Genesis Owusu is a 28 year old rapper & singer/songwriter from by way of Canberra, Australia by way of Koforidua, Ghana who broke out in 2021 off the widely praised full-length debut Smiling with No Teeth. He would on to follow this up in the form of a sophomore called Struggler, which was still great although not as much as it’s predecessor. His 3rd studio album however has been shaping up to be more defining than the one that introduced us to him at the earlier portions of this decade based off the teasers & I had to give it a chance.
“Pirate Radio” begins with him dissing Tesla CEO, SpaceX founder, Neuralink founder & Nazi Elon Musk for a politically experimental hip hop, synth punk, hardcore hip hop, new beat, conscious hip hop, dance-punk revival, electro-industrial & industrial hip hop intro whereas “Stampede” blends dance-punk revival, alternative dance, coldwave, synth punk, chillwave & synthpop to explain that we’re all in this together.
DUCKWRTH appears on “Hellstar” so they can search for love in a hateful place leading into “Falling Both Ways” featuring Ladyhawke finds the pair singing about wanting to know the difference between the 2 places one goes in the afterlife. “The Worldwide Scourge” explains how the US voted for a Nazi sympathizer during the previous election when the fascism backs it up just before “Blessed Are the Meek” references WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson & talks about now not being the time to hide.
“Life Keeps Going” combines experimental hip hop, neo-soul, synth punk, neo-grime & alternative dance for the final single revisiting a theme the late 2Pac had once explored 3 decades earlier on the track “Life Goes On” until we get a depiction of the “Most Normal American Voter:” being misinformed, which is also factual. “Death Cult Zombie” later collides the styles of post-punk revival, new wave, rap rock, dance-punk revival, garage rock revival & pub rock to push the 2nd half forward calling out FOX News.
Meanwhile on “Situations”, we have Genesis talking about being prepared in case of any scenario where his life’s at risk while “4Life” depressively looks back at the life he & his friends once had. “Runnin’ Outta Time” talks about him following his gut instinct after seeing guts on his timeline & once “Big Dog” dismisses those trying to start beef with him ahead of summer, “One4all” ends the album assuring everyone things will work out in the end.
Channeling his frustrations after watching everything unfold for the last year & a half, Genesis Owusu has finally outdone himself by making Redstar Wu & the Worldwide Scourge the greatest achievement in his musical career surpassing both Struggler & Smiling with No Teeth. The production is a tasteful melting pot of experimental hip hop, synth punk, dance-punk revival, post-punk revival, alternative dance, neo-soul, deep funk & Brit rock and the lyrics are far more political than anything Genesis has done previously.
Score: 4.5/5
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