Genesis Owusu: Who Gon Stop Me
From 10 Men Australia, 2018
Genesis Owusu is rolling in the scene, living in the dream. The 20-year-old hip-hop artist is making funk-filled, dripping- in-soul waves through Australia as he rises up, ready for domination. He’s our one to watch.
Owusu (real name Kofi Owusu-Ansah) grew up in Canberra after his family moved from Ghana to Australia when he was two years old. “My parents moved for me and my older brother to have better opportunities in regards to education. They listened to everything, music-wise. I think that’s a big reason I try to make sure any two singles don’t sound too similar. I think that influence rubbed off from listening to so many different kinds of music.” Owusu first started a rapping project with his brother called The Ansah Brothers. “That was really just for fun and for the sport of rapping. It was casual, carefree. We just wanted to rap. Genesis Owusu is much more an expression for me as an individual. Just trying to convey my emotions, thoughts and feelings onto a canvas sonically and lyrically.”
Yes, Genesis Owusu is taking off. In the past year he has played his first international shows, been a prominent act at a number of Australian festivals, completed a journalism degree and released two singles that are really very good. “It’s about creating something different, something that comes from Owusu’s mind.” The beauty of being Genesis. What does he bring that’s new to the game? “Me, myself. No one else is me. No one else has had the combination of experiences at the moments that I had them, and I’m trying to convey that in a different sound and not just ‘what’s poppin’’ at the moment. I love trap music but I wouldn’t want to make a trap song. What would make you want to listen to my trap song if there are a million trap songs out there right now?” True. And so his style is funk-ified, the sweet spot where hip-hop and jazz meet. It’s music that makes you feel good.
The people around him are forming the world of Genesis Owusu. Working with members of the Free Nationals has been a top moment for Owusu, and another stamp of approval – the Free Nationals don’t work with just anyone. “They’re down-to-earth, chill people who also happen to be the best musicians ever. I keep trying to be so different from everything else, just being with those kind of artists... They not only enhance the Genesis sound but also help create it. They are helping to mould what it is.”
The Owusu world is home to his friends, his hype men who accompany him today and through each moment on this journey. “They’re my closest friends, the people I create everything with, perform with – they jump on stage with me. We’re planning a new music video together and they shot my last one as well. We make clothes together. They’re just like my creative unit. It’s kind of hard to find, especially in a place like Canberra, so once we found each other we became very close.” The Owusu crew has formed, and the way they bounce off each other feels right. We like a creative unit. His need to express himself comes through different forms. “I’ve always kind of wanted to dip into everything, and music happened to be the one that worked out. If I have something to express, I want to use whatever medium works best to express it. What I wear will express what I feel, in the same way what I say in my music will express how I feel. Maybe I want to draw it, or make a T-shirt out of it or sing it. Fashion was a big one from the start before music.” There’s an ease to the way Owusu moves, anything he wears becomes part of him, that moment. And it’s why he wouldn’t describe his style. “Too many barriers, boundaries, restrictions.”
Owusu has no boundaries, he’s on a mission to create music that feels invigorated and energised. He’s working fast: “I can’t just wait for things to inspire me, I have to make it happen. I have to compromise at some point to not make it some soulless product but to also not wait six months for something to inspire me. You have to search for it. Search for experiences and new musicians to work with.” When I ask him where in the world he would love to record an album, his answer is so simply him. “At home. An artist will make a really good project or song in a particular space where they’re nobody and it will blow up. Someone will take them and put them in some multimillion-dollar studio with all the best engineers and they’ll be shocked when the product isn’t the same. You took them out of that environment that cultivated that. The studio and engineers would help, but at the same time, if I’m making an album, I want it to be me and created in a place that cultivated me.”
Owusu is ready for action. He knows his greatest strength is “self-control” and his greatest weakness is “indecisiveness”. He doesn’t have moments of doubt, his key to success is to “do you and believe in it”. If he could walk into a room and speak to anyone right now, it would be “Kanye West – for a lot of reasons. I really want to meet Pharrell Williams. Pharrell is one of my biggest inspirations. That song [You Can Do It Too, which Owusu gave thanks to in a recent Instagram post highlighting all his achievements]... he was right. He did it. He permeated in a world of gangster rap and drug pushing – he came with his cool falsettos and skateboarding and anime. Also, André 3000. Miles Davis, rest in peace. Jimi Hendrix, rest in peace. Erykah Badu.” Good choices. He would love to feature on “a wild album, like a Björk album”. Genesis Owusu knows what he wants.