{"id":92631,"date":"2025-02-21T14:29:42","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T14:29:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nijimagazine.com\/?p=92631"},"modified":"2025-02-21T18:17:44","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T18:17:44","slug":"koj-continues-his-ascent-with-villain-with-a-conscience-and-forthcoming-debut-ep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nijimagazine.com\/2025\/02\/koj-continues-his-ascent-with-villain-with-a-conscience-and-forthcoming-debut-ep\/","title":{"rendered":"KOJ continues his ascent with \u2018Villain with a Conscience\u2019 and forthcoming Debut EP"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-92633\" src=\"https:\/\/nijimagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/KOJ-VWAC-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"847\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nijimagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/KOJ-VWAC-2.jpg 700w, https:\/\/nijimagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/KOJ-VWAC-2-307x400.jpg 307w, https:\/\/nijimagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/KOJ-VWAC-2-399x520.jpg 399w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Upcoming British rapper KOJ is making waves with his latest single and the announcement of his debut EP, &#8216;Villain with a Conscience&#8217;. Out now! The title track is setting the stage for the highly anticipated full release on 4 April via Interval Records under EMI North.<\/p>\n<p>Hailing from Liverpool, KOJ has established himself as one of the UK\u2019s most compelling rising stars. A versatile and introspective rapper, he blends raw emotion with bold production from frequent collaborator TEE and legendary hip-hop producer Joe Buddha. His music delves into themes of self-discovery, power, and ambition, offering deeply personal storytelling that remains both relevant and thought-provoking.<\/p>\n<p>After making a bold return with A Reminder, KOJ explored the intoxicating yet destructive nature of Love Money Drugs, portraying them as forces that can elevate or destroy. A Roadman\u2019s Tale of Home examined identity and belonging, while his latest single, <a href=\"https:\/\/lnk.to\/VWAC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Villain with a Conscience<\/a>, takes this a step further\u2014grappling with the feeling of being out of place before finally stepping into his own.<\/p>\n<p>KOJ explains:<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>\u201cIt represents a journey through many worlds. I\u2019ve had the ability to exist in these different realities, but none ever felt like my own, a place where I could be my true self. This song marks the moment I decided to take a leap of faith into my own world\u2014the real world. It\u2019s the turning point of the EP.\u201d<\/em><\/h2>\n<p>Produced by TEE, the track pushes KOJ further than ever sonically, mirroring his artistic evolution. The accompanying visual also sees him elevate his storytelling, stretching creative boundaries like never before.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border-radius: 12px;\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/track\/1x8qV52jrhx1wYBeARbwxI?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"352\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>2024 was a breakthrough year for the Scouse rapper. He headlined the Liverpool leg of BBC Radio 1Xtra\u2019s Touchdown Tour with DJ Target and performed at major festivals, including Liverpool Sound City, Dot to Dot, and Latitude. His live event series, TRiBE, sold out multiple dates and was spotlighted by The Face Magazine as part of a cultural movement in Liverpool. Meanwhile, This is Not a Drill, a fan-driven project for his growing community #ThePeoplesTribe, further cemented his connection with supporters. His Red Bull Raise the Bar performance amassed over 20k views in just one day.<\/p>\n<p>In the past year, KOJ has gained strong playlist and media support from BBC Radio 1Xtra, BBC Introducing, Spotify, Amazon Music, Clash, KISS FM, BET UK, and Apple Music\u2019s New Fire and New Music Daily.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-92632\" src=\"https:\/\/nijimagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/KOJ-VWAC-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"847\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nijimagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/KOJ-VWAC-1.jpg 700w, https:\/\/nijimagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/KOJ-VWAC-1-307x400.jpg 307w, https:\/\/nijimagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/KOJ-VWAC-1-399x520.jpg 399w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Tipped as \u201cthe future of UK rap\u201d by Wordplay and Oculate, KOJ\u2019s debut EP, Villain with a Conscience, drops on 4 April\u2014further solidifying his place as a standout force in the UK rap scene.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Connect with KOJ<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/instagram.com\/bigdaddykoj\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Instagram<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/artist\/3Ntj9xjU3aBDQzOKYtAMJa?si=Z1hRN5riR_mw_QViGnOqxg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spotify<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Upcoming British rapper KOJ is making waves with his latest single and the announcement of his debut EP, &#8216;Villain with a Conscience&#8217;. Out now! The title track is setting the stage for the highly anticipated full release on 4 April via Interval Records under EMI North. Hailing from Liverpool, KOJ has established himself as one [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":92637,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4080,1],"tags":[7678,1258,5611,190,11630],"class_list":{"0":"post-92631","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-introducing","8":"category-music","9":"tag-debut-ep","10":"tag-introducing-tag","11":"tag-music-blog","12":"tag-new-music","13":"tag-villain-with-a-conscience"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/nijimagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/KOJ-VWAC-2-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nijimagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nijimagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nijimagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nijimagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nijimagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92631"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/nijimagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92631\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92638,"href":"https:\/\/nijimagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92631\/revisions\/92638"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nijimagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nijimagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nijimagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nijimagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}