Reason to Smile | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 4 March 2022 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 52:20 | |||
Label | ||||
Kojey Radical chronology | ||||
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Singles from Reason to Smile | ||||
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Reason to Smile is the debut studio album by British rapper Kojey Radical, released 4 March 2022 by Asylum Records and Atlantic Records.[2][3] It was shortlisted for the 2022 Mercury Prize and nominated for Album of the Year at the 2022 MOBO Awards.
Background
The album was preceded by four singles: "War Outside" released 23 September 2021;[4] "Gangsta" released 15 November;[5] "Payback" released 15 January 2022;[6] and "Silk" released 18 February.[7] The first three came along with music videos while "Silk" received an official visualiser. Another video for "Talkin" released 9 March, featuring animated versions of Radical and the song's guests Tiana Major9 and Kelis.[8]
Reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 8.0/10[9] |
Metacritic | 81/100[10] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Clash | 8/10[1] |
DIY | [2] |
Financial Times | [11] |
The Guardian | [3] |
The Line of Best Fit | 8/10[12] |
Loud and Quiet | 9/10[13] |
NME | [14] |
According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Reason to Smile received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 81 out of 100 from 7 critic scores.[10] "Payback" was included at number 9 on BBC Music's list of the best songs of the year.[15]
Accolades
Year | Organisation | Award | Status | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2022 | Mercury Prize | — | Shortlisted | [16] |
GRM Daily Rated Awards | Album of the Year | Nominated | [17] | |
MOBO Awards | Album of the Year | Nominated | [18][19] |
Publication | # | Ref. |
---|---|---|
Clash | 22 | [20] |
Double J | 22 | [21] |
NME | 35 | [22] |
PopMatters | 33 | [23] |
Track listing
All tracks are written by Kwadwo Adu Genfi Amponsah with others noted
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producers | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Reason to Smile" (featuring Tiana Major9) |
|
| 3:04 |
2. | "Together" |
|
| 3:04 |
3. | "Nappy" |
|
| 2:16 |
4. | "Silk" (featuring Masego) |
|
| 3:58 |
5. | "Pressure" (featuring Shaé Universe) |
|
| 3:54 |
6. | "Born" (featuring Cashh) |
|
| 3:27 |
7. | "Pusher Man: BWI" |
|
| 4:51 |
8. | "Talkin" (featuring Kelis and Tiana Major9) |
|
| 2:57 |
9. | "War Outside" (featuring Lex Amor) |
|
| 3:57 |
10. | "Payback" (featuring Knucks) |
|
| 2:45 |
11. | "Fubu" |
|
| 3:05 |
12. | "Beautiful" (featuring Wretch 32 and Shakka) |
|
| 3:20 |
13. | "Anywhere" (featuring Ego Ella May) |
|
| 3:05 |
14. | "Solo" (featuring Rexx Life Raj) |
|
| 4:00 |
15. | "Gangsta" |
|
| 4:37 |
Total length: | 52:20 |
Personnel
Musicians
- Kojey Radical – vocals
- Cameron Palmer – synth bass (2, 5, 10), piano (5, 8), keyboards (10, 13), organ (8), synthesizer (8), Rhodes solo (8), guitar (10), Wurlitzer (11)
- Kwame "KZ" Kwei-Armah Jr. – additional vocals (1, 3, 6, 10), synthesizer (2, 13), piano (1), Rhodes solo (2), piano (7), bass (8), guitar (8), synth bass (9), whistling (9)
- Tiana Major9 – vocals (1, 8)
- Masego – vocals (4)
- Shaé Universe – vocals (5)
- Cashh – vocals (6)
- Kelis – vocals (8)
- Lex Amor – vocals (9)
- Knucks – vocals (10)
- Shakka – vocals (12)
- Wretch 32 – vocals (12), additional vocals (8)
- Ego Ella May – vocals (13), additional vocals (9)
- Rexx Life Raj – vocals (14)
- Ayanna Christie Brown – additional vocals (2, 10)
- Emmavie – additional vocals (2, 10)
- Michael Stafford – additional vocals (2, 10)
- Christina Matovu – additional vocals (4, 7, 12, 15)
- Mundu – additional vocals (4, 14)
- Bobii Lewis – additional vocals (6)
- Benjamin Totten – guitar (1, 11)
- David Mrakpor – guitar, keyboards, synth bass (4)
- Rashaan Brown – guitar (6)
- Greg Mathews – guitar (8)
- Femi Koleoso – drums (1, 5)
- Namali Kwaten – drums, percussion (4)
- Dayna Fisher – bass guitar (6, 7, 11, 15), trombone (1)
- Neil Waters – trumpet (1–4, 10, 15), flugelhorn (4, 5, 11)
- Trevor Mires – trombone (2–4, 6–8, 10, 13, 15), sousaphone (7, 10), bass trombone (13)
- Charlie Stock and Stella Page – viola (1, 2, 4, 6–8, 12, 13, 15)
- Ezme Gaze and Wayne Urquhart – cello (1, 2, 4, 6–8, 12, 13, 15)
- Antonia Pagulatos, Emma Blanco, Marsha Skins, and Sam Kennedy – violin (1, 2, 4, 6–8, 12, 13, 15)
- Nathan "Flutebox" Lee – flute (2)
- Mike Keys – keyboards (9), piano, synth bass (13)
- Ed Thomas – piano (15)
Technical
- Cameron Palmer – engineering (1, 2, 5, 7–10, 13, 15), drum programming (2, 5, 9, 10, 13)
- Kwame "KZ" Kwei-Armah Jr. – executive producer, engineering (1, 2, 6–9, 11–15), drum programming (6, 8, 9), vocal arrangements (13)
- Swindle – executive producer
- Stuart Hawkes – mastering engineer (1–9, 11–14)
- Joker – mixing engineer (1–8, 10–14)
- Neil Waters – string arrangements (1, 2, 4, 6–8, 12, 13, 15)
- Namali Kwaten – drum programming (4), sound design (4)
- Blue Lab Beats – engineering (4)
- Jay Weathers – drum programming (15)
Charts
Chart (2022) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Albums (OCC)[24] | 11 |
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[25] | 1 |
References
- 1 2 Smith, Niall (4 March 2022). "Kojey Radical – Reason to Smile". Clash. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- 1 2 Grice, Alisdair. "Kojey Radical – Reason to Smile review". DIY. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- 1 2 Morris, Kadish (13 March 2022). "Kojey Radical: Reason to Smile review – an era-defining Black British work". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ↑ Smith, Niall (23 September 2021). "Kojey Radical Enlists Lex Amor for Battle-Ready Jam "War Outside"". Complex. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ↑ Smith, Niall (15 November 2021). "Kojey Radical's "Gangsta" Is an Ode to the Special Women in His Life". Complex. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ↑ Keith, James (15 January 2022). "Kojey Radical Calls on Knucks for New Album Primer "Payback"". Complex. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ↑ Kenneally, Cerys (18 February 2022). "Kojey Radical teams up with Masego on new single "Silk"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ↑ Cho, Regina (9 March 2022). "Kojey Radical, Kelis, and Tiana Major9 are "Talkin'" in new visual". Revolt. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
- ↑ "Reason to Smile by Kojey Radical reviews". AnyDecentMusic. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- 1 2 "Reason to Smile by Kojey Radical Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ↑ Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (11 March 2022). "Kojey Radical's Reason to Smile — a family affair". Financial Times. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ↑ Ferrier, Aimee (10 March 2022). "Kojey Radical's debut Reason to Smile drips with infectious confidence and celebration". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ↑ Goggins, Joe (28 February 2022). "Kojey Radical – Reason to Smile". Loud and Quiet. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ↑ Williams, Kyann-Sian (4 March 2022). "Kojey Radical – Reason to Smile review: UK rap's Renaissance man comes good". NME. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ↑ Savage, Mark (30 December 2022). "From Rosalía to Beyoncé: 25 of the best songs released in 2022". BBC Music. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
- ↑ Singh, Surej (26 July 2022). "Mercury Prize 2022 shortlist revealed". NME. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
- ↑ "GRM Daily Rated Awards 2022: Full Winners List". Capital Xtra. 24 October 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
- ↑ Rackham, Annabel (11 November 2022). "MOBOs 2022: Rapper and producer Knucks leads nominations". BBC. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
- ↑ Waters, Lowenna (2 December 2022). "MOBO Awards 2022: Full winners list including Little Simz and Ezra Collective". Evening Standard. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
- ↑ Smith, Niall (12 December 2022). "Clash Albums of the Year 2022". Clash. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
- ↑ Condon, Dan (6 December 2022). "The 50 best albums of 2022". Double J. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ↑ Williams, Kyann-Sian (9 December 2022). "The 50 best albums of 2022". NME. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ↑ Morgan, Tom (6 December 2022). "The 80 Best Albums of 2022". PopMatters. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ↑ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 July 2022.