New Music
New For '19
New Music: Genesis Owusu
We're shining a spotlight on the best new Australian artists set to dominate 2019. Our handpicked BREAK OUT stars are the best, buzzworthy up and comers we're certain you need to meet. Welcome Ghana-born, Canberra-based rapper Genesis Owusu.
Ticketmaster New Music is your one-stop destination to discover the best emerging live acts before they explode. These are the artists we’re expecting to make waves in the live music scene, and we want you to know about them first.
Packing infectious grooves with poetic, honest songwriting Ghana-born, Canberra-based rapper Genesis Owusu (Kofi Ansah to friends and family) delivers his experimental and ever-evolving style of hip hop in a way that’s hard to ignore.
His long list of influences includes the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Frank Ocean, Miles Davis, Wu-Tang Clan and Kanye West, taking inspiration from places far and wide to create his mix of laidback, jazz-infused jams and genre-bending hip hop throwdowns.
Whether you’re taking a deep dive into his quickly growing catalogue of songs or experiencing one of his explosive live performances, Genesis Owusu is sure to leave his mark. After dropping his Cardrive EP in 2017, a powerful trio of singles in Sideways, awomen amen, and Wit’ Da Team laid the perfect foundations for a huge 2019 to come. It’s time to get acquainted.
The Story
From the beginning
“I started making music sometime around 2012 as a hobby. I never really planned on rapping because my brother was already doing it before me, but one day he randomly asked me to be on a song with him. I ended up writing the verse in a public toilet and that was the start of my career. I think I was 14 years old at the time. The song is Ansah Brothers by Citizen Kay.”
What you’ll hear
“People often ask me how I would describe my sound, but honestly I wouldn’t describe it. I would let people listen to it and interpret it for themselves. It came to be how it is because of my family’s eclectic taste in music. One day my dad would be listening to Missy Elliott, the next day it would be Missy Higgins. My brother was really into Nirvana and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and my mum was (and still is) the leader of her church’s gospel choir. I was exposed to a lot of sounds growing up, and as a result, I like to keep my palette as spontaneous as possible.”
Influences & inspiration
“I try to learn and be inspired by anything and everything, whether I like it or not. I get inspired by visual art a lot; sometimes I’ll be at a gallery and I’ll see a piece of art and think “What would this piece sound like?” and try to make something from there. In regards to people, my biggest inspirations have been Kanye West, Malcolm X and my dad.”
For the love of music
“One thing I love about music is its ability to transport feelings. I could make a song while I’m feeling a certain way, and some person in Japan who doesn’t even speak the same language as me could listen to it and feel the exact same thing. Or something completely different.”
Kicking goals
“I’ve done a lot of things, particularly in the last year. In 2018, I went on seven tours, played a bunch of festivals, worked overseas with artists that I love like members of the Free Nationals and Hiatus Kaiyote, but my biggest career highlight so far was having Zane Lowe of Beats 1 Radio call me “dangerous” after he played my song on his radio show. I met him in Sydney and he walked up to me and was like “YOU are an ARTIST!” I was gassed.”
The hard yards
“From 2016-2018, alongside touring, international travelling and creating music and videos, I was also doing a fulltime university degree. Juggling those two paths was the hardest thing ever, but I’m happy to say I finally completed my degree, and now I can go even harder with the music.”
The year ahead
“My plans: world domination.”
Essential Listening
Genesis Owusu – Wit’ Da Team
“I made this track in LA with members of the Free Nationals. It was originally going to be on their debut album.”
Genesis Owusu – Awomen, Amen
“I made this with Simon Mavin and Perrin Moss of Hiatus Kaiyote. The speech in the middle was originally spoken by a slave abolitionist in the 1800s named Sojourner Truth. I got my friend from high school to recite it for the track.”
Genesis Owusu – Sideways
“I also made this with Simon and Perrin from Hiatus Kaiyote. This was my official debut single. I directed and released my first solo music video for this song. I sing in Twi in parts of the track; Twi is one of the major languages in Ghana, where I’m from.”
Check out the rest of our New For ’19 feature artists here.
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