[FEATURE] VIPER PRESENTS: KOJ

Liverpool’s rising rapper KOJ teases his forthcoming EP, ‘VILLAIN WITH A CONSCIENCE’ with this VIPER interview, following his recent single, ‘A ROADMAN’S TALE OF HOME’…

What five words define your sound?
 
Honest, emotive, soul-filled, raw and natural.
 
Tell me something unique about your creative process
 
I like to write bar for bar with the beat. I work to follow every twist and turn of the instrumentation. If melody softens, my tone and delivery will soften with it. If the bass comes back in with a vengeance, you better believe I am going to also.
 
Which song of yours would you like people to hear first?
 
A ROADMAN’S TALE OF HOME. I feel like this record is the perfect window into not only me, but a lot of working class people; the people I represent.
 
What inspired you to make that song?
 
I wanted to shed light on people in places like Liverpool; were if you are from a working class area, or are from a certain type of demographic, you do face difficult circumstances that can impact and influence your life in a negative way. A lot of people go through challenging experiences (which I touch on in A ROADMAN’S TALE OF HOME) but they never speak about it. I want to empower and inspire and articulate for those people who have are and have been through this.
 
What’s the most vulnerable you’ve allowed yourself to be when writing/making music?
 
I always strive to demonstrate vulnerability any time I write but I feel I have done an exceptional job of doing so in my upcoming EP project: VILLAIN WITH A CONSCIENCE. With this collection of songs, which will be out later this year, I really submitted to transparency and vulnerability with everything from the sound to lyrics to the whole music making process.
 
What’s the best/worst experience you’ve had on stage?
 
Every time I get the opportunity to perform in front of new people it’s special, but performing at Boomtown was definitely a stand out. Performing at one of the UK’s most renowned festivals in front of thousands of people – phenomenal. That said, the energy of my hometown headlines are something else too. I have my own curated hometown event – TRiBE – coming up… it will be vibes.
 
What is your favourite song to perform?
 
This is an extremely difficult question to answer because of my catalogue being so diverse; each individual song brings a different energy to the venue. That being said, A REMINDER is always a fun song to perform no matter where I am. The good vibes and punchy nature of the tune make it super fun to jam out!
 
Which artist/song/album made you want to make music?
 
I would say probably just the golden era of grime music itself which I found so captivating. Seeing artists like Kano & Skepta craft records (even back then) was inspiring. But the progression of the movement as a whole made me fall in love with the art of barring.
 
What’s the meaning behind your name?
 
My middle name is Kojo; in Ghanaian culture it’s typical to be given a name that corresponds to the day you’re born. Kojo is one of the more common Monday-born male names so I happen to be born on the same day as my grandad and named after him. Naturally it got shortened to Koj as nicknames are a massive part of British culture. Some things just stick.
If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing instead?
 
Playing football, working out, taking care of my family. I like to keep active as I’m very driven. In the long run, everything I do is to take care of the people I love. So with or without music, that will always be the core of what I do.
 
What’s success to you?
 
I feel my job on this earth is to stay inspired and be bold and continue to grow so I can inspire people like me to be themselves and in turn push the boundaries of their potential. Making enough noise to inspire people around the world would be a huge success for me.
 
What moment in your life/career forced you to change direction?
 
There have certainly been a number of experiences that have forced me to reflect and re-assess. But the birth of my son changed my life like nothing ever before. Knowing there is someone who depends on me and will look to me for guidance and as an example, who will also eventually trace the journey and keep up to date with it. That put a fire in my belly for sure!
 
Where can people keep in touch with you?
 
I’m @bigdaddykoj on all socials. I share all upcoming music, events and merchandise on there. If you ever want to contact me personally, my DMs are always open!

Photo by Ollie Bradley-Baker