Genesis Owusu is prepping for his first ever headline U.S. tour, set to launch March 20th in San Francisco, and will be joined by his Goon Club. The Ghanian-Australian lyricist will bring his enigmatic stage presence and give American audiences the chance to hear soul-bearing vocal adaptability live during the 16-date run. For a taste of Owusu’s live show, revisit his SPIN Session from last year HERE. The artist, who recently made his U.S. late night television debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (watch here), shares his “Black Dogs!” video – the latest stunning visual from his acclaimed, award-winning debut album Smiling With No Teeth.

“I really wanted to capture the tension and the rising chaos of the song in video form, and Daniela Federici (director) knew how to bring that energy in spades, but also in a really artful way,” notes Owusu. He adds of the track, “It’s a straight-to-the-point song encompassing a day in the life of me, or just any Black person in Australia. It’s not that I’m getting abused by police every day, but it’s all the little micro-aggressions. Sonically speaking, it plays into how I feel every day, going into white spaces and feeling a bit paranoid.”

On Smiling with No Teeth, Owusu seamlessly defies genre boundaries while delineating the nuanced complexities of mental health, as well as Owusu’s experience of living as a black man in a white society – he unpacks concepts of race, identity and belonging, entwining his own experience immigrating to Canberra from Ghana as a child. Owusu illustrates each disclosure from within his mind under a tessellation of soundscapes, moving through future-funk, rap and OG hip-hop to guitar-laden odysseys veering from punk and indie-rock to tinges of wistful folk. Smiling With No Teeth, at its heart, remains dedicated to Owusu’s core audience, those who live outside of the box, out of choice or in a decided lack of belonging. 

Photo Courtesy: Bec Parsons