Music / hip hop
Review: Kojey Radical, Thekla
UK rap has, for some time now, been in a stunning period of growth and flux. Long gone are the days in which any discussion of the UK rap tradition must begin and end with grime.
One towering figure who has undoubtedly helped facilitate this stretching of the playing field, is Kojey Radical. Part poet, part punk and part preacher (to some, but not likely a self-assessment) Kojey’s music holds strong ground between experimental and club-friendly shades of rap.
On the penultimate date of his Can I Speak tour, Radical treated Thekla to a blistering performance and showed, in no uncertain terms, that his recorded endeavours represent only a fraction of his artistic ability.
In fact, by his own admission during the set, he has put off dropping a new project, which presumably waits in the wings, in favour of hitting the road. Instead he has drip fed a string of new singles and collaborations, many of which were on show.
What becomes evident very quickly is that Kojey’s ability to work a crowd with the confidence that he does is indicative of his talent, hard work and ruthless ambition. Throughout the set, he mixed old material with new. Of those newer tracks, If Only and encore 97 were notable mosh pit inducing favourites; an indication of a crossover appeal that Radical has achieved with greater success than many of his peers.
From his early project 23 Winters, Kojey played the socially charged Bambu – a track that arguably made his name – along with Kwame Nkrumah. It’s testament to the grip he holds over his fans and their loyalty that the material was lost on nearly no one. In fact, it seemed as though Kojey recognised swathes of the crowd from his show at The Exchange last year.
However, much of the main substance of the set came from his latest full-bodied project In Gods Body. A highlight here, and probably of the entire set, was a touching and nearly tearful rendition of Afraid Of which he dedicated to his murdered friend Harry.
There’s something about hip hop shows that can so often miss the mark; the record has always been a far kinder bedfellow for rap, but this judgement simply does not apply to Kojey Radical. This is due, in part, to the obvious connection there is between him, the backing band and DJ. Also to each member of his outfit’s talent. But it has a lot to do with Radical’s rapturous joy for performance. He’s unsettlingly good at it and that energy cascaded through the Bristol crowd who enthusiastically returned it.
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