Kwadwo Adu Genfi Amponsah, better known by his stage nameKojey Radical, is a British rapper and mixed media visual artist. He is known for incorporating storytelling and Afrocentric themes. His music has been described as "...somewhere between grime-y hip hop and alternative rap with a generous helping of spoken word." He is also the creative director of arts collective PushCrayons and artist director of contemporary Menswear brand Chelsea Bravo
Musical career
Radical was raised in Shoreditch and Hoxton, 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 BA hons in Fashion Illustration. His passions soon moved into music, releasing his first project Dear Daisy : Opium just after graduating in 2014. Dear Daisy is often referred to as Radical's first conceptual music project in which he touched on topics of love, social media, religion, etc., spawning 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.
2015
After supporting Young Fathers 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 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, one for Best Newcomer and one for Best Video. The project independently debuted at no.3 in the UKRap & Hip Hop Albums Charts, while simultaneously entering the UK top 40.
2017
2017 saw Radical return with his longest project to date, In Gods Body. with features from Shola Ama, Ghetts, Tamera Foster, Miloh Smith, Dance music producer Potè, Obongjayar and British actress and screenwriter Michaela Coel who recites a poem written by Kojey that serves as a central narration to the project. 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 much of Europe His longest lasting brand relationship has been with Adidas. Radical and Adidas teamed up to create a short film about mental health and depression alongside director Max Luz and international fashion platform SSense.
