Reason to Smile Kojey Radical , released 4 March 2022 by Asylum Records and Atlantic Records .[ 2] [ 3] Mercury Prize and nominated for Album of the Year at the 2022 MOBO Awards .
Reason to Smile Released 4 March 2022 Genre
Length 52 :20 Label
Cashmere Tears Reason to Smile
"War Outside" "Gangsta" "Payback" "Silk"
The album was preceded by four singles: "War Outside" released 23 September 2021;[ 4] [ 5] [ 6] [ 7] Tiana Major9 and Kelis .[ 8]
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] BBC Music ' s list of the best songs of the year.[ 15]
All tracks are written by Kwadwo Adu Genfi Amponsah with others noted
Reason to Smile track listingTitle Writer(s) Producers 1. "Reason to Smile" (featuring Tiana Major9 ) Cameron Palmer KZ Tyrell Paul 169 Venna 3:04 2. "Together" 3:04 3. "Nappy" Cadenza KZ Ric & Thadus Palmer[ a] 2:16 4. "Silk" (featuring Masego ) David Mrakpor Masego Namali Kwaten 3:58 5. "Pressure" (featuring Shaé Universe) Palmer Emil Larbi O. Koleoso Shaé Universe 3:54 6. "Born" (featuring Cashh) Cashh KZ Rayan El-Hussein Rayo Goufar 3:27 7. "Pusher Man: BWI" Adrian Francis Curtis Antony James Larbi Francis Fanatix Larbi Palmer[ a] KZ[ a] 4:51 8. "Talkin" (featuring Kelis and Tiana Major9) Palmer Kelis KZ Tiana Major9 2:57 9. "War Outside" (featuring Lex Amor) 3:57 10. "Payback" (featuring Knucks ) 2:45 11. "Fubu" Weathers KZ Remedee Palmer[ a] 3:05 12. "Beautiful" (featuring Wretch 32 and Shakka ) Ayodele Oyadare Shakka Wretch 32 3:20 13. "Anywhere" (featuring Ego Ella May ) 3:05 14. "Solo" (featuring Rexx Life Raj ) Jazon Kawu-Eugenio Rexx Life Raj 4:00 15. "Gangsta" 4:37 Total length: 52:20
Kojey Radical – vocalsCameron 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)
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)
^ a b Smith, Niall (4 March 2022). "Kojey Radical – Reason to Smile " . Clash . Retrieved 26 July 2022 . ^ a b Grice, Alisdair. "Kojey Radical – Reason to Smile review" . DIY . Retrieved 26 July 2022 . ^ a b 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 .^ a b "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.
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