Review Summary: A diverse and political hip-hop album....but it's so much more than that.
Genesis Owusu is an artist that is relatively new to me. His new album,
Redstar Wu & the Worldwide Scourge, is the first experience I've had with him thus far and it is a bit of a mixed bag in my personal opinion. The mix of experimental hip-hop with soul and synth/post-punk is completely new to me personally, but in general, it hits more often than it misses. The sheer experimentation is more than enough to engage the listener itself, but the messages portrayed throughout the runtime is what really drew me in.
This album is all about the vibes. It's a hip-hop album at heart, but all of the different influences are really able to shine through to their own varying degrees. Without being familiar with his back catalogue, I went into this album completely blind and came out wanting to check more of his stuff as soon as possible. Certain tracks are more hip-hop oriented while other tracks are way more danceable while still displaying bars that are based on politics, injustice and more personal problems.
This Australian rapper/artist conveys his messages with eloquence and dignity all the while being emotional, and clearly, extremely passionate about the words that he's rapping. The dance-punk-esque beats soar over the top of the bars being spit and the post-punk moments harken back to the early/mid-80s UK scene that displays problems with politics and other world issues such as, yes, Jeffrey Epstein and Elon Musk, among others. The thing that I really love about this album is the fact that it's rooted heavily in hip-hop music, and is that at heart, while wearing all of the other influences on its sleeve to flawless degree. Like I said, it's danceable and fun as hell at times while tackling real world issues.
Redstar Wu & the Worldwide Scourge is an album that tackles issues that are relevant to the everyday working man. It's not a hip-hop album that talks about weed, hoes and money like so much of the watered down BS that we hear from the genre nowadays. It's a rather serious album that every single human being can relate to nowadays with issues about the economy and everyday issues that we are faced with when we wake up every single morning. Genesis Owusu understands the people, he understands the issues going on in the world and he's not afraid to bring those issues to the forefront.
