Take 5 with Genesis Owusu

Genesis Owusu is one of Australia's most thrilling new artists.Born Kofi Owusu-Ansah, he immigrated to Canberra with his family when he was just two years old. Almost immediately he felt like an odd one out. And he used that feeling to get weird.20 odd years later, his music, visuals, and storytelling has resonated with millions. He's won the ARIA for Album of the Year twice (first for Smiling with No Teeth in 2021, and then with Struggler in 2023), and leads the nominations again this year for his third album, Redstar Wu & the Worldwide Scourge. All across the world people sing his praises. Barack Obama has a Genesis song on his summer playlist ('Gold Chains'). And he's done it all, his way.Genesis Owusu's song choices: Cibo Matto - 'Birthday Cake'N.E.R.D. - 'Rock Star'Lupe Fiasco - 'American Terrorist [Ft. Matthew Santos]'Prince - 'All the Critics Love U in New York'Tyler, The Creator - 'I Think'00:00 Introduction: From Ghana to ARIA Award-Winning Musician00:25 "Strap in for a Conversation Where You Could Frame Just About Every Sentence"00:33 Born Kofi Owusu-Ansah: Immigrating to Canberra at Two Years Old00:49 "20-Odd Years Later, His Music, Visuals, and Storytelling Has Resonated With Millions"01:10 Barack Obama Has a Genesis Song on His Summer Playlist01:20 "It's a Pretty Big Call to Give a 28-Year-Old Artist the Theme of Evolution"01:45 Extended Podcast Edit: The First Video Game Play to Make It Into a Take 502:06 Kofi's Drive and Self-Belief: Going Back to Early Days in Canberra02:07 "I Was Born Into a Family of Music Appreciators, Not Music Technicians"02:17 Immigrating From Ghana: Ghanaian Highlife Music and "Sizzling Jollof on the Stove"02:32 Mom the Gospel Choir Leader: "Her World Was Gospel"02:39 "She's a Good Singer, Right? Runs in the Family"02:45 Older Brother's World: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against the Machine, Nirvana02:54 Dad Buying Random Records "Just 'Cause It Looked Fun": Saturday Cleaning Days03:08 "One Weekend Was Missy Elliott, Then the Next Weekend Was Missy Higgins"03:22 The Youngest in the Family: "The Converging Point for All of Those Different Worlds"03:27 "This Feels Like a Whole Bunch of River Systems All Guiding to One Spot"03:42 "My First Experience of Art Was an Amalgamation From All Sides"04:01 "It's a Language. That's What I Use It For. I Use It to Communicate"04:22 "The Emotions I Want to Elicit Sometimes Can't Be Described Through Words"04:48 First Song: Cibo Matto, 'Birthday Cake'04:56 "A Wild Song to Hear When You're Five Years Old"05:03 "So Much of My Life and Artistry Comes From Fusion"05:15 The Biggest Creative Influence: Jet Set Radio Future on the Original Xbox05:18 Rollerblading Graffiti Artists in Neo Tokyo: "The Last Bastion of Resistance"05:48 Soundtracked by a Pirate Radio Station: DJ Professor K06:04 "I Turned on the Game, and It Was Like a Gust of Wind That Blew All My Hair Back"06:28 "It's Super Abrasive and a Bit Ugly. It Taught Me That Ugly Was Also to Be Appreciated"06:41 "20 Years Later, the First Song on Each of My Albums Is Always the Most Abrasive"06:55 "Mutually Assured Destruction": The Opening Track Gauntlet07:06 Pirate Radio: The First Song on His New Album Comes From This Game07:15 "The Biggest Creative Influence in My Life": Music, Visuals, and Themes in One Pandora's Box07:45 "In the Same Way My Parents' Different Worlds Created My World"08:08 "All These Different Puzzle Pieces Laid Bare... to Create What Will Eventually Become Genesis Owusu"08:53 "So Many of My First Musical Experiences Were Heraldied From This Original Chunky Xbox"09:05 Burning CDs and Saving Music to the Xbox: "Crazy Frog Went Platinum on That Xbox"09:22 First Ever Favorite Song: 'Gravel Pit' by Wu Tang Clan09:38 "10 Years Later I Actually Realized That Was Wu Tang Clan"09:47 First Time Hearing the Rolling Stones Was From Guitar Hero09:53 "It's How Music Transports Itself Through the Generations"09:58 "You Were Two When You Immigrated to Australia From Ghana"10:01 Why Canberra? "The Only Person They Knew in Australia Was My Dad's Sister"10:06 "Five Kids in a Four Bedroom, Then We Crashed With Them as Well for a Few Months"10:31 "Were You Aware of the Sacrifice They'd Made?"10:39 "I Grew Up Slowly Recognizing More and More What That Sacrifice Actually Meant"10:49 Driving Past the Childhood Apartment: "So Much Smaller Than I Remembered"11:11 "Seeing Where We Started and What My Parents Toiled to Give Me and My Brother"11:34 Second Song: N.E.R.D., 'Rock Star'11:44 "The Puzzle Pieces Were Starting to Be Laid in Front of Me, but There Was Still the Task o