Before he made music as Joji, Japan-born George Miller was known for his idiot comedy characters. After he originated the smash viral “Harlem Shake” meme in 2013, Miller built his cult following making YouTube videos as Filthy Frank: a perverted, lonely man with a grating voice who, of course, loves to prank strangers. Miller’s equally horrendous persona, Pink Guy, was a horny, worm-like creep in a hot pink lycra suit who sang gross comedy songs about anal beads and thirsting after underage Nickelodeon stars. Miller himself described Filthy Frank as “the embodiment of everything a person should not be,” and still he racked up millions of views from people who found humor within the most repulsive and dark aspects of the human condition. In other words: He was a YouTube star.
And so naturally, Joji’s trying to break out of the internet box. He now writes and produces brooding downtempo R&B that exhibits a newfound introspection and sincerity. His debut EP, In Tongues, marks a natural progression into a more serious take on musicianship from a former internet comedian. His voice pulsates with soft and woozy vocal chops on top of minimal piano chords, like so many James Blake acolytes before him. And because Joji is a boy of the internet, it’s unsurprising that he seems to be most influenced by cloud-rap producers Shlohmo and Clams Casino—as evidenced by his emphasis on hazy atmosphere, organic samples, and lo-fi drums.
Joji adeptly peels off the pretense of his inane YouTube persona and reveals something tender and slightly more complex underneath. But lyrically, he circles around aimlessly with typical sad-boy subject matter: heartbreak, regret, and drugs. He shame-spirals in the dizzy “Will He,” while wondering about his ex-girl’s new man. In “Pills,” he parrots the clichés of any R&B breakup song birthed from Soundcloud: “I need you back,” flanked by mentions of Xanax and Zoloft. While Joji fails to push boundaries in terms of lyrical content or sonic palette, he does succeed in creating a fairly compelling mood that invites listeners to wallow with him. Unfortunately, the remixes that bulk up the last half of the recently released deluxe version of In Tongues hardly preserve what little emotional intensity Joji has on offer. Dallas EDM producer Medasin brings “Will He” into future-bass territory, while English experimental techno producer Actress upscales “Window” into an unrecognizable form—cleverly chucking out all of Joji’s bland lyrics in favor of some synth bloops. But ultimately, they displace Joji out of the world he’s created for himself—resulting in a hodge-podge of tracks that end as filler material.
Joji announced in December that he was retiring his YouTube channel. He outlined that the years of acting caused numerous mental and physical health issues—including “throat tissue damage” and a neurological condition that brought about stress-induced seizures. But despite its destructive nature, Joji is still very much indebted to his sordid past. His Pink Guy song “Help,” which is presented as a “parody” song about being depressed, curiously mirrors the lyrics on the Joji song “Demons.” And yeah, Pink Guy was making weird songs with names like “Hot Nickel Ball on a Pussy” and “Hentai,” but he was still playing with tropes of present-day trap and experimenting with various vocal styles. And with the freedom of knowing he would probably never be seriously critiqued, Joji made the dumbest tracks that formed the basis of skills that he used to make his first serious EP. Now, he’s just getting a little smarter about how to present all the fucked-up parts of himself.
The same unsettling horniness that drove the core of the Filthy Frank and Pink Guy’s personalities now appear to be manifesting itself in a different fashion within Joji’s material. Joji never gets explicitly sexual on In Tongues, but his songs smack of juvenile emotional dependency, like the 25-year-old man just figured out that relationships sometimes entail more than just trying to bust a nut. And based on how many songs are about the guilt from letting your partner down with your complete lack of emotional literacy, it seems like he couldn’t learn that fast enough. Joji spent a long time representing all the vile and hurtful things about being a human. Now, he’s dealing with the consequences of when that depravity keeps you from experiencing real love and intimacy. Welcome to the world outside of clicking, liking, and subscribing.
