Genesis Owusu executed his first US tour in early 2022, and he’ll deepen his stateside imprint with a lengthy North American run this year, beginning as an opener for Paramore on May 23 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
But Owusu’s opening dates for Paramore have taken a backseat to his own headlining world tour in support of his forthcoming album, Struggler, due out on August 18. Both announcements were made on Thursday, May 18, in addition to the release of “Leaving The Light.”
The electronic-inspired, paranoid single’s accompanying video was directed by Lisa Reihana, and it finds Owusu blindfolded and constrained. “Leaving the light,” he sings. “Always thought I was living a lie / Wasn’t feeling it right.”
The beat kicks in, and Owusu’s flow speeds up to match its frenetic energy and textured sonic landscape. He raps of not being intimidated by “chaos” because “they can try and swat me down, boy, I’m the pest.” Roughly one minute in, Owusu is running away from a lava explosion and fittingly chanting, “Better run, there’s a God / And He’s coming for me.”
“Leaving The Light” immediately catapults listeners into the world Owusu hopes to convey with Struggler, as he stated in a press release: “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.”
Watch the “Leaving The Light” video above, and check out the Struggler tracklist as well as Owusu’s upcoming 2023 live dates below. Find all ticketing information here.
1. “Leaving The Light”
2. “The Roach”
3. “The Old Man”
4. “See Ya There”
5. “Freak Boy”
6. “Tied Up!”
7. “That’s Life (A Swamp)”
8. “Balthazar”
9. “Stay Blessed”
10. “What Comes Will Come”
11. “Stuck To The Fan”
05/20 — Coffs Harbour, Australia @ Storyland @ Park Beach Reserve
05/23 — Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Center**
05/25 — Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena**
05/28 – Boston, MA @ Boston Calling
05/30 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden**
05/31 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden**
06/02 — Washington, DC @ Capitol One Arena**
06/04 — Cleveland, OH @ Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse**
06/05 — Indianapolis, IN @ Gainbridge Fieldhouse**
06/07 — Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena**
06/08 — Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena**
06/10 — Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center**
06/11 — Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena**
06/13 — Orlando, FL @ Amway Center**
06/14 — Hollywood, FL @ Hard Rock Live**
10/12 — Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line
10/13 — Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
10/14 – Ferndale, MI @ The Loving Touch
10/15 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Thunderbird Music Hall
10/17 — Toronto, ON @ The Velvet Underground
10/18 – Montreal, QC @ Le Studio TD
10/19 — Boston, MA @ The Sinclair
10/20 — Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere
10/21 — Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
10/25 — Washington, DC @ Union Stage
10/27 — Charlotte, NC @ Visulite Theatre
10/28 — Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
10/29 — Nashville, TN @ The Basement East
10/31 — Austin, TX @ Empire Control Room & Garage
11/01 – Dallas, TX @ The Studio at The Factory
11/03 — Denver, CO @ Globe Hall
11/06 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theatre
11/07 — San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
11/09 — Seattle, WA @ Neumos
11/10 — Portland, OR @ Star Theatre
11/11 — Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre
11/15 — London, UK @ Heaven
11/16 — Paris, France @ Café de la Danse
11/17 — Berlin, Germany @ Hole44
12/01 — Perth, Australia @ Ice Cream Factory
12/08 — Melbourne, Australia @ Festival Hall
12/09 — Canberra, Australia @ UC Refectory
12/14 — Brisbane, Australia @ Fortitude Music Hall
12/15 — Sydney, Australia @ Hordern Pavilion
12/16 — Adelaide, Australia @ Hindley St Music Hall
** opening for Paramore and Bloc Party
Struggler is out 8/18 via Ourness/AWAL. Find more information here.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. .
