Genesis Owusu

Genesis Owusu brings his shape-shifting blend to Gorilla, Manchester, on December 2, 2026. Ghana-born and Canberra-raised, Kofi Owusu-Ansah glides between hip-hop, taut funk, post-punk edges, soul inflections and experimental pop, switching from clipped rap to sung hooks without breaking the flow. On stage he leans into the physical side of his catalog: the jagged guitars and dance-floor pulse of STRUGGLER meet the lean grooves and melodic refrains of Smiling with No Teeth, with spoken-word passages threading the set.

Backed by a live band, the arrangements stretch and snap, moving from tight, rhythmic workouts to raw, punk-tinged bursts, then opening into more melodic, communal moments. Themes of identity and isolation run through the writing, but the performance stays direct and kinetic, built for bodies and voices in the room. Expect a set that draws widely across his two albums, rearranged with the push-and-pull energy that has carried him between hip-hop, indie and festival stages without settling into a single lane.