East London-born rapper and poet Kojey Radical, whose real name is Kwadwo Adu Genfi Amponsah, has released his sophomore album ‘Don’t Look Down’. The Independent describe it as an “all-encompassing creative approach makes for one outstanding album”.

The release comes three years after his critically acclaimed debut ‘Reason to Smile’, which earned him a Mercury Prize nomination. That record blended funk and soul while exploring themes of Blackness, women, sex, fatherhood, family and faith. The project established him as one of the UK’s most inventive voices, praised for bringing a painterly sense of detail to rap while keeping his roots in spoken word and performance art.

The 32 year-old artist has become known for mixing a wide range of genres into something uniquely his own. ‘Don’t Look Down’ continues in this style, weaving R&B, funk, soul, and even unexpected flourishes such as a mariachi-inspired trumpet section. Originally intended to be called ‘Life of the Party’, the new record reflects on the highs of success, the pressure of fame, the search for meaning and connection and what it means to stay true to yourself.

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The album opens with a spoken word introduction in which Radical reflects: “You’re supposed to be the life of the party. How many homies didn’t make it? How many times did I count the empty seats, instead of the ones that showed their faces?” This vulnerability sets the tone for the rest of the project, which circles themes of loneliness and the struggle to remain grounded while in the spotlight.

Born in Hoxton to Ghanaian parents, Radical first trained as a visual artist. He studied Fashion Illustration at the London College of Fashion, graduating with First Class Honours. His early music was directly inspired by his coursework illustrations, which explored faith, love and social media.

Leading into the album, Kojey Radical linked with Montreal trio Planet Giza (Tony Stone, Rami B and DoomX) on the sleek single ‘Expensive’. Produced by Swindle, the track leans on warm keys and a floor-ready pulse, with Tony Stone’s falsetto lifting the hook before Radical tightens the focus on verse two. The single appears on ‘Don’t Look Down’ and arrived with an official visualiser, underscoring the record’s cross-Atlantic blend of hip-hop, soul and club textures.

Collaboration has always been central to his work. ‘Don’t Look Down’ features contributions from Ghetts, Bawo, MNEK, Dende, James Vickery, Benjamin A.D, Col3trane, SOLOMON and Victor Ray. He is also joined by Moses Boyd and Femi Koleoso of Ezra Collective, whose frenetic jazz-driven energy gives life to several tracks.

Alongside the album, Radical has created a short film that ties together several songs and videos. Building on his Mercury Prize recognition and FIFA soundtrack success, the East London artist will bring ‘Don’t Look Down’ to life on stage next year, with his UK tour finishing at the Royal Albert Hall in May 2026.

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Presented by O2 in partnership with Sofar Sounds, a company renowned for organising secret, intimate performances in unconventional locations. The show was billed as one of the UK’s most remote gigs. By limiting physical attendance to a mere 100 people while simultaneously live-streaming the performance to music fans at the Outernet in London, the event created a new precedent, challenging conventional tour economics and marketing strategies. Supported by the likes of Hamzaa, Victor Ray and Au/Ra, the timing of the event approximately two weeks before the release of Radical’s new album, ‘Don’t Look Down’ was tailormade to generate significant pre-release momentum while serving as a brand activation event for O2, as it tries to cement its place as the ‘Best Mobile Network Operator’ in the UK. 

 

 

 

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Christian Hindennach, the Chief Commercial Officer at Virgin Media O2, said: “Music is part of O2’s DNA, so we’re always looking for new ways to offer our customers unmissable live experiences…We want to make live entertainment even more accessible and memorable for all of our customers to enjoy.”

By creating a globally newsworthy event instead of a traditional press conference or a single drop, Radical reinforced his creative, boundary-pushing persona and positioned himself as an artist at the forefront of cultural and technical innovation. The Glencoe brand activation gig reveals a contrasting juxtaposition to Radical’s public-facing tour dates later this month, which include performances at venues like Resident Music in Brighton and Rough Trade locations across London, Nottingham, and Bristol. The high-profile, sponsored event created the initial buzz, while the smaller, largely intimate record store dates provide a somewhat tangible way for fans to purchase the new album. In the words of Radical, who said: “It was really special playing a gig in such a unique, remote area, and sharing some music from my upcoming album.”

 

 

 

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The Glencoe gig is part of a growing trend in the UK live music scene where big brands are acting as curators, staging their own high-profile events beyond the traditional live music hotspots and venues. For those who ventured into the Highlands, the show will probably be a memory to treasure. But for the industry, it’s more than just a spectacle – it’s a subtle roadmap for the future, with creativity and risk-taking still key to music’s lasting appeal. Industry insiders are already speculating that artists such as Little Simz, slowthai, and experimental producer Vegyn could be among the next wave to redefine the UK live music experience. With more musicians experimenting with immersive, unconventional locations, the boundaries of live performance are likely to be pushed even further in the coming years.

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The multi-genre artist posted a video on his Instagram with the caption “Reason To Smile comes out in 5 weeks  It’s time to start giving you guys a little taster of the album… What song do you wanna hear?”. 

The video posted by Kojey showed the tracks on his upcoming project, which will have 14 tracks and will feature 11  artists across 9 of the tracks. While the track list has been posted but it is in no particular order, so fans will still be unsure of how it will run.

Kojey features solely on 5 of the tracks with the titles of these tracks being, “Nappy”, “Pusher Man: BWI”, “Fubu”, “Gangsta” and “Together”. With these tracks being the only ones Kojey is on by himself, and given his ability to move from genre to genre and perform RnB, indie, rap and soul, it is impossible for fans to guess how he will come across on these tracks.

The remaining 9 tracks all contain features, with Kojey choosing an eclectic roster of artists to perform alongside.  The already released featured track is “Payback” featuring Knucks, which has received a great reception, with over 120 thousand views on Youtube and 345 thousand streams on Spotify 10 days after release. The remaining tracks are “Reason to Smile” featuring grammy nominated jazz/neo-soul artist Tiana Major9, who also features on the track “Talkin” alongside Kojey and legendary pop sensation Kelis. As well as Knucks, a number of other UK rappers will feature on the project, including Jamaican Brit Cashh on  “Born”, as well as Wretch 32 and UK RnB singer Shakka on the track “Beautiful”. The impressive feature list continues with a number of vocal superstars, including American singer Masego featuring on the track “Silk”, Nigerian born singer Shae Universe on “Pressure”, south London jazz sensation Ego Ella May on the track “Anywhere” and American singer/rapper Rexx Life Raj on the track “Solo”.

Kojey Radical debut album Reason to smile is available to pre-order here.

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The video sees the pair performing in a large manor with Ghanaian and Nigerian flags draped over chairs as the pair roam around the house. The video also featured a number of black entertainers from the UK scene all dressed in suits and dresses with individuals such as entertainer Poet, Youtuber Niko Omilana, Rappers  Wretch 32 and Cash and around 6 other individuals.  

Following the release of the track, Kojey took to his Instagram to announce himself and Knucks would be rolling around London to a number of different locations and invited his fans to join them for “Some champagne and a payback playback party”. The artists went to 3 locations, Shoreditch High Street Station, Regents Park Road and bridge approach, and outside Brixton academy. The pair were met by a number of fans as they toured around London draped in fitted suits and riding in a Rolls Royce.

 

 

 

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This track is one of the lead singles for Kojey’s upcoming debut album Reason to smile which is available to preorder here and will be released on the 4th of March. 

As well as announcing his album, Kojey also shared he will be doing a tour of record shops following the release of the project with a number of in store performances across the country in London, Kingston, Bournemouth, Brighton, Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham.

Knucks is the feature on the track and has started 2022 with a bang. The rapper was picked as BBC 1xtra’s Hot For 2022 at the end of last year, and is proving why with the 27-year-old making an appearance on the highly respected music platform Colors as well as featuring as an artist at Tiffany Calver’s Abbey Road Studio cypher, only 3 weeks into the new year.

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 Kojey Radical and Knucks new track “Payback” is available to watch here: