Kofi Owusu-Ansah (born 1998

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

), known by his stage name Genesis Owusu, is a

Ghanaian Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

-Australian singer from Canberra. He is the younger brother of fellow hip hop rapper, Kojo Owusu-Ansah Citizen Kay. Owusu's debut studio album, ''

Smiling with No Teeth ''Smiling with No Teeth'' is the debut studio album by Australian musician Genesis Owusu, released on 5 March 2021 through Ourness. The album features a guest appearance from Kirin J. Callinan and production from Callinan, Andrew Klippel, Dav ...

'' (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 years

Genesis Owusu was born Kofi Owusu-Ansah on 17 August 1998 in Koforidua, Ghana. His older brother, Kojo (born ca. 1994), is also a rapper who performs as Citizen Kay. The family migrated to Canberra, 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 research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is within walking distance of Westfield Belconnen, and from Canberra's Civic Centre. U ...

in 2018. He designs and makes his own clothes and started a fashion line, Pur.

Career

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

Musician Citizen Kay 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 record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(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 a dialect of the Akan language spoken in southern and central Ghana by several million people, mainly of the Akan people, the largest of the seventeen major ethnic groups in Ghana. Twi has about 17-18 million speakers in total, includ ...

, a dialect of

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

. It received national exposure on youth radio

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...

. 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'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 hu ...

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, ''

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

and

Australian Music Prize The Australian Music Prize (often shortened to 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. The award was made by Australian Music Pri ...

2022: "GTFO"

On 20 July 2022, Owusu released "GTFO", alongside its Rhett Wade-Ferrell directed video. It is Owusu's first single of 2022.

Backing band members

Current members * Kirin J. Callinan – guitar * Touch Sensitive (Michael Di Francesco) – bass guitar * Julian Sudek – drums * Andrew Klippel – keyboard * Jonti – guitar, keyboard

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 informally 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 ...

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

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

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

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are held in Australia and New Zealand by the Australasian Performing Right Association 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 , , -

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. Owusu has won four awards from twelve nominations. ! , - ,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

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

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

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

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

, , 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 i ...

, , , - , 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 , , -

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 , ,

J Awards

The

J Awards The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J and which are judged by the music and on-air teams from radio stations Triple J, ...

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

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

'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 ,

National Live Music Awards

The

National Live Music Awards The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse and successful live industry, celebrating the diversity and success of the Australian live scene – recognising the best vocal talents and musicians alongside ...

(NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016. ! , - ! scope="row",

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

, rowspan="5", Himself , rowspan="3", Live Hip Hop Act of the Year , , , - ! scope="row",

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

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

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

, Live Act of the Year , ,

Rolling Stone Australia Awards

The Rolling Stone Australia Awards 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. It was first known for its ...

'' 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 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 and APRA AMCOS. The competition awards a ...

is an annual competition that "acknowledges great songwriting whilst supporting and raising money for Nordoff-Robbins" and is coordinated by

Albert Music Albert Music, formerly J Albert and Son, is an Australian company with an estimated worth in 2009 of more than A$209 million. The company has major interests in music publishing and production and it earns significant royalties through its su ...

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

{{reflist 1998 births APRA Award winners ARIA Award winners Australian hip hop musicians Ghanaian emigrants to Australia Living people Musicians from Canberra