer – engineering (1, 2, 5, 7–10, 13, 15), drum programming (2, 5, 9, 10, 13) * Kwame "KZ" Kwei-Armah Jr. – executive producer, engineering (1, 2, 6–9, 11–15), drum programming (6, 8, 9), vocal

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

s (13) * Swindle – executive producer * Stuart Hawkes – mastering engineer (1–9, 11–14) * Joker – mixing engineer (1–8, 10–14) * Neil Waters – string arrangements (1, 2, 4, 6–8, 12, 13, 15) * Namali Kwaten – drum programming (4), sound design (4) * Blue Lab Beats – engineering (4) * Jay Weathers – drum programming (15)

Charts

References

{{Reflist 2022 debut albums Kojey Radical albums Asylum Records albums Atlantic Records albums