Genesis Owusu Finds ‘Light’ Ahead Of Sophomore LP, Struggler

Genre-jumping Australian artist Genesis Owusu continues his hot streak with the release today (May 18) of “Leaving the Light,” the arresting first single from his sophomore album, Struggler. An accompanying video, as well as the album’s “complete visual identity,” was directed by celebrated New Zealand visual artist Lisa Reihana.

Struggler is the follow-up to Owusu’s 2021 debut, Smiling With No Teeth. It was recorded in Australia and the U.S. with producers such as that project’s Andrew Klippel and Dave Hamme, Jason Evigan (SZA), Mikey Freedom Hart (Jon Batiste), and Sol Was (Beyoncé’s Renaissance).

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Owusu will support Struggler with an extensive tour this year, including a three-week run supporting Bloc Party and Paramore in U.S. arenas which begins May 23 in Charlotte, N.C. His own headlining shows commence Oct. 12 in Minneapolis and wrap in Adelaide on Dec. 16.

“My style just comes from my upbringing,” Owusu told SPIN in a 2021 interview. “Being a black kid in an extremely white city, all the kids at school wanted me to either be 50 Cent or Eddie Murphy. But I am Kofi Boateng Owusu-Ansah, baby. Everything I do is three-dimensional; Genesis Owusu isn’t a character with a catchphrase or a caricature of anything, I am a fully realized black man who will celebrate that blackness at every turn without being restricted by it. My style developed as a protest to whatever anyone else thought I should be. My biggest influences have been my dad, Pharrell Williams, Kanye West, Malcolm X, anime, a 2002 Xbox game called Jet Set Radio Future, and flared high-waisted pants.”

Here is the track list for Struggler:

Leaving the Light
The Roach
The Old Man
See Ya There
Freak Boy
Tied Up!
That’s Life (A Swamp)
Balthazar
Stay Blessed
What Comes Will Come
Stuck to the Fan

Here are Genesis Owusu’s headline tour dates:

10/12 Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line
10/13 Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall
10/14 Ferndale, MI – The Loving Touch
10/15 Pittsburgh, PA – Thunderbird Music Hall
10/17 Toronto, ON – The Velvet Underground
10/18 Montreal, QC – Le Studio TD
10/19 Boston, MA – The Sinclair
10/20 Brooklyn, NY – Elsewhere
10/21 Philadelphia, PA – Underground Arts
10/25 Washington, DC – Union Stage
10/27 Charlotte, NC – Visulite Theatre
10/28 Atlanta, GA – Terminal West
10/29 Nashville, TN – The Basement East
10/31 Austin, TX – Empire Control Room & Garage
11/01 Dallas, TX – The Studio at The Factory
11/03 Denver, CO – Globe Hall
11/06 Los Angeles, CA – The Fonda Theatre
11/07 San Francisco, CA – The Independent
11/09 Seattle, WA – Neumos
11/10 Portland, OR – Star Theatre
11/11 Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw Theatre
11/15 London, UK – Heaven
11/16 Paris, FR – Café de la Danse
11/17 Berlin, DE – Hole44
12/01 Perth, AUS – Ice Cream Factory
12/08 Melbourne, AUS – Festival Hall
12/09 Canberra, AUS – UC Refectory
12/14 Brisbane, AUS – Fortitude Music Hall
12/15 Sydney, AUS – Hordern Pavilion
12/16 Adelaide, AUS – Hindley St Music Hall

To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.

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