Genesis Owusu - Leaving the Light (Official Video)

Photo Credit: Bec Parsons

Multi-ARIA award-winning Ghanaian-Australian artist, Kofi Owusu-Ansah aka Genesis Owusu announces his highly anticipated sophomore album, STRUGGLER due for release on August 18 via OURNESS / AWAL. Additionally, he announces a global world tour and shares his newest single, “Leaving the Light” available now.

After launching onto the global map with his critically acclaimed debut album, Smiling with No Teeth, Owusu next steps forth with STRUGGLER; an imminent exploration of the chaos and absurdity of life, and our ability to endure. Where Smiling With No Teeth uncovered the battle against depression and racism, STRUGGLER is about how to get through its struggle. The album takes inspiration from a close friend hitting the brink and coming through the other side, in conjunction with prompted questions of life and beauty that Owusu found himself contemplating during readings of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis. Recorded between the US and Australia, the album’s producers traverse musical genres; from Jason Evigan (RUFUS DU SOL, SZA), to Mikey Freedom Hart (Jon Batiste’s 2021 Grammy of the Year Album, We Are), Sol Was (Beyoncé’s Renaissance), and original producers, Andrew Klippel and Dave Hammer.

Additionally, Owusu collaborates with globally-celebrated Aotearoa New Zealand visual artist, Lisa Reihana, on the album’s complete visual identity. Having been showcased in elite institutions throughout the US and EU, including the Venice Biennale for her critically-acclaimed video installation, In Pursuit of Venus [Infected], Reihana’s work spans a diverse range of mediums. From film, to costume and body adornment, plus video installation, Reihana has rightfully earned a reputation as a world-renowned artist and producer, engaging in thought-provoking dialogues around the concept of culture.