Many a household name has made it into the Irish Hall of Fame (yes, that does include Dustin the Turkey) and you better believe we export them to high heaven once they receive any recognition abroad. A name that is fast becoming the most talked about in Irish music is Kojaque. The Dublin rapper is breaking down barriers visually and musically, introducing talented musicians onto the scene and being a voice for this generation of activists.

        

Kojaque (a.k.a. Kevin Smith) burst onto the scene with the ‘Midnight Flower’ music video. A terrifying performance piece, he holds his breath underwater for three minutes as he tries to swallow pills. Whilst this video can be thought of as the starting point of Kojaque’s rap career, his talent has shone through from the very beginning. Going into the depths of his Soundcloud, the likes of ‘Del Boy Beat’ and ‘Captain Kirk Freestyle’ warrant their own single releases and Kojaque has only grown since.

 

Now, five years after those first forays into self-releasing, Soft Boy Records is flourishing. Beginning as a pseudo-label to trick promoters into booking them, Soft Boy has become a support system for artists. Co-founded with Keane Kavanagh, the record label has added more fuel to the wildfire of music by Irish artists.

 

He’s acting as a gateway drug to other incredible local acts. Once you start looking at Kojaque, you’re sucked into listening to the rest of those under Soft Boy Records. From there, the Irish music scene opens up before you like a vast landscape; Tebi Rex river over there, Pillow Queens forest to the right, Rejjie Snow mountain in the distance. Making Ireland their arena, these artists have created a playground where diverse genres are explored. 

 

With the likes of Fontaines D.C. and Versatile attracting attention for all the right and wrong reasons, Kojaque’s authenticity is refreshing. There’s no persona or façade. He’s not acting like Joyce reincarnated or pretending he didn’t study Latin in school like some people. At a time where ‘Irish’ is becoming a genre, he’s fighting against that by not letting himself be labelled.

 

Kojaque is highlighting the things that people usually turn a blind eye to.‘White Noise’ shows Dublin for what it really is. It hits hard with powerful lyrics about abortion, police aggression and poverty. He’s with us on these issues as we’re riding the wave of unpredicted progressiveness. He’s reflecting our ambition to do better in his lyrics. We’re pushing forward and gaining momentum never seen before, echoing the speed of Kojaque’s growth.

 

YOUTUBE LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYyww4hWAEI

        

His musical style and skill are undeniable, particularly when they’re paired with poetical and political rhymes. Being critical of the inescapable political turmoil around us is becoming a recurring theme in rap. Slowthai’s album Nothing Great About Britain possesses the same vigour and anger found in Kojaque’s music. It’s no surprise that Kojaque, as well as fellow Soft Boy, Luka Palm, are joining Slowthai on his ‘Eurovision’ tour this autumn.

        

His popularity amongst young people goes further than the music (and I’m not just saying that because he called Trinity Ball goers: “good posh c*nts in my book”). As well as providing class tunes, Kojaque has been a source of prime meme content. This year, to a packed-out tent at Longitude, he made his entrance to the Love Island theme tune. Teasing his fans on Instagram a couple of hours before he appeared, he was filmed doing Callum from Love Island’s dance with the caption: “I’m here to turn heads”. Ludicrous but it is what it is.

        

Dropping in the odd bit of humour keeps Kojaque’s music videos fresh, making them captivating to watch. Each creates a vibrant daydream. ‘Airbnb’, his latest collaboration with Luka Palm, sees Luka being his most serious rap-self, whilst Kojaque struggles in multiple Airbnbs. Luka coolly keeps eye contact with the camera whilst Kojaque is left sharing couches with hosts, under the boot of a granny and shoved into a suitcase (if he fits, he flies).

 

Kojaque’s combination of authenticity, awareness and amusing nature is rare to come across. He lacks the arrogance found in hip hop and rap because he doesn’t need to prove himself. He takes pride in the changes this generation are making and by God, can he write hilarious tweets. Taking the Irish music scene by storm is no easy feat but this rapper from Cabra has definitely done it in style. You better lock your doors because Kojaque will be infiltrating your households as a name soon enough.

 

          

SPOTIFY LINK TO AIRBNB: https://open.spotify.com/track/4muB4FNAYFvOslGxHX1u50?si=ojNcnAnUQiGefqe8nI61Ow