Kojey Radical – Don't Look Down
On the followup to his debut album, Reasons to Smile, Kojey Radical continues to carve out his own sound
With his second studio album, Don't Look Down, East London rapper Kojey Radical has clearly used the intervening years well since his 2022 debut – Don’t Look Down is a bumper 16-track offering, every song created with care. Combining jazz, rap and R'n'B, his sound lands somewhere between Tyler, The Creator and Kendrick Lamar – but hailing from Hoxton, not Hollywood. Check out Breathe, Rotation and Everyday for the best examples of this unique sound; there’s also a strong gospel flavour to the album, which soars on head-bopping single Conversation.
An eclectic mix of artists from the burgeoning UK R'n'B scene join Radical on the album, with each given time to make their mark – don’t miss James Vickery’s contribution to On Call, a stand-out track. Most impressive, though, is Radical's strong cadence, wordplay and progressive bars, which draw comparisons to East London legend Kano. While Don’t Look Down might lack the knockout punches that would bring Kojey Radical to the top table of UK rap, it's another step in his rise as a star of the alternative scene as he continues to carve out his own sound.
Listen to: Conversation, On Call, Breathe