KOJ: THE RAPPER WHO'S BUILDING A LEGACY

WORDS RACHEL EDWARDS PHOTOGRAPHY ANTHONY WILDE - OLLIE BRADLEY-BAKER

Koj is a man on a mission. More than just a rapper, he’s a storyteller, a community-builder, and an artist with purpose. Drawing from his experiences growing up in Liverpool and becoming a father, his lyrics are raw and honest, something that has fuelled a rapidly growing fan base.  From schoolyard rap battles to curating his own creative space 'Tribe', Koj’s vision extends beyond music. He’s here to build something lasting, a movement that fosters connection and leaves a legacy.

Sitting down with him on April Fools’ Day, it’s clear there’s nothing deceptive about Koj. Every word carries intent, whether he’s reflecting on Liverpool’s anti-establishment spirit, the emotional weight of Sinterlude, or the responsibility of giving the next generation something to believe in. F Word sits down with the rising star to talk growth, self-belief, and sacrifice, along with finding out whether he really is a villain with a conscience!

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Rachel Edwards: Nice to meet you Koj! It’s April Fools day today… did you prank anyone?

Koj: (Laughs) No I usually don't because I don't know where to draw the line when it comes to pranking!

RE: Yeah there's a fine line…So I've been listening to Sinterlude and I love it. Tell me a bit about it!

Koj: Sinterlude has actually been on a very long journey. Originally I wrote it to an instrumental with Jakebob, who has produced all of the Blue Notes 2. It was very minimalist so it gave me that room to speak. At the time I was really inspired to speak on some of the things that were happening in our city, some of the people that we've lost along the way and what was happening on the streets - not glamorising it, just trying to convey my raw emotion around those topics. And now it's been produced by TEE who basically just made a whole new instrumental for it, but still incorporated Jakebob's sampler. And we've got Ni Maxine on it to really give it that polished element.

RE: How has Liverpool inspired your music?

Koj: I think there's definitely an element of anti-establishment with rap music and with Liverpool's culture, but it's also the uniqueness of the accents and the way the words rhyme, along with the hearts and minds of the people of Liverpool. I feel like it's different to the rest of the UK. I think it can be difficult coming from somewhere with less music infrastructure, less support and less opportunity, but I think it's made me crafty and created opportunities. As I say, the elements of the hard work and the working class and the anti-establishment essence always comes through. I think that's to do with coming through the grime as well. It's funny the way different subcultures will have the in-betweens of the Venn diagrams - it's like grime without knowing, it's very Scouse.

RE: What's one Scouse term or slang that you feel like everyone should know?

Koj: 'Heavy', because depending on what the context is it can mean 'that's amazing', 'that's boss' or it's sort of terrible! You go 'oof, heavy that'.

RE: (Laughs) Did you always know you wanted to work in music?

Koj: Well I think there was a part of my soul that always knew. My dad's a guitarist, he was in bands when he was younger and my mum was a massive lover of music so we all spoke the language of music in my house. But I didn't realise I was going to be a musician. I started setting up rap battles in the school yard. I got into my grime phase and I was just spitting on the yard by myself. Then when I got into rap battles it was the 'don't flop' era and I was so encapsulated by it that I took it to the schoolyard and everyone loved it. It was amazing to have all these different types of people and all these different character archetypes - shy people, quiet people, loudmouth people - obviously because we all have our differences there was a lot to say to each other within the rap battles and that just spiralled into me starting to write.

I remember the moment I rapped the first lyrics I'd written to my mates. I thought to myself 'If they don't believe this is mine, then it must be good' and that's exactly how it went. They were like 'they are not yours!' and that's what I needed to hear. From then on I was just writing, writing, writing. You've always got to be writing even if what you're writing isn't the best work. I think it's a process where you need to empty the bucket.

RE: It must be quite therapeutic as well because you're just getting everything down, aren't you? It's some form of therapy in a way.

Koj: For me it always has that therapeutic element - I'll put in lyrics things that I wouldn't necessarily say to people, for example if I have a problem with my dad I'm not necessarily going to take it to my dad, I'll just talk about it in the music. I think I think knowing that people are going to listen to me really gave me an outlet to get things off my chest, because I knew that people would listen and they wouldn't necessarily come and talk to me about it, but I knew I'd got it off my chest and it had been heard. I felt I had a voice through that.

RE: I think a lot of people can relate to that, particularly men who hold things in, you know? Men's mental health is often overlooked. Would you say that this is changing in society and do you want your lyrics to help to change things?

Koj: I think it's an uphill battle. There's always going to be elements of wanting to keep your pride and be private as a masculine man but I grew up with a close friend who's mum was a therapist so he was somebody who I could always open up to. We'd have conversations outside of our friendship group on things that I wouldn't bring up in front of everyone, but it didn't take me long to realise that not everybody has that. Because of this I double down on speaking about things and speaking up on things and using my voice. If somebody that people deem to be cool or has status speaks out then other people will do the same - it's monkey see, monkey do... Other people see it and feel empowered to do it too. I think part of my whole package is to help people speak about what they are going through and be themselves and own it.

RE: And I think it comes through, you have this raw expression and emotion in your lyrics. You also speak about becoming a father and how that impacted you. How do you think fatherhood changed you creatively?

Koj: I think knowing that one day my son is going to go through my catalogue and he's going to know what this means or that means, including lyrics that I wrote prior to his birth that I wouldn't necessarily broadcast to the public now, will be a conversation in itself. From the moment he was born I knew there were going to be uncomfortable, difficult conversations about what I've said about my experience in life or society and I think I think that was something that made me aware that I had to double down on the purity of the music - making sure it's bang on, making sure it sounds correct, making sure the messaging is correct and making sure that we give it the vessel it needs to cut through all of the noise that is today's society.

I've been through the struggle and I've had to do things that I didn't want to do, things that I'm not proud of. But since my son was born I made a promise to myself and my family that I'm going to do right by the code. I can't do right by everyone at all times, but I made that decision to make sure that I keep my head above water and to keep the music pumping out until I reach my potential and and push beyond the boundary.

RE: That makes me think of Villain with a Conscience. Are you a villain with a conscience?

Koj: I think it depends where the start point is and how you look at it. The concept behind Villain with a Conscience is that you're a hero until you're not. You know the saying 'to make an omelette you've got to crack a few eggs'? To make change and have a positive impact you might have to do things that certain people would deem negative. My goal has always been a positive one and my actions have always tried to lead to a positive outcome for me and those around me, but not all of my actions have been positive for everyone.

RE: Do you mean sometimes you've had to be more selfish in situations?

Koj: Yeah, absolutely.

RE: I think that is a big thing, it's like you want to be there for everybody but you can't truly be there for anyone until you've been there for yourself and I think that's one of the hardest things sometimes.

Koj: Absolutely, and I think to get yourself out of a rut sometimes you've almost got to take care of yourself to the point that you might be leaving other people out. It's a necessary evil to get to the next stage. If I can burst open the door I can help more people, if I grow my profile to a certain amount I'll have a certain amount of influence. We can change more lives, we can change more of the negatives of society.

RE: What other tracks are you excited to release?

Koj: Definitely Product of the Streets. We've got some interesting imagery around that. I think overall I'm excited for people to take in the EP as a whole because I think the world that we've built around it is really powerful and cohesive. But I think more than anything, I'm just excited to bring the world together with the video for Sinterlude and what we've got going on for Products of the Streets as well. The visual element really knits the whole world together.

RE: Yeah, definitely. It feels like you're feeding people chapters at the moment. And what what inspires you when outside of music?

Koj: I'm a people's person at heart. Not only do I want to achieve the most for myself but I'm legacy-based essentially so I want my music to live on well past my death. Not selfishly, it's because I want to inspire other people to be able to be themselves and live their truth. I want to be an example to people like myself with a background like mine and others to get the most out of themselves.

I see more than anything in today's youth that they don't actually know how powerful they can be and how many people they can inspire and impact in a positive way. So many so many kids from South Liverpool think that the only option for them is to be a footballer, a gangster or a gamer. There's nothing wrong with being the former and the latter, as long as you're not a gangster. If somebody wants to be a football player, they should go for that, but even then, people are so limited. What I see from the youth of today is that they're not actually aware what they can go out and be and what they can make for themselves.

RE: What was it that changed that for you? Even though you grew up with parents who were interested in music, you must have still been surrounded by that kind of mindset to some extent. What pulled you out of that?

Koj: Yeah, absolutely, for me it was a mixture of things. I think when I was younger I really thought it would be easier to get into the industry and become a well-known successful musician. As I got knock-backs it did knock my confidence and I had to think twice about whether I really wanted to take it there with this thing, but I think a mixture of doing my research, reading into the human mind and what we're capable of and consuming a lot of self-help and positive content all made me want to push myself to the maximum. I've also met certain people along the way who've introduced me to opportunities and made me more aware of the support that's out there for artists which completely changed my life. I got on one program which gave me a little bit of funding and I was introduced to the right people and put in meetings and I got to see things that I'd never seen before. As soon as I'd seen these things and I was aware that I could get that help there was no mercy for me.

RE: That's the thing isn't it, you just need that one glimmer of hope to broaden your horizon and you can kind of picture yourself in another world. It feels like with you there's no back up plan or Plan B.

Koj: Absolutely, this is my degree, it's it's all on this and I think my outlook is that I started with nothing so if I finish and I don't get what I want out of it, I think the legacy element is still there because we're crafting great art. That's what I strive to do, I want to bring back some of the more potent, more memorable elements of music and music visual. I think we're steering into the new the neurodivergent 'let's keep them on the hook and reel them in' thing, but I don't care about any of that. I care about the potency of the art and connecting the image with the music and it being a powerful watch and listen.

RE: It's in our nature to connect, and with the rise of AI we all crave something real and tangible and made by a human being more than ever. And you've actually launched your own creative community, Tribe?

Koj: Tribe is a reoccurring residency night that I run. I curate artists lineups and those kind of things but we've also got the merch. The wider idea is to build a community so I always try to make sure that Tribe has local artists, maybe some regional talent, but the vibe is so important and the people who come are there to connect with other people, not only taking in the music. After each session those who want to stay out will go somewhere else and enjoy time together to catch up and expand the community because it's especially important today when society feels so individualistic.

RE: You have so much going on, do you ever get overwhelmed or do you manage to kind of stay sane with it all?

Koj: I'm getting better at knowing when to put the device down. I'm starting to notice when I'm trying to do too much, but absolutely I get overwhelmed. Sometimes I don't expect to be so run off my feet - I can have an interview like this on a Monday or Tuesday, I can be doing a rap workshop on Wednesday, I might have studio Thursday and then I might be gigging Friday and Saturday. But I'm not complaining, this is what I live for. I think that making the right decisions day to day, making sure I take care of my body and mind and check in with myself is important.

RE: What's your favourite gig that you've played so far?

Koj: Boomtown was massive. I did Boomtown with the mouse outfit - that was the first big festival I'd done and I've never seen anything like it. The crowd was the biggest crowd I've played to, about 1200 people there! So that that stands out. I also love doing Hootananny in Brixton which is an old Jamaican pub - I just love the vibe and energy in there.

RE: Is there anyone who you've not met who you'd like to collaborate with? Like a musician that you've not...

Koj: There's a few really. I love the work the Silhouettes Project does. I think Nux would be a good one, I think we would make really good music because I think we have a similarity but also enough difference between us. And then like, someone like Ghetts or Kano, I've been a big fan of them for a long, long time. I just love their lyricism and the way they write and the way they manipulate their voices. I think we could make something great and I think I'd learn a lot from being in a room with somebody like that. I'd love to be in the studio with somebody who's really at the top of their game.

RE: I have one last question for you. What is your favourite F-Word?

Koj: Fun! As long as you're having fun in this life and you're getting by you can have not a penny in your pocket. If you're having fun out there it's worth more than anything.