“When I had these guys do the remixes I had the opportunity to send notes back, but that completely defeats the purpose of letting someone else remix and rework your music. I wanted to make sure all these guys had all the creative freedom to do what they wanted, I’m a big believer in people being able to create things at their own will, so I kind of stayed out of it. I waited so it was kind of like a present to myself to finally hear them. Some of them are crazy weird, like the Actress one, it’s like a 10-minute maze or something, I don’t know what’s going on. I’m all for it, he had a vision and it was executed.”

Having mentioned walking around the mall in Japan listening to Mariah and Whitney, how much of Miller’s upbringing played a part in who he is today?

“In the sense of my core values, they’re still very Japanese. I don’t know if it bleeds into any of my music. Like most Japanese people I mind my own business. I don’t really go on social media that much, other than that I just took inspiration from what was on the internet in the early days in Japan. I was in middle school right when the internet was starting to get really popular, so I was learning from that.”

Not much is known about his early life in the Land of the Rising Sun, but during the conversation it becomes apparent that it wasn’t what you’d describe as regular. With that, I wondered if he struggled with a sense of identity.

“Growing up in the early 90s being half Japanese, that was still kind of new… Now we see a bunch of half-Japanese people being glorified on the TV over there, which is amazing, but I wasn’t there for that. The whole train would be packed and no one would want to sit next to you. It was something that I got over quickly, I still see myself as Japanese, but I’m at peace with them not seeing me as one of them. I don’t really care – I just go around and I’ll be apart of whatever accepts me, do you know what I mean?”

At the time of the interview Miller is on the ‘88rising: 88 Degrees and Rising’ US Tour with the likes of Keith Ape and Rich Brian. In another interview he stressed how influential US hip hop is in Asia. The concept of musical identity is a conversation that appears quite often in rap music. Authenticity has been a staple part of the genre since its genesis in New York City. Taking grime in London and trap in Atlanta’s modern examples of hip hop mutating to suit its surroundings, can Miller envision a time when Asia, and

Japan in particular, will have its own signature sound?

“No, Japan has a signature sound in other ways, but I’ve yet to see it in hip hop. I can see a few dudes maybe changing it up, I’m actually with Kohh on tour and he’s one of the guys that I think can do something different and create a signature sound… But as of now, I don’t know…”

With all members of 88rising based in different locations and busy on their own projects, touring allows for a rare opportunity to creatively congregate. Does this give them time to record together?

“We all have a lot of our own stuff going on, the group collaborations are done when there’s a slot of time when we’re all free. There are a lot of us and most of us are out of the country most of the time. I like to just isolate myself when I make music, but when we do get in the studio it’s always fun.”

Having seemingly been shunned by the YouTube fraternity for turning his back on the internet, it was interesting to hear Miller’s take on his reinvention and journey towards the Joji alias.

“It’s something I don’t really think about it, it’s just something that I needed to do. It’s not a music career that I’m going for, I’m just trying to eventually give back to the world. I care more about fixing things. It’s making good art and I don’t really think about the transition, I do it because I know in the future I need to use my influence to do good things.”

Over the course of our 20-minute conversation, over an admittedly sketchy phone line, this topic kept recurring. It became apparent that the concept of “fixing things” is something Miller is extremely passionate about.

“It’s societal changes, I don’t know – right now I don’t have the funds to fully do things yet, but I am working to fund the things I’m very interested in. I have a lot of plans, but it’s kind of tough because if I talk about it then it kind of defeats the purpose of it. I don’t want to be recognised for that. For me, it’s a civil duty, but at the same time I don’t like the idea of people thinking that I’m so close-minded and that my only goal is to be a star. I think that’s a little bit silly so I have to come forward and say it out loud. I do have other things in store.”

‘BALLADS 1’ is out now on 88rising. Click here to buy a copy of Issue 005 featuring the full shoot with Joji.