The Genius of Genesis
The Genius of GenesisTrying to summarise Genesis Owusu in neat terms at this point feels almost pointless. Across three albums he has dismantled genre, expectation and the increasingly flimsy boundaries between political commentary, theatre, punk chaos, funk sensuality and existential collapse. REDSTAR WU & THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE continues that trajectory, somehow also detonating it further.
Following the cultural shockwave of 2021’s Smiling With No Teeth and the bruised conceptual sprawl of STRUGGLER, Owusu’s third album arrives carrying enormous expectations and somehow still exceeds them. Backseat Mafia has followed the rollout closely as tracks emerged piece by piece, and hearing them now inside the full shape of the record reveals just how meticulously constructed this world actually is.
The album opens with ‘Pirate Radio’, which immediately lunges for the throat. “Elon’s a fuckin’ weirdo / Who gave these incels moolah?” Owusu spits over pounding production that feels like pirate transmissions hijacking the apocalypse itself. It’s furious, funny and deeply online in a way that captures the exhausting absurdity of modern life without sounding trapped by it. If civilisation is collapsing, Owusu seems determined to make sure there’s still a dancefloor inside the rubble
That sense of ecstatic destruction only intensifies with ‘Stampede’, one of the most explosive tracks Owusu has released to date. Already boosted by its appearance on Heartbreak High, the track feels engineered for absolute live chaos. The beats slam forward with almost violent momentum while Owusu fires off lines like “Find an oligarch, get him taxed / Runnin’ outta time.” Having caught him at Harvest Rock last year, where his live reputation more than justified the mythology surrounding it, it’s easy to imagine this track turning entire festival fields into a single giant moving organism.
Sonically, REDSTAR WU & THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE thrives on contradiction. Executive producer Dann Hume gives Owusu complete freedom to ricochet between sounds without losing cohesion. Punk abrasion crashes into synth-funk, hip hop mutates into disco, post-punk grooves spiral into soulful intimacy. Somehow it all holds together through sheer force of personality.
‘HELLSTAR’, featuring Duckwrth, slides into slower territory without losing tension, turning into a strangely sensual post-apocalyptic love song built on rolling funk grooves and humid atmosphere. It’s sexy music for the end of the world. Then ‘Falling Both Ways’, featuring Ladyhawke, arrives like neon-lit relief after the intensity of the opening stretch, all dreamy hooks and shimmering pop propulsion.
But even at its most accessible, the album never stops interrogating the systems poisoning everyday life. The title track, ‘The Worldwide Scourge’, delivers one of the album’s most devastating moments as Owusu reflects on racialised fear with heartbreaking clarity: “A white woman walked towards me and our eyes locked to meet / Felt the fear inside the air as she moved to cross the street.” The song moves slower than much of the record, giving every word room to sink in. It’s difficult to hear without feeling the accumulated exhaustion underneath it.
Elsewhere, Owusu constantly shifts perspective without losing thematic focus. ‘Blessed Are The Meek’ feels like stepping from nuclear fallout into some warped cocktail lounge where funk still survives civilisation’s collapse. ‘Most Normal American Voter’ tears into disinformation culture and political decay with razor-wire sarcasm, referencing misinformation researcher and author Nina Jankowicz while its chorus loops “Missing information, missing information” reflecting perhaps, a society trapped inside its own algorithmic breakdown. Meanwhile ‘Death Cult Zombie’ arrives as another huge crowd-ready anthem wrapped in paranoia and spectacle.
Then the album pivots again. ‘Situations’ softens into empathy, extending tenderness toward people struggling to stay afloat. ‘4Life’ drifts into childhood memory and nostalgia, tracing simpler moments with a sadness that lingers long after the track ends. By the time ‘Runnin Outta Time’ folds New Order-style rhythms into the album’s growing emotional exhaustion, the entire record begins to feel like dancing inside collective burnout.
One4All closes the album on a surprisingly optimistic note, even as it acknowledges the Sisyphean battle of trying to hold onto connection, hope and humanity amid the exhausting churn of modern life. That’s ultimately what makes REDSTAR WU & THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE so powerful. For all its rage, satire and anxiety about the state of humanity, the album refuses surrender. Owusu confronts division, alienation and political rot head-on, but keeps returning to connection, movement and survival.
Very few artists right now sound this ambitious while still making music that feels genuinely alive in the body. Fewer still manage to make albums this politically charged without sacrificing joy, humour or sensuality along the way.
At this point, calling Genesis Owusu one of Australia’s most important artists almost undersells what he’s doing. REDSTAR WU & THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE feels less like another excellent record and more like further proof that he is operating in a lane almost entirely his own.
