Genesis Owusu - REDSTAR WU & THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE

Across his previous two albums, Genesis Owusu has become renowned for his knack for creating explosive offerings that are deeply imbued with powerful messages. Needless to say, on his latest - the post-apocalyptic sounding ‘REDSTAR WU & THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE’ - he continues that trend and then some. Out of the gates, this third full-length explodes into life with the in-your-face ‘PIRATE RADIO’, which sets the stage for his weightiest political statement yet; a takedown of modern society and the increasingly fearsome world of our present day. Take the opening track’s line “Elon’s a fuckin’ weirdo / Who gave these incels moolah? / Spit out your threats and slurs, kid / I’ll show you something crueler” as proof that the Canberra star is pulling few punches this time around.

Across the album, musical styles continuously switch up - flitting between buoyant indie stomps (‘STAMPEDE’), squelching funk (‘HELLSTAR’), thumping electro-doused beats (‘LIFE KEEPS GOING’) and surreal futuristic rap (‘4LIFE’) - to create a record that pounds with an undeniable sense of urgency and energy, all while reflecting its darkening subject matter perfectly. It’s within the album’s final throes, though, that his rally cry is heard most clearly, as the woozy ‘ONE4ALL’ calls time on our present day, in favour of a more optimistic, community-drive future (“It’s not forever, just for now / The sun will always set, my child / We gon’ be alright”). Many albums will undoubtedly be written about the fractured world in which we live right now, but few are likely to be quite as slick and potent as this one.