Joji is a growing producer, rapper, and singer who started as a YouTube entertainer/ personality at the start of his career. During his YouTube days, he focused a lot on comedy and silly skits, and for a while he released some less-than-serious music under the name “Pink Guy.” Many of his videos went viral, and he is most known for being a part of the start of the viral dance craze the “Harlem Shake”, which circled the media in early 2013 following its release.
Since then, Joji has moved on and has gone off on his own to pursue some of his different passions, which now seem to include music tracks full of smooth beats with an underlying seriousness. He’s since dropped all his comedic performances and, in the past couple years, has been exploring the more serious side of things.
His full name is George Miller, and he created the name “Joji” as a way to point back to his Japanese roots, as “Joji” is the correct pronunciation of “George” in Japanese. He grew up and went to school in Japan. He currently resides in Brooklyn, where he works on his projects. Not much is known about his personal life, as he prefers to keep that private, but he is definitely growing in popularity as his new tracks have launched him in a different light,
After he quit YouTube in late 2017 because of the desires to produce and work on his music, Joji started releasing singles on SoundCloud which soon led him to the opportunity to create and release a full EP. He’s always been an avid music-maker, even in his YouTube days, but it was only after he quit YouTube that he really began to expand his sound and develop songs that resonated more seriously to who he is as a person.
In October 2017 he released a single called “Will He” that led to his EP “In Tongues” which was released on November 3, 2017. His most recent album, “BALLADS 1” has really expanded his sound and enabled him to show his listeners what he wants to embody as an artist and producer.
“BALLADS 1” is a step up from his already decent EP he released in 2017, so it is obvious that Joji has a lot of potential and hopefully a very bright future ahead of him as he continues to create music. All the songs on “BALLADS 1” are well-made and thoughtful, and Joji has definitely been growing as an artist through them. His music has been described through an article by Graham Corrigan as a kind of “trip hop” with a mix of R&B.
Each of his songs is full of smooth deep beats that have a melancholic and soulful vibe. From power ballads on his track like “Wanted You” to smooth angsty tracks like “Come Thru” and “Yeah Right”, Joji is continuing to grow in his uniqueness and artistry in the music industry.