Owusu Genesis – Redstar Wu & the Worldwide Scourge (Fluoro Yellow Vinyl)

Over the last five years, Ghanaian-Australian artist Genesis Owusu has established himself as one of the most compelling voices in contemporary music. With the acclaimed release of Smiling with No Teeth in 2021 and Struggler in 2023, he has built a reputation as one of the most original and boundary-pushing artists to emerge from Australia in recent years. Now, at 27, he returns with his third album, REDSTAR WU & THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE.

The album unfolds as a richly varied musical journey, full of shifting textures and restless energy. Its sound moves freely across styles, dissolving genre lines as it goes, from neo-soul to alt-pop, synth-punk to funk. That fluidity gives the record both movement and emotional range, carrying the listener through moments of joy, tension, resistance and introspection. Owusu’s great strength lies in the way he brings these influences together so naturally, shaping songs that feel expansive in sound yet deeply human at their core.

“I started writing this album because I was seeing so much of the world and watching what was happening,” he says. “I feel like I had something important to say. I was writing this almost for necessity because there were so many people not saying what needed to be said. I feel like I’m a student of Nina Simone, and she said, ‘the purpose of an artist is to reflect the times they live in’.”

Across 15 tracks, REDSTAR WU & THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE offers a sharp response to the political, social and economic pressures shaping modern life. The album is ambitious in scope, detailed in its writing and direct in its purpose, as Owusu reflects on the systems straining human connection while also holding onto the possibility of solidarity, community and renewal.

Musically, it captures Owusu at his most adventurous. Drawing from deep funk, alt-pop, neo-soul and Brit rock, the record blends a broad palette of influences into something bold, layered and cohesive. The result is a vivid, fearless album that speaks to the present moment with both urgency and imagination.