lojii
Catching up with lojii; photographed by LordAzvneXVX.
Introducing lojii, the artist formerly known as Uhlife who delivers the following world premiere of the subterranean atmospheres of “dutti” recorded with Soulection’s NiceGuyxVinny. The underground ambient track follows up last year’s heavy single “No Ebola” that sought answers & reason within the madness & widespread hysteria surrounding 2015’s outbreak epidemic of that fatal fever. On “dutti”, lojii lays out lyrics that dismiss the idolatry & conventions of the hip hop & music industry that trades the glamorous worlds of fame shone in the daylight & spotlight for the underground comforts of solace “where no sun is found.” With the album lofeye available now from Youngbloods, lojii continues his quests & lyrical queries that pursue awareness while working with producers and beat-smiths from NiceGuyxVinny to Swarvy, Trampers, Thook, Space People & Vertiqua. As the Los Angeles artist buries his former alter-ego, lojii sheds the mantle of his former self in a narrative that illustrates the outward & inward struggles while documenting everything from personal growth, to the art of ascension from the underground roots all the way up to tallest & highest branches.
The new track “dutti” begins with NiceGuyxVinny’s ghosting synth sustains that cue a vocal loop that interacts with the sparse percussion that populates the pensive & meditative track. The LA emcee entertains elements of wordplay that make vague references to the Italian clothes designer Massimo Dutti, riffing off the titular surname heard in the chorus quips of, “I’m way too dirty & underground, wipe me on down, find me on shine where no sun is found, wipe on down…” Lojii revels in the sub-sect levels of the game, “low & subliminal,” while keeping the entire meta-conscious flow fresh, “so new ain’t in the news, don’t need to get reviewed, for shit that no critics do, ’cause it could get critical, this flow ain’t got no interlude…” The LA artist eschews titles, rivals, idols, dreaming of a rightful place on Hova’s Tidal service while retaining all A-list levels of confidence that recognizes the entire rags to riches continuum in the second verse that states, “So far from average, don’t want the average, my robes are so ragged, but life is so lavish, I’m so blessed to have it & that’s all that matters, it’s all just matter.” That woozy-headed production maintains a dedicated & focused head space as lojii delivers some very prophetic words that dovetail with the current events from malicious police killings, rising racial tensions, and the ensuing riots that have resulted from the cumulating unrest from the black community, and all marginalized groups that have been segregated and/or sequestered to the under-served sections of what is rapidly becoming a global ghetto governed by the disaffected dictators. “I’m mobbin’, all masked up, riot squaddin’ all through the streets, yelling no gods, no masters, no love for no coppa, the black op era, no genre, just a new wave on the doppler.” Lojii like the voices of many emcees, artists, & activists points to a discriminatory racial pandemic where subversive allusions & tones echo the unrest & anarchy of our current era where music & creative approaches serve as the best recourse & resource for survival & pushes for an understanding of coexistence & fundamental human rights. “Got the bass up in my system, ’til it’s disruptin’ the system.” And even though lojii states in the first verse that he “don’t do no interviews, won’t do no interviews”—we feel honored & privileged to present the following discussion with the artist.
What prompted the name switch from Uhlife to lojii, and what does it signify for you?
It’s a time of deep growth for me. I’ve been going through a lot of dirt and doing my best to rise out of it. I wanted a new name to reflect all this. Loji is a malaysian word for plant. It came to me before I even knew that. To me it was something I came up with as an iller, phonetic way to spell low G, as in, a G that moves low, because that’s me in essence. I never been into the hypebeast shit. I don’t put my hustle on blast, I just keep it G, put in work and let that work speak for itself.
Cover art by Ivan Forde.
I wondered to myself what would pop up online if I typed it in.
First thing that popped up was that it meant plant in Malaysian.
That’s when I knew it was meant to be.
I made it lowercase and added an i so above the j and the two i‘s there’s three dots for three eyes—lojii.
A candid conversation with lojii; photographed by LordAzvneXVX.
Tell us about the making of this upcoming album, & what it’s been like working with NiceGuyxVinny on these two singles (dutti & no ebola).
Yo… Making this album’s been a deep journey through being broke, being a “nxgga” in amerikkka, dealing with this crooked, racist system we live in, dealing with addictions, and throughout all of that, writing songs about it.
The production on it comes from people who come across me on this journey, heard my songs or words about it and have helped me put the sonic backdrop to this new chapter. Whether they heard a song online from over the years or we’ve made an organic connection in person at a show or some shit.
Vinny’s one of those organic connections. We met at a hole in the wall show we did together years ago and started making music after that. We’ve been through a lot shit you’ll hear me speak about on this album together: sleeping on floors, sharing food on EBT, finding random ways to get money when we couldn’t find jobs. These songs came real natural.
Getting to know lojii; photographed by LordAzvneXVX.
Describe the inspirations behind “dutti”.
Everything I’ve already touched on in my answers to the last questions.
This song’s about being broke and beautiful. From the dirt all things grow.
Insights from LA’s lojii; photographed by LordAzvneXVX.
What are you listening to right now?
A lot of soul, punk, and blues.
lojii’s album lofeye is available now from Youngbloods.
