Joji

Album cover for Joji's Ballads 1

       Genre: R&B
        Age: 27
        Est. 2017
        Label: 88rising
        Monthly Listeners: 10.3 M

Joji aka George Miller aka Filthy Frank aka Pink Guy aka originator of 2013 meme Harlem Shake began his career on Youtube. It wasn’t in the typical song cover and original music kind of way. He began his internet career by making comedy Youtube videos on multiple channels. I can count on one hand the number of his pre-Joji videos that I have watched but I can confidently describe them as loud and crude and a little bit insane. However, I absolutely respect the art. 

The change from Filthy Frank to the new Joji brand is quite drastic. Some people have watched Filthy Frank and have listened to Joji’s music, but have no idea that they are the same person. I was definitely one of those people and was shocked when I found out. If you would like to watch a Filthy Frank video, feel free to check out his channel here. At your own risk, of course. Filthy Frank’s content seems like it would have a very niche audience, but the TVFilthyFrank channel has amassed 6.66 million subscribers. Ha. Of course, due to Miller’s focus on his music career, there have been no new uploads for over two years. The most viewed video on the channel is actually a music video to a song called “STFU” starring Pink Guy, one of Filthy Frank’s characters, and it has 57 million views. Although George Miller has only been releasing music under Joji since 2017, he was obviously not new to music when he started. He was just taken more seriously when he originated Joji. 

At this point, I’m sure you’ve seen R&B listed as Joji’s genre of music and perhaps been surprised especially after this description of Filthy Frank. There’s absolutely no way this man makes R&B music now. Well, Joji’s music has also been described as lo-fi, electronic, folk, hip hop, and trap. Genre is hard. But all the songs I’ve listened to and love of Joji’s are—say it with me— songs I can cry to. Yes. My absolute favorite is called “WANTED U” which is a song about unrequited love. Now, compare that song with literally any track off of Pink Season, his album under Pink Guy, and your brain might explode. But let’s remember that humans contain multitudes, people. Also, don’t hate me if you’re new to Filthy Frank and decide to watch his videos. That is a choice you made. 

It looks like George Miller has found a brand he can stick to. I actually think Joji is less a brand and more a stage name whereby Miller can be himself with and release music that he is truly passionate about. And we can judge Filthy Frank all we want but if it weren’t for the fame and notoriety that Miller got through his YouTube characters, he perhaps would not be where he is in his music career. Also, yes, he started the internet sensation that was the Harlem Shake.