Struggler Explained

Struggler
Type:studio
Artist:Genesis Owusu
Cover:Genesis Owusu - Struggler.png
Alt:Two blocks of darker red separated by a line of lighter red with a black border
Released:18 August 2023
Studio:
Length:37:58
Label:
Prev Title:Smiling with No Teeth
Prev Year:2021

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.

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.[2] [3] At the 2023 J Awards, the album was nominated for Australian Album of the Year.[4] The album was nominated for the 2023 Australian Music Prize.[5]

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.[6]

"Survivor" was added to the tracklisting on 1 December 2023.

Content

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."[7]

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", 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". Tracks such as "See Ya There" and "Tied Up!" were stylistically compared to the work of Prince.

Critical reception

Struggler received a score of 82 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on eleven critics' reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". 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".

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." 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".

Consequence ranked Struggler 37th on its list of the 50 Best Albums of 2023.[8]

Track listing

Notes

Personnel

Musicians

Technical

Visuals

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Genesis Owusu Announces New Album Struggler, Shares "Leaving the Light": Stream. Consequence. 19 May 2023. 21 May 2023.
  2. Web site: Nominees Announced for 2023 ARIA Awards. Music Feeds. 21 September 2023. 24 September 2023.
  3. Web site: 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. 15 November 2023.
  4. Web site: Check out all the nominees for the 2023 J Awards . Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 1 November 2023. 1 November 2023.
  5. News: Brandle . Lars . 28 November 2023 . Troye Sivan Shortlisted for 2023 Australian Music Prize . . 29 November 2023.
  6. Web site: 2024 AIR Awards Nominees: Genesis Owusu, Cub Sport, RVG, Teen Jesus & More. The Music. 14 May 2024. 14 May 2024.
  7. Web site: Genesis Owusu announces sophomore album, Australia, North America and Europe tour . . 19 May 2023 . 21 May 2023. Singh, Surej.
  8. Web site: The 50 Best Albums of 2023 Ranked. Consequence. Krueger. J.. December 4, 2023. December 15, 2023.