ARTIST: KOJEY RADICAL
SINGLE: BAMBU
RELEASE DATE: JUNE 1st 2015
Contemporary artist & spoken word Ghanaian-British poet Kojey Radical gets off to a valiant, thought provoking and hard hitting follow up to last year’s ‘Dear Daisy: Opium EP’ with his first official release in 2015 ‘Bambu (I Don’t Really Worry ‘Bout Nothin’).
Watch The Video For ‘‘Bambu (I Don’t Really Worry ‘Bout Nothin’)’:
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‘Bambu’ got an early first play on BBC 1XTRA as their Next Generation Shout in January and has been picking up momentum ever since. Now Kojey Radical is about to embark on a national UK tour with Mercury Prize 2014 winners Young Fathers and FADER have likened him to Kendrick. Since becoming a full time artist things have rapidly turned for Kojey who is also a keen fashion and art director for London brand Chelsea Bravo and production house Tomboy Films along with founder of his own arts collective Push Crayons and East London grime crew Orph Gang.
On this track Kojey joins forces with rising Swedish producer Lupus Cain to a create a completely unique blend of genres, combining spoken word poetry with a trap influenced instrumentation.
‘Bambu’ details society from an almost anthropological view point with grippingly relatable undertones. Kojey cleverly chooses to speak on a personal journey through inner city life, drug culture and the detrimental effects of ignorance within urban culture all while seamlessly linking back to concepts of Darwinian Theory and the nature of survival.
‘Bambu’ is an audio journey that continues to rise, both lyrically and sonically, held together by a catchy juxtaposing chorus section and a highly climactic conclusion.
Unlike anything Kojey Radical has released before ‘Bambu’ superbly showcases his full artistry, versatility and ability to blend genres creating a lane truly unique to him.
Kojey explains, “I wrote this piece as an ode to the thoughts about society people often ignore. As soon as we wrapped it up we were instantly met with this feeling that this record is important. I’ve heard it described as a societal soliloquy or a stream of consciousness on the first listen. I found that interesting. The hybrid of poetry and thumping almost trap like beat… The intensity of the delivery…Art shouldn’t compromise and ‘Bambu’ is uncompromising.”
Of the equally groundbreaking video Kojey says, “”I know the visuals will speak for themselves; there’s so much to be said about its cultural relevance but also its place within fashion, music and art. The film is social commentary at a time where we feel it’s most important; we’re challenging the conventions of what music videos have become, “urban” culture is a novelty. Every location in the film is another slice of life. This is London. This is our culture and reflection of its appropriations.”
Tour Dates
MAY 20TH 2015 GLASGOW, UK ART SCHOOL
MAY 21ST 2015 NEWCASTLE, UK RIVERSIDE
MAY 22ND 2015 LEEDS, UK BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB
MAY 23RD 2015 KNOCKENGORROCH, UK WORLD CEILIDH FESTIVAL
MAY 25TH 2015 MANCHESTER, UK GORILLA
MAY 26TH 2015 NOTTINGHAM, UK RESCUE ROOMS
MAY 27TH 2015 CARDIFF, UK CLWB IFOR BACH
MAY 28TH 2015 LONDON, UK KOKO
MAY 29TH 2015 BRIGHTON, UK THE HAUNT
MAY 31TH 2015 SOUTHAMPTON, UK ENGINE ROOMS
JUN 1ST 2015 GLOUCESTER, UK GUILDHALL
JUN 2ND 2015 OXFORD, UK O2 ACADEMY 2
JUN 3RD 2015 BIRMINGHAM, UK HARE & HOUNDS
JUN 4TH 2015 STOKE-ON-TRENT, UK THE SUGARMILL
JUN 5TH 2015 NORWICH, UK NORWICH ARTS CENTRE
JUN 6TH 2015 SHEFFIELD, UK O2 ACADEMY 2
Web links:
https://soundcloud.com/kojeyradical
The Planet Of Sound 