Kofi Owusu-Ansah (born 1998), known by his stage name Genesis Owusu, is a

Ghanaian The Ghanaian people are a nation originating in the Gold Coast (region), Ghanaian Gold Coast. Ghanaians predominantly inhabit the Republic of Ghana and are the predominant cultural group and residents of Ghana, numbering 34 million people as of ...

-Australian rapper and singer from

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

. He is the younger brother of fellow

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

rapper, Kojo Owusu-Ansah

Citizen Kay Citizen Kay is an Australian Canberra-based hip hop artist. Citizen Kay's EP ''Demokracy'' was nominated for Best Urban Album at the ARIA Music Awards of 2015. Citizen Kay's debut album, ''With the People'', was nominated the next year. Bio ...

. Owusu's debut studio album, '' Smiling with No Teeth'' (March 2021), reached the

ARIA Albums Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

top 30. At the 2021 ARIA Music Awards he won four trophies for Album of the Year, Best Hip Hop Release, Best Independent Release and Best Cover Art (latter shared with Bailey Howard).

Early life and education

Genesis Owusu was born Kofi Owusu-Ansah in 1998 in Koforidua, Ghana. His older brother, Kojo (born ca. 1994), is also a rapper who performs as

. The family migrated to

, Australia in 2000. He was dubbed "Genesis" by Kojo in primary school, who told his friends that his younger brother is Kofi: "his friends were like 'oh, what's your brother's name?' and he said 'Coffee' and they just didn't believe him, for whatever reason. So he just apparently made Genesis up on the spot, and since then it's just stuck." Owusu completed a

Bachelor of Journalism The Bachelor of Journalism (B.J.) degree is a degree awarded at some universities to students who have studied journalism in a three or four year undergraduate program. In the United States, some schools that do not award the B.J. degree instead c ...

at the

University of Canberra The University of Canberra (UC) is a public university, public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is from Belconnen Town Centre, and from Canberra's Civic, Australian ...

in 2018.

Career

2015–2019: Career beginnings and ''Cardrive''

Musician

is Owusu's older brother, and he decided to feature his younger brother, among other relatives, on "Family Ties", a track on his album ''With the People'' (October 2015). Kay explained that "Family Ties" :… is a song about the appreciation of my family and how they've played parts in who I am, both as a person and as a writer/artist. It seemed fitting to get fellow rapping family members on the verses. The pair then performed and recorded as the Ansah Brothers and in 2015 released an

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

(EP), ''Polaroid''. Fellow Canberra rapper Kirklandd took notice and wanted the younger Owusu on his track "We On", which was first issued as a single in August 2016 and then appeared on Kirklandd's September 2016 four-track EP, ''The Visions Minitape''. From these experiences, Owusu gained confidence, connections, and fans enough to encourage him to try a solo career. In June 2017, he released his seven-track debut EP, ''Cardrive''. ''BMA Magazine''s Matt Parnell wrote that :the throaty, deep voice, the swagger-infused flow and menacing, jazzy beats give each track a distinctive flavour. Additionally, the polished sound and confidence with which each tune is presented gives the sound an experienced feeling that belies the age of the artist. The single "Sideways", released in September, includes lyrics in

Twi Twi (; ) is the common name of the Akan literary language of Asante and Akuapem. Effectively, it is a synonym for 'Akan' that is not used by the Fante people. It is not a linguistic grouping, but more of a common name used by inland Akans as ...

, a dialect of

Akan Akan may refer to: People and languages *Akan people, an ethnic group in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire *Akan languages, a language group within the wider Central Tano languages *Kwa languages, a language group which includes Akan *Central Tano language ...

. It received national exposure on youth radio

Triple J Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...

. Owusu toured Australia's east coast to promote it. Of "Sideways", ''i-D''s Isabelle Hellyer wrote :Where wusu'solder work would flit between jazz and hip hop, 'Sideways' synthesises both genres into sound of his own. The singer rejected the archetypical objectification of women by hip hop artists with his second single, "Awomen Amen" (2018), and explained, "As a rapper, I never used to hear those kinds of messages... it was something that always bothered me." He released a double A-sided single, "WUTD"/"Vultures" early in 2019, which Caitlin Medcalf of ''Purple Sneakers'' reviewed, " UTD isa smooth, RnB track I guarantee will never get out of your head and, 'Vultures', a wavy rap journey... isvocals match the mood with a drawling vocal melody and a light flow that never once feels sharp, but simply goes with the flow." On 3 July 2019 Owusu performed as an opening act at

5 Seconds of Summer 5 Seconds of Summer, often shortened to 5SOS, are an Australian pop rock band formed in Sydney, New South Wales in 2011. The group consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Luke Hemmings, lead guitarist Michael Clifford (musician), Mic ...

's sold-out

benefit concert A benefit concert or charity concert is a type of musical benefit performance (e.g., concert, show, or gala) featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate h ...

in Sydney. "WUTD" was featured on an ad for Bose noise-cancelling headphones in October 2019.

2020–2021: ''Smiling with No Teeth''

Owusu's debut studio album, '' Smiling with No Teeth'', was released on 5 March 2021. The album peaked at number 27 on the ARIA charts. In July, a deluxe version was released titled ''Missing Molars (SWNT Deluxe)''. The album went on to win several awards, including

ARIA Award for Album of the Year The ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Music Award for Album of the Year, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Australians, Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out b ...

and

Australian Music Prize The Australian Music Prize (often shortened to the AMP) is an annual award of $50,000 ($30,000 from 2005 to 2023) given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. The award was ...

2022–present: "GTFO" and ''Struggler''

On 20 July 2022, Owusu released "GTFO", alongside its Rhett Wade-Ferrell directed video. It is Owusu's first single of 2022. On 19 May 2023, Owusu released "Leaving the Light", the lead single from his second studio album, '' Struggler'', which was released on 18 August 2023.

Backing band members

, Owusu's backing band members were: *

Kirin J. Callinan Kieran John Callinan (born 21 January 1986), known by his stage name Kirin J. Callinan, is an Australian singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is also a founding member of Mercy Arms and has played with the Night Game, Jack Ladder and the Dream ...

– guitar * Touch Sensitive (Michael Di Francesco) – bass guitar * Julian Sudek – drums * Andrew Klippel – keyboard * Jonti – guitar, keyboard

Other activities

Owusu designs and makes his own clothes and started a fashion line, Pur.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Awards and nominations

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as

AIR Awards The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. History The inaugural 2006 awards were held at Blacket Hot ...

) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. ! , - , rowspan="3",

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, rowspan="2", ''Smiling with No Teeth'' , Independent Album of the Year , , rowspan="3", , - , Best Independent Hip Hop Album or EP , , - , "Smiling with No Teeth" , rowspan="2", Independent Song of the Year , , - , rowspan="2",

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, "Get Inspired" , , rowspan="2", , - , Thinking Loud: Genesis Owusu – "Get Inspired" , Independent Publicity Team of the Year , , - , rowspan="5",

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, rowspan="2", ''Struggler'' , Independent Album of the Year , , rowspan="5", , - , Best Independent Hip Hop Album or EP , , - , "Leaving the Light" , Independent Song of the Year , , - , Thinking Loud – Genesis Owusu - ''Struggler'' , Independent Publicity Team of the Year , , - , The Annex/Ourness/AWAL – Genesis Owusu - ''Struggler'' , Independent Marketing Team of the Year , , -

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are held in Australia and New Zealand by the

Australasian Performing Right Association APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwri ...

to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually ! , - , rowspan="2",

, "The Other Black Dog" , Song of the Year , , rowspan="2", , - , Genesis Owusu , Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year , , - ,

, "GTFO" , Song of the Year , , , - , rowspan="2",

, rowspan="1", "Get Inspired" , Song of the Year , , rowspan="2", , - , rowspan="1", "Leaving the Light" , Song of the Year , , -

ARIA Music Awards

The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known as the ARIA Music Awards, the ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions o ...

. Owusu has won seven awards from nineteen nominations. ! , - ,

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, "WUTD" / "Vultures" , rowspan="2", Best Soul/R&B Release , , , - ,

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, "Don't Need You" , , , - , rowspan="7",

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, , rowspan="4", ''Smiling with No Teeth'' , , Album of the Year , , , rowspan="7", , - , Best Artist , , , - , Best Hip Hop Release , , , - , Best Independent Release , , , - , Smiling With No Teeth Album Tour , , Best Australian Live Act , , , - , Andrew Klippel, Dave Hammer for Genesis Owusu – ''Smiling with No Teeth'' , ,

Producer of the Year The Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical is an honor presented to record producers for quality non-classical music at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in ...

, , , - , Kofi Anash & Bailey Howard for Genesis Owusu – ''Smiling with No Teeth'' , , Best Cover Art , , , - , rowspan="3",

, "GTFO" , Best Independent Release , , rowspan="3", , - , Genesis Owusu & The Black Dog Band , Best Australian Live Act , , - , "GTFO" (Genesis Owusu, Uncle Friendly) , Best Video , , - , rowspan="7",

, rowspan="4", ''Struggler'' , Album of the Year , , rowspan="7", , - , Best Solo Artist , , - , Best Hip Hop/Rap Release , , - , Best Independent Release , , - , Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore for Genesis Owusu – "Stay Blessed" , Best Video , , - , Andrew Klippel and Dave Hammer for Genesis Owusu – ''Struggler'' , Best Produced Release , , - , Simon Cohen, Dave Hammer for Genesis Owusu – ''Struggler'' , Best Engineered Release ,

Australian Music Prize

The

(the AMP) is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. It commenced in 2005. ! , - ! scope="row", 2021 , ''Smiling with No Teeth'' , Australian Music Prize , , , - , 2023 , ''Struggler'' , Australian Music Prize , , , -

J Awards

The

J Awards The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards, established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J, and which also extend to sister stations, Triple J Unearthed and Double J. The awar ...

are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

's youth-focused radio station

. They commenced in 2005. ! , - , rowspan="2",

, ''Smiling with No Teeth'' , Australian Album of the Year , , rowspan="2", , - , "The Other Black Dog" (directed by Riley Blakeway) , Australian Video of the Year , , - , rowspan="2",

, ''Struggler'' , Australian Album of the Year , , rowspan="2", , - , Genesis Owusu , Australian Live Act of the Year ,

National Live Music Awards

The

National Live Music Awards The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are annual Australian music awards, established by Heath Media in 2016. They were preceded by the AU Live Music Awards in the previous two years. The awards are given in categories that recognise the best ...

(NLMAs) commenced in 2016 to recognise contributions to the live music industry in Australia. ! , - ! scope="row",

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, rowspan="8", Himself , rowspan="3", Live Hip Hop Act of the Year , , , - ! scope="row",

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, , , - ! scope="row" rowspan="2",

, , , - , ACT Live Voice of the Year , , , - ! scope="row",

, Live Act of the Year , , , - ! scope="row" rowspan="4",

, Best Live Act , , rowspan="4", , - , Best Hip Hop Act , , - , Best Live Act in the ACT , , - , Alex McCoy and Pat Babekuhl (for Genesis Owusu) , Best Stage & Light Design ,

Rolling Stone Australia Awards

The

Rolling Stone Australia Awards The ''Rolling Stone Australia'' Awards are awarded annually in January or February by the Australian edition of ''Rolling Stone'' magazine for outstanding contributions to popular culture in the previous year. The awards initially commenced i ...

are awarded annually in January or February by the Australian edition of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine for outstanding contributions to popular culture in the previous year. ! , - , rowspan="2", 2022 , ''Smiling with No Teeth'' , Best Record , , rowspan="2", , - , Genesis Owusu , Best New Artist ,

Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition

The Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition is an annual competition that "acknowledges great songwriting whilst supporting and raising money for Nordoff-Robbins" and is coordinated by

Albert Music Albert Group Services Pty Ltd, known as Alberts, formerly Albert Music and J Albert and Son, is an Australian music company. The company has major interests in music publishing and production and it earns significant royalties through its subsi ...

and

APRA AMCOS APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwri ...

. It commenced in 2009. ! , - , 2021 , "Gold Chains" , Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition , style="background:gold;", 1st , , -

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Owusu, Genesis 1998 births APRA Award winners ARIA Award winners Australian hip-hop musicians Ghanaian emigrants to Australia Living people Musicians from Canberra