Struggler is the second studio album by Australian musician Genesis Owusu, released on 18 August 2023 through Ourness.[1] The album was supported with a world tour, across North America, Europe and Australia between October and December 2023.[4]
At the AIR Awards of 2024, the album was nominated for Independent Album of the Year and Best Independent Hip Hop Album or EP, while the album was nominated for Independent Publicity Team of the Year and Independent Marketing Team of the Year.[9]
"Survivor" was added to the tracklisting on 1 December 2023.
In a press statement upon announcement in May 2023, Owusu said, "The struggler runs through an absurd world with no 'where' or 'why' at hand. Just an instinctual inner rhythm, yelling at them to survive the pestilence and lightning bolts coming from above. A roach just keeps roaching."[4]
As with Owusu's previous album, Smiling with No Teeth, Struggler has been described as incorporating elements from a wide variety of genres. Timothy Monger of AllMusic observed a "collision of experimental post-punk, rap, and R&B",[10] while Wesley McLean of Exclaim! described the album as "amalgamating elements of post-punk, R&B, hip-hop, funk, new wave, psychedelic rock and more".[11] Tracks such as "See Ya There" and "Tied Up!" were stylistically compared to the work of Prince.[10][11]
Struggler received a score of 82 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on eleven critics' reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[12] Sophie Williams of NME considered Struggler "the work of an artist giving power to some of his most radical sonic ideas. Songs don't often build to a crescendo, they begin there" as "Owusu's stylistic choices are both unexpected and impressive, visiting all corners of his eclectic taste".[14]
Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Timothy Monger claimed that, "Owusu could have gone any number of ways on his sophomore set, but it's a testament to his artistic conviction that he chose to make something so risky and complex. Even better, he pulled it off."[10] Shaad D'Souza of The Guardian contrasted it to Owusu's "brilliant debut" album Smiling with No Teeth as "an ill-defined retread that plays it too safe" and "comparatively mild, Owusu-Ansah seemingly riffing and stalling in hope of a grand set piece that never arrives".[14]
Consequence ranked Struggler 37th on its list of the 50 Best Albums of 2023.[15]
^ ab"Genesis Owusu Announces New Album Struggler, Shares "Leaving the Light": Stream". Consequence. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
^"Genesis Owusu is 'Tied Up!' on new single". NME. 12 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
^"Genesis Owusu Is a "Survivor" on New Song: Stream". Consequence of Sound. 1 December 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
^ abSingh, Surej (19 May 2023). "Genesis Owusu announces sophomore album, Australia, North America and Europe tour". NME. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
^"Nominees Announced for 2023 ARIA Awards". Music Feeds. 21 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
^"ARIA Awards 2023: Troye Sivan takes home four awards, tearful G Flip wins two. Here's the full list of winners". ABC News. 15 November 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
^Brandle, Lars (28 November 2023). "Troye Sivan Shortlisted for 2023 Australian Music Prize". Billboard. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
^"2024 AIR Awards Nominees: Genesis Owusu, Cub Sport, RVG, Teen Jesus & More". The Music (magazine). 14 May 2024. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
^ abcdMonger, Timothy (8 September 2023). "Genesis Owusu - Struggler Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
^ abcMcLean, Wesley (15 August 2023). "Genesis Owusu Puts the World on Notice with Struggler". Exclaim!. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
^ ab"Struggler by Genesis Owusu Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
^D'Souza, Shaad (18 August 2023). "Genesis Owusu: Struggler review – moments of brilliance in an otherwise limp record". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
^ abcWilliams, Sophie (16 August 2023). "Genesis Owusu – Struggler review: an artist at the top of his game". NME. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
^Krueger, J. (4 December 2023). "The 50 Best Albums of 2023 Ranked". Consequence. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
struggler, second, studio, album, australian, musician, genesis, owusu, released, august, 2023, through, ourness, album, supported, with, world, tour, across, north, america, europe, australia, between, october, december, 2023, studio, album, genesis, owusurel. Struggler is the second studio album by Australian musician Genesis Owusu released on 18 August 2023 through Ourness 1 The album was supported with a world tour across North America Europe and Australia between October and December 2023 4 StrugglerStudio album by Genesis OwusuReleased18 August 2023StudioChumba Meadows Tarzana Pulse Los Angeles Big Mercy Brooklyn Colonius Tower Los Angeles Studios 301 Alexandria The Well Wonderland Ave The Kiln Valley Girl Highland Park No Big DealGenrePost punkfunk rockhip hopR amp BLength37 58LabelOurness AWALProducerAndrew KlippelDave HammerHenry WasJackson RauJason EviganMikey Freedom HartPat MorrisseyPsymunSol WasValley GirlGenesis Owusu chronologySmiling with No Teeth 2021 Struggler 2023 Singles from Struggler Leaving the Light Released 19 May 2023 1 Tied Up Released 12 July 2023 2 Survivor Released 1 December 2023 3 At the 2023 ARIA Music Awards the album won Album of the Year Best Independent Release and Best Hip Hop Rap Release and was nominated for Best Produced Release Best Engineered Release and Best Solo Artist 5 6 At the 2023 J Awards the album was nominated for Australian Album of the Year 7 The album was nominated for the 2023 Australian Music Prize 8 At the AIR Awards of 2024 the album was nominated for Independent Album of the Year and Best Independent Hip Hop Album or EP while the album was nominated for Independent Publicity Team of the Year and Independent Marketing Team of the Year 9 Survivor was added to the tracklisting on 1 December 2023 Contents 1 Content 2 Critical reception 3 Track listing 4 Personnel 5 Charts 6 ReferencesContent editIn a press statement upon announcement in May 2023 Owusu said The struggler runs through an absurd world with no where or why at hand Just an instinctual inner rhythm yelling at them to survive the pestilence and lightning bolts coming from above A roach just keeps roaching 4 As with Owusu s previous album Smiling with No Teeth Struggler has been described as incorporating elements from a wide variety of genres Timothy Monger of AllMusic observed a collision of experimental post punk rap and R amp B 10 while Wesley McLean of Exclaim described the album as amalgamating elements of post punk R amp B hip hop funk new wave psychedelic rock and more 11 Tracks such as See Ya There and Tied Up were stylistically compared to the work of Prince 10 11 Critical reception editProfessional ratingsAggregate scoresSourceRatingMetacritic82 100 12 Review scoresSourceRatingAllMusic nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 10 Exclaim 8 10 11 The Guardian nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 13 NME nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 14 Struggler received a score of 82 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on eleven critics reviews indicating universal acclaim 12 Sophie Williams of NME considered Struggler the work of an artist giving power to some of his most radical sonic ideas Songs don t often build to a crescendo they begin there as Owusu s stylistic choices are both unexpected and impressive visiting all corners of his eclectic taste 14 Reviewing the album for AllMusic Timothy Monger claimed that Owusu could have gone any number of ways on his sophomore set but it s a testament to his artistic conviction that he chose to make something so risky and complex Even better he pulled it off 10 Shaad D Souza of The Guardian contrasted it to Owusu s brilliant debut album Smiling with No Teeth as an ill defined retread that plays it too safe and comparatively mild Owusu Ansah seemingly riffing and stalling in hope of a grand set piece that never arrives 14 Consequence ranked Struggler 37th on its list of the 50 Best Albums of 2023 15 Track listing editStruggler track listingNo TitleWriter s Producer s Length1 Leaving the Light Kofi Owusu AnsahJason EviganJeff Gitty GitelmanBen Smiley SilversteinEvigan p Gitelman c Smile High c Jackson Rau v 3 102 The Roach Owusu AnsahSimon ChristensenMikey Freedom HartHartPsymun2 383 The Old Man Owusu AnsahChristensenHartHartPsymun2 244 See Ya There Owusu AnsahJonti DanilewitzMichael Di FrancescoAndrew KlippelJono MaHamish StuartJulian SudekKlippel4 395 Freak Boy Owusu AnsahEviganEvigan p Rau a v 2 286 Tied Up Owusu AnsahSol WasSol WasHenry Was3 097 That s Life A Swamp Owusu AnsahKirin J CallinanDi FrancescoSudekKlippelDave Hammer5 268 Balthazar Owusu AnsahEviganJackson RauEvigan p Rau p 3 009 Stay Blessed Owusu AnsahNate CampanyKyle ShearerValley Girl2 5710 What Comes Will Come Owusu AnsahPat MorrisseyMorrissey3 5111 Stuck to the Fan Owusu AnsahDi FrancescoKlippelMaKlippel4 16Total length 37 58 Notes p signifies a primary and vocal producer a signifies an additional producer c signifies a co producer v signifies a vocal producer Personnel editMusicians Genesis Owusu vocals Jason Evigan bass drums guitars 1 5 8 keyboards 1 8 background vocals 1 Jeff Gitty Gitelman additional background vocals 1 Ben Smiley Silverstein additional keyboards 1 keyboards 5 Mikey Freedom Hart guitar programming synthesisers 2 3 bass 2 baritone guitar dubs 3 Psymun bass programming synthesisers 2 3 Max Freedberg drums 2 3 Melody English background vocals 2 Julian Sudek drums 4 7 11 Andrew Klippel keyboards 4 7 11 backing vocal arrangements 4 Kye backing vocals 4 Hamish Stuart drums 4 Jonti Danielwitz guitar 4 Blush background vocals 5 Steinj background vocals 5 Sol Was bass guitar synthesisers 6 Henry Was programming 6 Michael Di Francesco bass 7 11 Kirin J Callinan guitar 7 11 Jackson Rau guitar 8 Valley Girl performance 9 Pat Morrissey programming 10 Jono Ma synthesisers 11 Technical Joe LaPorta mastering Manny Marroquin mixing Chris Galland mix engineering Jason Evigan engineering 1 5 8 Mikey Freedom Hart engineering 2 3 David Hart engineering 2 3 Simon Christensen engineering 2 3 Simon Cohen engineering 4 11 Jackson Rau engineering 5 8 Sol Was engineering 6 George Nicholas engineering 7 Dave Hammer engineering 7 Kyle Shearer engineering 9 Nate Campany engineering 9 Pat Morrissey engineering 10 Ramiro Fernandez Seoane mixing assistance Jess Dess additional engineering 4 Kofi Owusu Ansah additional vocal engineering 3 7 11 Nicolas Mendoza engineering assistance 4 Visuals Kofi Owusu Ansah art direction Lisa Reihana art direction photography Ady Neshoda art direction artwork Kiran Best art direction artworkCharts editChart performance for Struggler Chart 2023 Peakposition Australian Albums ARIA 16 4References edit a b Genesis Owusu Announces New Album Struggler Shares Leaving the Light Stream Consequence 19 May 2023 Retrieved 21 May 2023 Genesis Owusu is Tied Up on new single NME 12 July 2023 Retrieved 13 July 2023 Genesis Owusu Is a Survivor on New Song Stream Consequence of Sound 1 December 2023 Retrieved 1 December 2023 a b Singh Surej 19 May 2023 Genesis Owusu announces sophomore album Australia North America and Europe tour NME Retrieved 21 May 2023 Nominees Announced for 2023 ARIA Awards Music Feeds 21 September 2023 Retrieved 24 September 2023 ARIA Awards 2023 Troye Sivan takes home four awards tearful G Flip wins two Here s the full list of winners ABC News 15 November 2023 Retrieved 15 November 2023 Check out all the nominees for the 2023 J Awards Australian Broadcasting Corporation 1 November 2023 Retrieved 1 November 2023 Brandle Lars 28 November 2023 Troye Sivan Shortlisted for 2023 Australian Music Prize Billboard Retrieved 29 November 2023 2024 AIR Awards Nominees Genesis Owusu Cub Sport RVG Teen Jesus amp More The Music magazine 14 May 2024 Retrieved 14 May 2024 a b c d Monger Timothy 8 September 2023 Genesis Owusu Struggler Album Reviews Songs amp More AllMusic Retrieved 8 September 2023 a b c McLean Wesley 15 August 2023 Genesis Owusu Puts the World on Notice with Struggler Exclaim Retrieved 14 September 2023 a b Struggler by Genesis Owusu Reviews and Tracks Metacritic Retrieved 8 September 2023 D Souza Shaad 18 August 2023 Genesis Owusu Struggler review moments of brilliance in an otherwise limp record The Guardian Retrieved 18 August 2023 a b c Williams Sophie 16 August 2023 Genesis Owusu Struggler review an artist at the top of his game NME Retrieved 18 August 2023 Krueger J 4 December 2023 The 50 Best Albums of 2023 Ranked Consequence Retrieved 15 December 2023 Australiancharts com Genesis Owusu Struggler Hung Medien Retrieved 15 January 2024 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Struggler amp oldid 1223764667, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
